Economics

Archive for Economics

Paul Samuelson Correspondence Regarding My Papers on Capital & Interest Theory

UPDATE: To be clear, I think Samuelson was an amazing character; that’s what I meant below when I say, “They don’t make ’em like this anymore.” Since he died, there’s really nobody left who can criticize Bohm-Bawerk the way he did. Sure it’s fine to debate Krugman, but Krugman doesn’t know Austrian capital & interest […]

Facts and Other Stubborn Things, Fiscal Edition

Daniel Kuehn is frustrated with guys like me: I’ve commented on this rhetoric of stimulus in the past. What really baffles me is that we haven’t seen any fiscal stimulus since 2009 (and that was underwhelming)… at what point do Bob and others start saying things like “for the last two years we’ve tried a […]

CNBC Economist Accidentally Endorses Laissez-Faire

At CNBC’s website there is a headline saying, “Is US Economy Flirting With ‘Modern-Day Depression’?” Then the blurb says: A depression occurs “only once it becomes painfully obvious that the markets and economy are failing to respond to repeated bouts of policy stimulus,” one economist said. So the way to be absolutely sure you’ll avoid […]

Starting From Scratch With the Quasi-Monetarists

Scott Sumner popped in to leave a comment on my earlier post. To refresh your memory, I was complaining that Scott (and his quasi-monetarist peers) is so sure that tight monetary policy is to blame for our economic woes, that he’s neglecting the host of other massive interventions into the market economy that have occurred […]

Scott Sumner Caricatures Himself

I’m not sure why I’ve been on the warpath against Scott Sumner lately. Maybe it’s because he was on hiatus for a lot of the summer, so my angst built up. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get accepted into the Chicago doctoral program and he did. Who knows. Anyway, in a recent post Scott continues […]

Reminder: Class on the Best of Rothbard Starts Tomorrow

I am really looking forward to teaching this material. The final third of Man, Economy, and State is jam-packed with great stuff, including the best critiques of Keynesianism (at least the old school variants).

Elizabeth Warren’s Blank Check

Judging from the number of Facebook “likes,” this is the best column I’ve ever written. It seems libertarians are more excited about someone trying to take their money, than about the finer points of capital theory. An excerpt: Warren is right: there is a widespread view that really wealthy people are very fortunate — that […]

Reading List in Austrian Economics and Libertarianism

People occasionally tell me that they are new to Austrian economics, and want a reading list. Well if you want the actual books there’s the year-long Home Study Course I developed, but if you’re broke here’s a cheaper way to jump in: Free-Market Economics with an Austrian Flavor * Lessons for the Young Economist. My […]