Inflation

Archive for Inflation

Fiat Money and the Euro Crisis

My article today at Mises: Lost in all the analysis of the theory of “optimal currency area,” the possibilities for a structured default, the consequences of a collapse of the euro, etc., are two simple questions: Why does the behavior of the Greek government have anything to do with taxpayers in Germany? Why did the […]

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 […]

Update on My Inflation Bets

I know that a while ago I made two inflation bets, one with Bryan Caplan and a much more serious one with David Henderson. Here are the terms with Caplan: At any point between now and January 2016, if there is a year/year increase in seasonally adjusted CPI that is at least 10%, then [Caplan […]

More Sumner Spawn

Matt Yglesias is refining his new idea, after reviewing the list of demands from the Wall Street protestors: My view is that the best demand of all, somewhat in the spirit of item number 1 but more radical, is “free money for the rest of us.” There are a lot of different specific ways this […]

Calling Noah Smith’s Bluff on Demand- Versus Supply-Side Recessions

I still intend to give a more thorough response to Karl Smith and Daniel Kuehn in light of their reactions to my “gnome” article. One of their main themes is to be shocked, shocked that we Austrians keep accusing the Keynesians of thinking in aggregate terms. Why, Karl’s middle name is “microdata,” and Daniel argues […]

I Hope Scott Sumner Is Happy

Over on his blog, Scott Sumner has been saying “I hope the inflation hawks are happy, this is what tight money looks like” after the big sell-off in the markets when “Operation Twist” turned out to be sterilized. That’s a bit like pointing out the heroin addict going through terrible withdrawal pains and saying to […]

Arnold Kling Being Too Kind to Scott Sumner?

Arnold Kling has mood swings on his posts over at EconLog. When he wants to blow somebody up, it’s best to duck and take cover because he can really let the guy have it, especially if it involves housing and mortgage finance (since Kling really knows what he’s talking about). On the other hand, Kling […]