Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is the episode description: Jennifer Burns is a professor history at Stanford who works at the intersection of intellectual, political, and cultural history. She’s written two biographies Tyler highly recommends: her 2009 book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right and her latest, Milton Friedman: The […]
My Conversation with the excellent Jennifer Burns
My Conversation with the excellent Jennifer Burns
17 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in Austrian economics, business cycles, economics of education, Euro crisis, F.A. Hayek, global financial crisis (GFC), great depression, great recession, history of economic thought, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, monetarism, monetary economics
Quantity theory of money, or fiscal theory of the price level?
16 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, history of economic thought, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, property rights Tags: monetary policy, Somalia
The rebel-controlled Yemeni rial is made up entirely of a fixed supply of notes printed prior to 2016. In the chart below you can see it appreciating in value (the blue line) against the dollar, issued by the world’s most powerful state. pic.twitter.com/vioXHmz2wQ — John Paul Koning (@jp_koning) November 15, 2023
Quantity theory of money, or fiscal theory of the price level?
What Was Gary Becker’s Biggest Mistake?
15 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in behavioural economics, economics of crime, Gary Becker, history of economic thought, law and economics
The econometrician Henri Theil once said “models are to be used but not to be believed.” I use the rational actor model for thinking about marginal changes but Gary Becker really believed the model. Once, at a dinner with Becker, I remarked that extreme punishment could lead to so much poverty and hatred that it could create blowback. Becker […]
What Was Gary Becker’s Biggest Mistake?
Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative | Hoover Institution
15 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great depression, great recession, history of economic thought, inflation targeting, labour economics, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, monetarism, monetary economics, unemployment Tags: monetary policy
Filling in the Gaps: Next Steps for the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level
15 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic history, financial economics, fiscal policy, great depression, great recession, history of economic thought, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics Tags: monetary policy
Jennifer Burns on Milton Friedman 11/13/23
14 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, business cycles, comparative institutional analysis, econometerics, economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, great depression, history of economic thought, labour economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, monetarism, monetary economics Tags: monetary policy
Police versus Prisons
13 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of crime, Gary Becker, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice
Here’s a remarkable graph from the Council of Economic Advisers report on incarceration and the criminal justice system. The graph shows that the United States employs many more prison guards per-capita than does the rest of the world. Given our prison population that isn’t surprising. What is surprising is that on a per-capita basis we employ 35% […]
Police versus Prisons
Book Presentation with John Cochrane: “The Fiscal Theory of the Price Le…
09 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great depression, great recession, history of economic thought, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, monetarism, monetary economics, public economics Tags: monetary policy
Ralph Hawtrey, Part 1: An Overview of his Career
06 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economic history, fiscal policy, great depression, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, unemployment
One of my goals when launching this blog in 2011 was to revive interest in the important, but unfortunately neglected and largely forgotten, contributions to monetary and macroeconomic theory of Ralph Hawtrey. Two important books published within the last year have focused attention on Ralph Hawtrey: The Federal Reserve: A New History by Robert Hetzel, […]
Ralph Hawtrey, Part 1: An Overview of his Career
Caplan-Singer Debate Video
05 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economics of education, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
A year ago, Jonah Franks, who runs Public Intellectuals for Charity, organized a debate between me and Peter Singer on “Do the rich pay their fair share?” I already posted my opening statement, my reflections on the debate, along with two follow-ups on Singer’s “Noble Lie.” The debate video itself, however, was gated for paying…
Caplan-Singer Debate Video
Walter Block on Sexual Discrimination & the Pay Gap(Uncut)
02 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, economics of education, gender, health economics, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Claudia Goldin with Kiana Scott: The Century-Long Fight to Close the Gen…
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, discrimination, economic history, economics of information, gender, health and safety, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
*GOAT* on Friedrich A. Hayek and his delusions
31 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in Austrian economics, business cycles, history of economic thought, macroeconomics, monetary economics
When writing GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all Time, and Why Does It Matter? I vowed I would write the whole truth. Not just that I agreed with everything I wrote (the case with every book), but I that I would relate all that I was thinking. Here is one part of the […]
*GOAT* on Friedrich A. Hayek and his delusions
Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell by Jason Riley Book Review
30 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, discrimination, economic history, economics of education, gender, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, property rights, Thomas Sowell, urban economics
I was skeptical of learning about Sowell because he leans conservative, and I was curious to learn about Sowell because he leans conservative. The last few years I’ve grown sympathetic to the political left because I got tired of conservatives seeming hatred for all things “left.” After reading this book I think a lot of […]
Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell by Jason Riley Book Review
A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell
28 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economic history, economics of education, gender, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, Thomas Sowell
Another brilliant piece of work by the master, Thomas Sowell. Quite a theoretical book but an incredibly useful framework. I’ve observed numerous recent events through Sowell’s visions since I started reading the book. The ability for ideas to immediately infiltrate one’s framework and lexicon is a true hallmark of greatness. A vision is our natural […]
A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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