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“To alleviate the global recession, the G-20 group of nations recently agreed to authorize the International Monetary Fund to allocate $250 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights — the IMF’s unit of account — to its member states. This sparked
“After a month of wrangling, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner succeeded in sacking central bank President Martin Redrado last week. In his place she named Mercedes Marcó del Pont, a Yale-trained economist who has expressed the view that central bank autonomy
“We are now more than two years into the Great Recession, which began in December 2007. In the Great Depression, this was the point where the Fed decided to raise interest rates to keep the dollar from depreciating (after Britain
Our friends at the Foundation for Economic Education have started a From The Archives blog. The intent is to pull content from their substantial archives (featuring many famous economists such as F.A. Hayek, Henry Hazlitt, Murray Rothbard and more) and
“As policymakers confront the ongoing U.S. financial crisis, it is important to take a step back and understand its origins. Those who fault “deregulation,” “unfettered capitalism,” or “greed” would do well to look instead at flawed institutions and misguided policies.”
“Mr. Bernanke has become something of a lightning rod for critics on the left, who think his response to the financial crisis that triggered the recession has been too timid, and for those on the right, who charge that the
“This Policy Analysis explains the antecedents of the current global financial crisis and critically examines the reasoning behind the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve’s actions to prop up the financial sector. It argues that recovery from the financial crisis is
“China hopes cooling the pace of lending will keep its economy growing without creating inflation and overheating.” See the CNN video here. “China Cools Lending Pace” CNN, January 25, 2010.
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has explained his exit strategy to prevent future inflation. The Fed recently began to pay interest to banks on the reserves they hold in their vaults. Using this new tool, it claims the ability to
“A history of the Federal Reserve is a history of the decisions made and the ideas that prompted them. The chapters that follow allow the participants to explain their action and the reasons for them, in their own words. These
“Prices rise soonest, fastest, and highest where the money is being loaned out. During the realestate boom until 2007, much of the lending went to real estate, and land values zoomed up. The Federal Reserve money monopoly does not just
“In all countries of the so-called ‘free world,’ money represents nowadays a government controlled irredeemable paper, or ‘fiat,’ money standard. The widely held view is that this money system would be compatible with the ideal of a free society and
The Obama administration thinks it has found the cure all for its economic woes. The solution: regulate, restrict and play God in the economy. (Not exactly a new strategy for government.) In usual fashion, government regulations and Fed policies bring
“The U.K.’s economic policy puzzle just got harder. Inflation was expected to rise in December, but not by a full percentage point to 2.9%. That is well above market expectations of 2.6% and the Bank of England’s forecast of about
“Examples of the move from piecemeal to comprehensive intervention are found in the 1930s after the collapse of social democratic policies in Weimar Germany and in the United States after the failed interventions of the Hoover administration. Both events heralded
On February 5, 2010, our friends at the Cato Institute will be hosting a Capitol Hill Briefing, “Greed, Irresponsibility, or Policy Mistakes: What Caused the Recession?”. Go here for more information and registration. The deadline to register is Thursday, February
Mike Van Winkle interviews Professors Peter Boettke and Steven Horwitz, co-authors of the recent FEE monograph “The House That Uncle Sam Built,” about what led to the financial meltdown and the Great Recession of 2008. Go here for more.
“I use the term to mean laissez-faire banking — banking without any special government regulations or restrictions. Like free trade, it’s an ideal concept. It doesn’t refer to any specific or actual banking system, although some, like Scotland’s in the
“Evidence…cannot be challenged by opposing counsel and are highly classified. This has resulted in the drone-like ‘rubber stamping’ of warrantless surveillance conducted without oversight or challenge.” ~Spence Purnell
“Gains from trade are mutual, a reality that isn’t changed one iota by imposing a political boundary between the traders. Protectionism therefore strips both foreigners and Americans of these gains.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
“Bob Lighthizer wants you to join him in what he claims is a moral crusade to save a few American jobs. He fails to mention that ultimately, we will all pay much higher costs to do this.” ~G. Patrick Lynch
“Net Neutrality isn’t so much about creating a better Internet as much as a key step toward an Internet under government control.” ~Jon Miltimore
“What happens to a country with no constitution or deep-seated commitment to curbing the use of power? Absent those limits, virtue wanes, and it is easy for people to become servants of tyranny.” ~Barry Brownstein
“That a Nobel Prize-winning economist can hold these naïve views and fail to use simple economic reasoning should give us pause about how ideology and echo chambers can dull our reasoning.” ~Paul Mueller
“Scaring the public into action simply does not work — indeed, Chicken Little can proclaim only for a short time that the sky is falling until people begin to see through the ruse that Chicken Little is really Chicken Liar.” ~David Legates and E. Calvin Beisner
“In the first quarter of 2024, the US economy expanded at a rate of 1.6 percent per year. That’s hardly an impressive growth rate, but it’s significantly faster than money supply growth. Money looks somewhat tight.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“Enforcement of these emergent rules can be accomplished largely by what Adam Smith called ‘propriety,’ rather than by armed employees of the state.” ~Michael Munger
“The book is irrelevant in the exact meaning of that word: It does not answer the question it sets for itself, does not rise to the task of chronicling the big economic changes of the extended twentieth century, does not adequately and accurately capture a believable grand narrative.” ~Joakim Book
“April’s core CPI data represents the lowest of 2024 and may signal the resumption of disinflation, particularly where shelter costs are concerned. Despite some favorable signs, though, there remains a persistent inflationary pressure in certain categories.” ~Peter C. Earle
“Scientists and academics nationwide embraced these outward intentions to divide the ‘desirable’ immigrants from those more susceptible to crime, disease, and incompetence.” ~Will Sellers
“We cannot just look at the Fed’s target rate to determine whether it is manipulating the market. We must consider its target rate relative to the natural rate.” ~Bryan Cutsinger
“Because of substitution effects, we should always be aware that outcomes quite different from those that seem most obvious are possible. Mandating greater automobile safety might reduce traffic fatalities. Or it might not.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
“We should ‘fund students, not systems,’ as DeAngelis loves to say, and empower parents, not politicians and bureaucrats.” ~Vance Ginn
“Like National Socialist youth, individual rights mean nothing to young people today. The loss of talented people with different opinions was a plus for the Nazis.” ~Barry Brownstein
“Cooperation between conglomerates can be swept aside by the government for political gain. Ultimately, it is the public who pays for these political plays.” ~Stefan Bartl
“Human living standards have improved in unprecedented ways over the past 300 years. These remarkable improvements in human welfare are not limited to wealthy, developed economies but are enjoyed around the world.” ~Paul Mueller
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