Topic: Economic Theory

Economic Education, Economic Theory, Free Markets

All Value Is Subjective, and That’s a Good Thing

– October 26, 2021

“If anything had intrinsic value, we could only either exchange it for a price precisely matching that value, with neither of us becoming better off, or exchange it for a price different from its ‘true’ value, with one person ending up worse off because of the exchange.” ~ James E. Hanley

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

Classical Liberalism, Economic Theory, History, Philosophy

Liberalism Then and Now

– October 3, 2021

“A puzzle remains, namely, what has transformed liberalism from the staunch preserver of liberty, with John Stuart Mill being its most celebrated spokesman, to ‘St. George,’ the righteous zealot, who vows to slay all human sufferings?” ~ Habi Zhang

Books, Economic Theory, History

Review of Ola Innset, Reinventing Liberalism

– September 15, 2021

“Reinventing Liberalism is alternately fascinating and frustrating. At the end of the day, however, Innset has given us a serviceable introduction to neoliberalism and a novel interpretation of its program, and those by themselves make the book worth considering.” ~ Art Carden

Art and Culture, Economic Theory, Education

Critical Economic Theory

– August 13, 2021

“Critical Economic Theory can provide the knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to stimulate real public policy debates instead of whatever lunacies currently take place on social media outlets.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Economic Education, Economic Theory, Fiscal Policy

Rich Man, Poor Man: Comparing the Value of a Dollar to Each

– August 3, 2021

“As is so often true in economics, being attuned to more than what is immediately obvious yields insights very different from those that arise from looking only at what is immediately obvious.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Economic Education, Economic Theory

No, Economists Do Not Assume Perfect Knowledge

– April 14, 2021

“The perfect knowledge assumption humbles economists. Gone is the notion that we economists are the enlightened philosopher kings of the social sciences and that the rest of the naves need only listen to our sagely wisdom. Instead, we are, as Boettke, Coyne, and Leeson argue, students of society, not saviors of society. Our job is not to critique nor justify, but to understand and explain.” ~ David Hebert

Crisis, Economic Theory, International

Lockdowns Have Devastated the Global Poor

– February 10, 2021

“Lockdowns affect the global poor as well as the global elite and it seems that the poorer countries have seen a dangerous decline in living standards which will have lasting consequences that are a public crisis in and of themselves. It should now be abundantly clear that economic hardship is not a minor inconvenience and action must be taken to alleviate existing damage and to prevent the further exacerbation of existing calamity.” ~ Ethan Yang

Central Banking, Economic Education, Economic Theory

That Mystical Monetary Theory

– February 5, 2021

“The MMT mistake lies in believing that any alleged shortfall in money or supply of U.S. Treasuries is big enough to finance their entire policy wish list for the foreseeable future. It also assumes that any potential labor or capital goods not currently used can be effortlessly moved to whatever production line politicians desire, without causing prices or wages to increase.” ~ Joakim Book

Economic Theory, Free Markets, History

Tales of the Crypt

– January 24, 2021

“Best of all, nobody was forced to subsidize others. They gave to charity, joined with like-minded people, or sought profit. The system wasn’t perfect — nothing is — but it was a far cry better than taxing people to support inefficient, uniform government educational and welfare programs.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Central Banking, Economic Theory, Monetary Policy

Galbraith Offers a Poor Defense of MMT

– January 16, 2021

“The rise of MMT on the political left will no doubt continue. It is politically expedient. It provides a justification for spending. Political expediency does not imply theoretical soundness, however. And defenses along the lines offered by Galbraith do little to assuage very real concerns.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

Economic Education, Economic Theory

HeterosKedasticity or HeterosCedasticity, That Is the Question

– December 10, 2020

“The deviation of the real world from normal gives opportunity for improvement, if we are able to take advantage of positive deviations and minimize the harm of negative deviations. If we can do that, things don’t average out. Progress can come out of the filtering of randomness. Our worth, as individuals, comes not merely how we are similar to others, but to how we are different.” ~ Clifford F. Thies