Liberty Classics
A Liberty Classic Book Review of The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics, edited by Edwin Dolan.1 What’s so Austrian about “Austrian economics?” The label was originally a pejorative, coined by Gustav Schmoller, a harsh critic of Carl Menger’s work. It was an attempt to attach Menger’s ideas to a “provincial” or unsophisticated area. If he .. MORE
Book Review
A Book Review of Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror, by Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall.1 It’s been over 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. Ever since those horrible attacks, the United States government has been waging a “war on terror” both at home and abroad. The war on .. MORE
Book Review
A Book Review of Escaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy, by Mario J. Rizzo and Glen Whitman.1 Are you saving enough for retirement? How do you know? How can I tell? What if there is a benchmark against which to compare your savings? If you meet it, all is well. But what if .. MORE
Economic and Political Philosophy
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
International Trade
Political Economy
Adam Smith
City Formation, Urban Issues
Economic and Political Philosophy
Economics of Health Care
Cross-country Comparisons
econtalk-extra
How do you communicate complicated ideas, let alone persuade people to change their mind about something they think they know? Why do we have to “learn things the hard way” all the time??? These are some of the questions EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed Adam Mastroianni back to discuss in this episode. Mastroianni says it’s .. MORE
econtalk-extra
In this episode, host Russ Roberts welcomes Zvi Mowshowitz to discuss the merits of AI, causes for optimism and concern, AI as a ‘man of system’, and technology as a last bastion of the freedom to innovate. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, but learning to walk quickly. What was once just some chatbots .. MORE
Macroeconomics
In several recent posts, Tyler Cowen has stressed the need for better models of inflation. In one case, he expressed exasperation at my claim that (price) inflation is an almost meaningless concept: 4b. More seriously, Scott seems to dismiss the price level concept altogether. For instance he once wrote: “In the past, I’ve frequently argued .. MORE
Economics and Culture
Every year, millions of parents propagate the myth of “Santa Claus”: an omniscient, magical man bringing near-infinite toys to children across the globe. Santa Claus employs elves and flying reindeer, lives in an inhospitable environment, and necessarily travels 0.5% the speed of light. Despite the obvious dubiousness of these claims, parents invest in the story .. MORE
Explore the lasting legacies and
continued relevance of our classic titles.
The theory of spontaneous order has a long tradition in the history of social thought, yet it would be true to say that, until the last decade, it was all but eclipsed in the social science of the twentieth century. For much of this period the idea of spontaneous order—that most of those things of .. MORE
Most political writers have concluded, that a republican government, over a very large territory, cannot exist; and as this opinion is sustained by alarming proofs, and weighty authorities, it is entitled to much respect, and serious consideration. All extensive territories in past times, and all in the present age, except those of the United States, .. MORE
A book review of The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies by Alexander Betts (Oxford University Press, 2021)1 A key idea in Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations is that people have a persistent and ever-present drive to “better their own conditions”. Leave people alone, and prosperity and other improvements of life .. MORE
Review of China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption, by Yuen Yuen Ang.1 The parable of blind men touching an elephant is a good description of how scholars are putting forward theories to explain the growth of China. Wanting to know what an elephant looks like, each man touches one part .. MORE
VIDEO
Recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Milton Friedman (1912-2006) has long been recognized as one of our most important economic thinkers and a leader of the Chicago school of economics. He is the author of many books and articles in economics, including A Theory of the Consumption Function and A Monetary History .. MORE
VIDEO
On April 10, 2013, Liberty Fund and Butler University sponsored a symposium, “Capitalism, Government, and the Good Society.” The evening began with solo presentations by the three participants–Michael Munger of Duke University, Robert Skidelsky of the University of Warwick, and Richard Epstein of New York University. (Travel complications forced the fourth invited participant, James Galbraith .. MORE
Econlib Videos
Conversations with some of the most original thinkers of our time
The Reading Lists by Topic pages contain some suggested readings organized by topic, including materials available on Econlib. Brief reviews or descriptions are included for many items.
Supplementary materials for popular college textbooks used in courses in the Principles of Economics, Microeconomics, Price Theory, and Macroeconomics are suggested by topic.
These free resources are appropriate for teachers of high school and AP economics, social studies, and history classes. They are also appropriate for interested students, home schoolers, and newcomers to the topic of economics.
It was, according to accounts filtering out of the White House, an extraordinary scene. Hank Paulson, the U.S. treasury secretary and a man with a personal fortune estimated at $700m (£380m), had got down on one knee before the most powerful woman in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, and begged her to save his plan to rescue .. MORE
Regulation The federal government has been regulating prices and competition in interstate transportation ever since Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to oversee the railroad industry in 1887. Truckers were brought under the control of the ICC in 1935 after persistent lobbying by state regulators, the ICC itself, and especially, the railroads, which had .. MORE
A monopoly is an enterprise that is the only seller of a good or service. In the absence of government intervention, a monopoly is free to set any price it chooses and will usually set the price that yields the largest possible profit. Just being a monopoly need not make an enterprise more profitable than .. MORE
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