Milton Friedman Unraveled
Volume 16, Number 4 (2002) Mention “free-market economics” to a member of the lay public and chances are that if he has heard the term at all, he identifies it completely with the name Milton Friedman. For several years, Professor Friedman
What are the Politics of Inflation?
With the prices of everything rising at historic rates, no issue is shaping politics more right now than inflation. Unfortunately for Americans, Republicans in Washington appear no more serious on the Federal Reserve than the Biden Administration. What lessons can be
Ending Fiat Money Won’t Destroy the State
When we ask ourselves the question, “Can states survive without fiat currency?” the answer is clearly yes. Original Article: "Ending Fiat Money Won't Destroy the State" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Michael Stack.
The Problem with Public Goods and So-Called Economic Power
In this week’s column, I’d like to discuss two arguments Murray Rothbard gives that respond to influential criticisms of the free market. His answers to the two arguments follow a common strategy. In each case, he rejects the key premise
Real Wages Plummet as Inflation Hits the US Recovery
Friday's jobs report was weak, but the most alarming datapoint is that real wages are plummeting. Original Article: "Real Wages Plummet as Inflation Hits the US Recovery" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Michael Stack.
Do Markets Cater to Our Worst Impulses?
For all the great value in Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein’s new book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, we find plenty of enmity toward markets and market forces. The market’s avarice and ravenous desire for growth is bad for
How Easy Money Inflated Corporate Profits
After many months of covid stimulus, there's a bonanza in US pandemic profits. But unlike price inflation, these profits really are likely to be transitory. Original Article: "How Easy Money Inflated Corporate Profits" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher
Unmask America
Enough is enough. It is time to stop wearing masks, or at the very least to eliminate mask mandates in all settings. This is especially urgent for children in schools and universities, who suffer the effects of masks for long hours each day
Stop Trying to Turn Economics into a Branch of Psychology
Recently, a relatively new economics called behavioral economics (BE) has started to gain popularity. Its practitioners, such as Daniel Kahneman, Vernon Smith, and Richard Thaler, were awarded Nobel Prizes for their contribution in the field of BE. The BE framework emerged
Can You Say Marginal Rate of Substitution?
Once, when my newborn son was barely back from the hospital, I was holding him in my arms with my wife looking on. I asked him, "Can you say marginal rate of substitution?" My wife recognized that as a bit of