What Austrian Economics Can Tell Us about the Crisis
The recent financial crisis has called into question several basic tenets of mainstream macroeconomics. In the words of William White, former chief economist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), “the prevailing paradigm of macroeconomics al …
READ MORE“Greece’s Threat to the Euro”
“All too often in the midst of an economic and financial crisis, policymakers either engage in denial or else take flights into fantasy. Sadly, the present Greek crisis is proving to be no exception. Rather than recognising the Greek crisis for the sol …
READ MORE“The Case for Auditing the Fed is Obvious”
“Recently, the Federal Reserve has significantly altered the procedures and goals that it had followed for decades. It has more than doubled its balance sheet, paid interest to banks on reserves held as deposits with the Fed, made decisions about which …
READ MORE“The Early Word: Financial Fights”
“Senate Democrats will try for the third consecutive day to bring a financial overhaul to the floor for debate, after Republicans twice blocked such attempts. Like clockwork, Republicans are expected to block the bill once more. It’s probably not the w …
READ MOREWolf and Krugman Discuss Austrian Economics
Martin Wolf (Financial Times) and Paul Krugman (New York Times) discuss Austrian economics.
READ MORELessons from the History of Financial Regulation
Charles W. Calomiris, who is Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia Business School and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has recently published a paper on the lessons that can be drawn from the history of financial regu …
READ MOREOverdose – Documentary on the Financial Crisis
On May 17, the Cato Institute will host a premiere of a new documentary on the financial crisis–Overdose. The trailer can be seen here. The documentary is based upon Swedish writer Johan Norberg’s book Financial Fiasco. Cato describes Overdose as foll …
READ MORE“Inflation May Not Be Kind to the Stock Market”
“Investors seem to see inflation as no big deal, or maybe even a good thing. But they forget how inflation killed the stock market in the 1970s… and just how easily those conditions could return. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is now seen as …
READ MORE“Greece Formally Requests EU/IMF Aid”
“Prime Minister George Papandreou said Friday that ‘the time has come’ for Greece to request aid under a joint European-International Monetary Fund bailout mechanism following months of turmoil in Greek financial markets. ‘The time has come,’ Papandreo …
READ MOREDeflating China’s Bubble
Reining in China’s investment boom will be hard. The Chinese authorities are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
READ MOREIn a Culture of Excess, the Fat Cats will Rule
“Free market economists are not necessarily defenders of business. Crony capitalism has a long history. Mercantilism was a form of crony capitalism, and was the main target of Adam Smith’s critical abilities. And while modern Smithians understand how i …
READ MOREChina on a Tightrope
Economic reform requires political reform. China’s leaders must loosen control if they want harmony.
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