Topic: Economic History

Economic Education, Economic History, Free Markets

Risk, Uncertainty and Profit 100 Years Later

– November 21, 2021

“It is the special function of the entrepreneur to generate unpredictable change and the economic profit or loss, progress or mistakes, that result from it.” ~ Alex J. Pollock

Economic History, Fiscal Policy, Government, Public Choice and Public Policy

Adam Smith, Capitation, and the Nonsense That Is the Proposed Wealth Tax

– November 11, 2021

“While the economic implications of this proposal are sufficiently flimsy to discount its claimed purpose of revenue generation, the proposed wealth tax faces a greater obstacle to its adoption: it is blatantly unconstitutional.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Economic History, Education, Free Markets

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Economics Classroom

– November 9, 2021

“Critics worry that DEI initiatives will lead to watered down, therapeutic curricula, but the DEI push is a great time for economics (and economists!) to shine in the classroom with hard-headed but soft-hearted analysis.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Education, Economic History, Free Markets

Was Keynes Right on Short Work Weeks?

– November 7, 2021

“When one takes the time to consider the multiple dimensions of what constitutes human well-being just as Crafts did, it is hard not to engage in hyperboles such as ‘We are infinitely better off than our close ancestors.'” ~ Vincent Geloso

Cryptocurrency, Economic History, Government, Regulation

Cryptocurrencies and the National Bank Act: Learning the Wrong Lessons from History

– November 3, 2021

“Perhaps the cryptocurrency market would benefit from regulatory oversight. But the regulators are certainly wrong to base their case on the historical experience of the US. The lesson they should learn from history is that regulation can be detrimental.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky & William J. Luther

Classical Liberalism, Economic History, Economic Theory, Free Markets

An Open Letter to Phil Magness, by Don Boudreaux

– October 24, 2021

“The future of economic analysis would be brighter if economists today were more knowledgeable about its past – and thought as deeply as did earlier scholars such as Buchanan, Stigler, and Dewey about the nature of competition and the complexities of real-world markets.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Economic History, Government, Monetary Policy

Money and the Constitution

– October 15, 2021

“The dubious constitutionality of the Federal Reserve System set up in 1912 might have been overlooked if it had provided price stability, lower unemployment, or enhanced economic growth.” ~ Robert F. Mulligan

Economic Education, Economic History, Media, Public Choice and Public Policy

Eyes on the Politicized Prize

– October 12, 2021

“We may conclusively establish that the monopsony scenario of the minimum wage was directly anticipated and discussed by economists for decades before Card and Krueger’s paper.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Economic Education, Economic History, Policy

Behind Seemingly ‘Objective’ Statistics

– October 5, 2021

“The seemingly objective and straightforward reality is, in fact, a distorted reality. Government policy based upon such a distorted understanding of reality is likely to worsen the true reality.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Books, Economic Education, Economic History

Review of Sheilagh Ogilvie, The European Guilds: An Economic Analysis

– September 26, 2021

“With The European Guilds, Ogilvie has written the definitive treatment of the subject. It is a book that every economist and historian should know about, and I expect it to be the standard work on the topic for many years to come.” ~ Art Carden

Books, Economic History, Government

When Grand Histories Go Wrong

– September 10, 2021

“Coggan embarked on an ambitious scheme to tell us about economic growth through the ages. In that he succeeds, but the account leaves much else to be desired.” ~ Joakim Book

Books, Currency, Economic History

The Political History of Silver in America

– September 7, 2021

“The history of metals as monetary commodities is long, difficult, and highly contentious. With The Story of Silver, William Silber has earned his spot on that part of the library shelf.” ~ Joakim Book