What is behind the predictive power of the yield curve?
After rising to 3.33% in March, the differential between the 10-year US Treasury Note and the federal funds rate eased to 3.07% at the…
Unemployment and economic recovery
At the International Monetary Conference in Atlanta June 7, 2011 the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said, As is often the case, the ability and…
Is raising the debt limit good for the US economy?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner said in a letter to Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, that a default arising from failing to raise the…
Fractional reserve banking and boom-bust cycles
In his various writings, the famous Austrian economist Murray Rothbard argued that in a free market economy that operates on a gold standard the…
Why Not Every Credit Expansion is Good for Economic Growth
In their various statements, central bank policy makers have said that the key to economic growth is a smooth flow of credit. For them,…
The meaning of the neutral interest rate
The idea of a neutral interest rate emanates from the writings of the Swedish economist Knut Wicksell. According to Wicksell, There is a certain…
Is there a place for experimental economics?
Economists have always been envious of the practitioners of the natural and exact sciences. They have thought that introducing the methods of natural sciences…
Money supply versus money demand
According to popular thinking, not every increase in the supply of money will have an effect on the production of goods. For instance, if…
Do the Fed Chairman’s comments on the economy make any sense?
In his speech at the National Press Club, Washington, DC on February 3, 2011 the Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke repeated that the…
Can expectations neutralise the side effects of loose monetary policy?
According to the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT), the artificial lowering of interest rates by the central bank leads to a misallocation of resources…