John Cochrane, the grumpy economist, meets the gold standard
byA view from America … 8+% unemployment, now. The GDP, last we checked, crawls along at a 1.5% growth rate, slower than population growth. …
The Iceland and Ireland banking crisis: lessons for the future
byA working paper for the Mercatus Centre: Abstract The economic collapses of Iceland and Ireland after 2008 are the most severe in the developed…
The Mess We’re In
by“The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system…
Subjective value and currencies
by“The issuer’s promise” is a phrase I have used recently to describe the backing for fiat currencies. The purpose of this article is to…
The tale of Jack the pie-maker
byAs with many of his classmates, Jack arrived at his commencement day ceremony with a sense of forboding. Notwithstanding an honours degree in business…
An Olympian hurdle
by“SIR – I’m fairly sure that the problems associated with the Olympics will crop up in my home town: overcrowding, terrorist threats, traffic congestion…
Mises can save the world
byIf they had listened to Mises in 1927, the world might have been saved. There would have been no Holocaust, Gulag, bombing of civilians,…
Can money pumping solve the European economic crisis?
byRecently we have noticed that many more commentators and various important experts have been advocating aggressive monetary pumping by the European Central Bank to…
The triumph of politics
byOn August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared that the United States would no longer honour its promise to exchange US dollars held by…
The wasteland
byThe world of ‘alternative’ energy has been no stranger to embarrassment of late, whether it be leading windmill-maker Vestas’ 96% plunge to a 14-year…