Predrag Rajsic

March 21, 2014

There seems to be a resurgence of nostalgia for the "good old days" among the citizens of countries that were once known under the common name of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This article is dedicated to all of us former Yugoslavs, especially those who think that the Yugoslav economy during Tito's rule was built on a stable foundation. If we look at and analyze economic indicators, we have to admit that the idea of the robustness of the Yugoslav economy was an illusion and that the "well-being" that many former Yugoslavs are recalling with nostalgia was borrowed at the expense of future generations. These generations are now paying the bill for the collapse of the unsustainable economic system of socialist Yugoslavia, along with paying the bill for the destructive wars of the 1990s, and the interventionist economic policies of former Yugoslavia's successor states.

Christopher Westley

March 24, 2014

"Bernanke Enjoys the 'Fruits of the Free Market,'" or so we're told in a Reuters headline from March 4 about the former Fed chairman's 40-minute speech in Abu Dhabi for which he received, ahem, $250,000. In the Reuters author's defense, he was only quoting a DC lobbyist who was defending the amount, and added, Bernanke "will personally experience supply and demand."

Roger McKinney
March 14, 2014

After the stock market collapse of 2008 and a decline of 3.4 percent for U.S. GDP in 2009, investors rushed to stash funds in emerging markets (EM) where economies were growing at a 3.1 percent annual rate. But the US stock market fell in January of this year largely due to financial trouble in emerging markets. The economies of EM nations, such as, Brazil, Russia, India, Turkey, Thailand, and China, have deteriorated in part because of the withdrawal of US dollar investments from them. Here is a chart from the Institute for International Finance (IIF)[1] showing the capital flows to EM nations:

Joseph T. Salerno
March 05, 2014

[Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Joseph Salerno's foreword to the new third edition of Brendan Brown's book Euro Crash: How Asset Price Inflation Destroys the Wealth of Nations.]

Brendan Brown is a rara avis — a practicing financial economist and shrewd observer of financial markets, players, and policies, whose prolific writings are informed by profound theoretical insight. Dr. Brown writes in plain English yet can also turn a phrase with the best. "Monetary terror" vividly and succinctly characterizes the policy of the Fed and the ECB (European Central Bank) to deliberately create inflationary expectations in markets for goods and services as a cure for economic contraction; the "virus attack" of asset price inflation well describes the unforeseeable suddenness, timing, and point of origin of asset price increases caused by central bank manipulation of long-term interest rates and the unpredictable and erratic path the inflation takes through the various asset markets both domestically and abroad.

Jim Fedako
March 06, 2014

In the absence of prices, could a central planner efficiently run an economy? Before you answer, I'll drop the Hayekian proviso that the planner be vile. Instead, I'll only ask you to consider a planner who is a soccer mom wanting to maximize happiness among all. Would you still answer in the negative?

Sandy Ikeda

As a follow-up to my two earlier columns on falsehoods about the free market (here and here), I wanted to cover some more falsehoods that I've heard again recently. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to add to the list sometime down the road.

J.D. Tuccille
February 10, 2014

The value of life is determined not by the mere drawing of one breath after another, but by the freedom to make our own decisions.
There's nothing like the feeling of a motorcycle sliding out from beneath you on a busy thoroughfare to focus the mind beautifully on the value of life. As your ass bounces from the cushioned seat toward the hard tarmac with the screech of unseen cars slamming on their brakes to your rear, you have one glorious moment in which to ask yourself: "What the hell am I doing?"

Frank Hollenbeck
February 01, 2014

The gap between the rich and poor continues to grow. The wealthiest 1 percent held 8 percent of the economic pie in 1975 but now hold over 20 percent. This is a striking change from the 1950s and 1960s when their share of all incomes was slightly over 10 percent. A study by Emmanuel Saez found that between 2009 and 2012 the real incomes of the top 1 percent jumped 31.4 percent. The richest 10 percent now receive 50.5 percent of all incomes, the largest share since data was first recorded in 1917. The wealthiest are becoming disproportionally wealthier at an ever increasing rate.

Harry Goslin
January 23, 2014

The first rule I teach my economics students is that when the economy fails, it's usually safe to blame the government. To paraphrase Winston Smith in 1984: If we accept that the state is the source of economic misery, "all else follows."

As a science, economics is really not that difficult because it encompasses decisions we make every day that impact our well-being and the well-being of those around us.

Greg Morin

January 16, 2014

Of the various flavors of government interventionism in our lives, the minimum wage is perhaps the most welcomed. It appeals not only to our innate sense of “fairness” but also to our self-interest. Its allure may erroneously lead us to the conclusion that because “it is popular,” ergo “it is right.”