Job Growth Remains Elusive
Business Cycle ConditionsJanuary, 2012Some areas of the economy are gaining strength. But the labor market lags behind increased productivity. by Polina Vlasenko, PhD, Research Fellow
READ MOREChina’s Hard Landing and Hayek
A few days ago, Paul Krugman defended the position that “Friedrich Hayek is not an important figure in the history of macroeconomics.” This triggered quite a few reactions (here, here, here, here and here). Anyone familiar with the general aspects on t …
READ MOREThree Comments on the Gold Standard
The financial crisis in 2008, the uncertainty about the future of the Euro and the doubts on the efficiency of monetary policy has brought some renewed interest in the gold standard as an alternative monetary system; or, at least, as a benchmark to eva …
READ MOREGold bugs and Paper bugs
At Free Banking blog, Kurt Schuller points to Ralph Benko’s reply to Roubini’s statements that “this idea of a gold standard is pushed every other day by these gold bugs [and] is not even a theory it’s a theology,” and that the return to the Gold Stand …
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What Happens If We End the Fed?
Libertarians, some Occupy supporters are among those calling for an end to the Federal Reserve
READ MOREIt’s Still a Drag
Business Cycle ConditionsDecember, 2011Unemployment and slow growth of consumer spending are holding back the recovery.Lingering problems in Europe may add to the burden.by Polina Vlasenko, PhD, Research Fellow
READ MOREThe “Inflation Moralist” View
I’m trying to wrap my brain around the recent wave of ‘respectable’ economists coming out in favor of higher inflation. Some of the more prominent names include Ken Rogoff, Christina Romer, and the blogging sensation Scott Sumner. Although it’s often d …
READ MOREBusiness Cycles, Open Economies and Wandering Bubbles
In a previous post we commented on some aspects that are relevant for business cycles in the context of open economies. We also showed that in not a few cases the Mises-Hayek theory of business cycles is offered as an explanation of what went wrong. Ev …
READ MORESpeech given to the Committee for Monetary Research and Education
Speech given to the Committee for Monetary Research and Education
READ MORERobust for Now
Business Cycle ConditionsNovember, 2011GDP growth is close to the long-term trend. But the driving economic engine created by consumer spending could run out of juice.by Polina Vlasenko, PhD, Research Fellow
READ MOREThe Gold Standard Mentality and the Great Depression
It is a common argument that the gold standard was one of the reasons of the Great Depression. The Federal Reserve, it is argued, was unable to follow an optimal monetary policy, with its hands tied with the gold standard regime. However, as Timberlake …
READ MOREThe Austrian Business Cycle Theory, Foreign Exchange and Business Cycles
The Financial Crisis of 2008 brought attention, once more, to the problem of business cycles. There are different approaches to study the phenomenon of business cycles. Some of them rest on shocks to the real economy (i.e. productivity of government sp …
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