How to Think about Monetary Intervention
[Chapter 8 of Per Bylund's new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.] The Boom-Bust Cycle The economy’s constant flux is not random change but adjustments to the production apparatus in the pursuit of creating value. Value is a moving target because
Will Environmentalists Doom Global Food Supplies?
Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop talk with economic anthropologist Jovana Diković about how a focus on "solving" global warming endangers the food supply for much of the globe, especially in the developing world. Even rich nations face a world of
The Housing Boom Is Already Over. Get Ready for Even Higher Prices.
As mortgage rates have risen this year, the demand for home purchases has fallen. That has spelled trouble for the home construction business. Homebuilder confidence dropped for the 10th straight month in October. The decline in builder sentiment reflects what
It Didn’t Begin with FDR: Currency Devaluation in the Third Century Roman Empire
Roman keynesianism that ruined the empire and destroyed the Roman economy. Original Article: "It Didn't Begin with FDR: Currency Devaluation in the Third Century Roman Empire" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. '
World War I: The Great War Was also the Great Enabler of Progressive Governance
Commentaries about World War I frequently discuss causes and consequences but almost never mention the enablers. At best, they might mention them approvingly, as if we were fortunate to have had the Fed and the income tax, along with the
World Dollar Hegemony Is Ending (and That May Be a Good Thing)
The dollar's petrodollar status has led the Federal Reserve to irresponsibly inflate the currency. The rest of the world has noticed and is looking for alternatives. Original Article: "World Dollar Hegemony Is Ending (and That May Be a Good Thing)" This Audio Mises Wire
What I Learned from my Grandfather about Money
When I was a child, my mother and I would take the Long Island Railroad to Brooklyn to see relatives a few times a year. My grandfather was always outside in front of the apartment house in Park Slope, where
How to Think about Economic Calculation
[Chapter 7 of Per Bylund's new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.] Money, as we discussed in the previous chapter, makes lots of exchanges possible that are impractical or impossible under barter trade. We are better off as a result.
Bart Vanderhaegen: How Criticism Fuels Knowledge Creation in Adaptive Entrepreneurial Firms
Success in business — serving customers well, and achieving growth in revenues and assets with a return on capital greater than its cost over the long term — is tied to knowledge-building, whereby everyone in the company learns more and
American Chip “Independence”: Protectionism by Another Name
While both the Left and Right celebrate the government's new drive to subsidize American microchip manufacturing, we should remember that political "investments" always result in crony capitalist disasters. Original Article: "American Chip "Independence": Protectionism by Another Name" This Audio Mises Wire is generously