Economics

Archive for Economics

Off to Porc Fest

I’ll be traveling most of the day to “Porc Fest.” Not sure how much blogging I’ll be doing over the next few days. In the meantime, some links: * Lew Rockwell explains the “tragedy of immigration enforcement.” * Steve Horwitz says that yes, we are in a police state, no hyperbole. * Another good Horwitz […]

Does Ethanol Make Gasoline Cheaper?

There is a big push by the pro-ethanol people to publicize the results of a new study from Iowa State showing that ethanol “reduced gas prices by 89 cents per gallon in 2010.” I didn’t have too much time to respond, but here is what I wrote for IER last week on it. For those […]

Austrians versus Chicago School

I wrote this piece because two different people asked me in the same week if there were an article such as this… An excerpt: Although Friedman’s analysis sounds perfectly reasonable, and the epitome of “scientific,” Mises thought it was a seductive trap for economists. For a quick illustration of the difference in perspectives, let me […]

The Truth About Robert Reich

Mises’ groupies will be able to tell where I’m broadcasting this from. Anyway, we decided I should respond to this video from Robert Reich.

Obama Figures Out Why Unemployment Is So High

Actually if you watch the video, it’s not nearly as bad as some of his critics are making it out to be. He’s not saying, “We should ban ATMs and airport kiosks.” Rather, he has now become an Austrian, and is endorsing the structural explanation for unemployment.

Murphy Takes on Another (Post) Keynesian

Remember when Galvatron says, “First [Optimus] Prime, then Ultra Magnus. And now, you. It’s a pity you Autobots die so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now!” ? Yeah, I thought that was pretty sweet too. Anyway, I recently took on Dean Baker after our Congressional showdown. Then in the most recent […]

Yet Another Stunning Empirical Refutation of Keynesianism?

If I had to summarize in five words my critique of Keynesianism, it would be, “Spending doesn’t create real income.” (Then, after the standing ovation, if people wanted an encore, I would say, “Production does.”) I admit I just glanced at it, but I do believe Daniel Kuehn unwittingly provided empirical confirmation on his blog. […]

Murphy on FreedomWatch

I toyed with the idea of telling the Judge that actually, they jacked up income tax rates to ridiculous levels pretty soon after they were implemented–the top rate was 77% in 1918–but I wasn’t sure how to get the proper tone across so I played it safe. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com