Tag Archives: Expansion

Credit Booms and the Great Depression

(HT Hayek Center.) Barry Eichengreen of UCB and Kris Mitchener of Santa Clara University explore the role of the credit boom in causing the Great Depression.  The Austrian influence is clear, and particularly interesting is their analysis of how a … Continue reading

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China’s Bubble Economy Re-Appears

China’s economic growth is turning out to be just another financial bubble ready to pop. The lesson is clear: monetary expansion causes economic instability. This bursts two theoretical bubbles: one, that instability is inherent in global capital markets, and two, that we are preparing to lift out of recession. Continue reading

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Why Economic Stimuli Don’t Work

There are already talks of a second stimulus package. This will only bring about greater poverty and greater illusion of recovery. The future remains bleak for world prosperity. Continue reading

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The Case Against the Issue of Fiduciary Media

Ludwig von Mises on the issue of fiduciary media, from his first book on the topic of money: “The Theory of Money and Credit”. Continue reading

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Thoughts on Fractional-Reserve Banking

One of the most heated topics within the school of Austrian Economics is whether or not fractional-reserve banking would or should exist in a free market. There are considerable arguments put forth in support of either opinion by various scholars, but ultimately it seems as if fractional-reserve banking does not pass the test. Continue reading

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A New Perspective on Roosevelt’s Recession of 1937

From the essay “The Dangerous “Lessons” of 1937. Roosevelt’s Recession of 1937 may be more relevant to the current financial situation in the United States than the Crash of 1929. This is because we may be headed in the same direction. Continue reading

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Correction on the Austrian Business Cycle Theory

The Austrian theory takes into consideration an increase in both consumer-goods and capital-goods, which is what causes unsustainable economic growth. The difference is that the Austrian theory forecasts that the capital-goods sector will be hit harder than the consumer-good sector, and so far that has proven to be true. Continue reading

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False Hopes in Unemployment

It seems surprising that a publication with the reputation of the Economist would include itself amongst the dozens of sources which suggest that a slight drop in unemployment figures signals the near-end of the recession. First, the economist who wrote that article obviously has not studied the history of unemployment during the Great Depression, because if he had he would have been more wary of making such proclamation without stronger evidence to support his thesis. Continue reading

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Assessing Alan Greenspan’s Role in the Current Economic Crisis

Economists David Henderson and Jeffrey Hummel suggest that then-Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan’s monetary policy did not have a large impact on the interest rates. Their analysis couldn’t be further from the truth. Continue reading

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Introduction to the Austrian Business Cycle Theory: Explaining the Boom & Bust

The business cycle has been attributed to many factors by many different economists, but other than the Austrian Business Cycle Theory, none have been able to pinpoint the exact causations for an economic recession (or depression). The only theory which has consistently been able to cause the business cycle is the Austrian theory; a theory which presents the problem as a problem of fractional-reserve banking. Continue reading

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