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To gain insight into the state of an economy, most financial experts and commentators rely on a statistic called the gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP framework looks at the value of final goods and services produced during a particular time interval, usually a quarter or a year. This statistic is constructed in accordance with the view that

According to John Maynard Keynes, The ideas of economists and  political philosophers , both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some

For most commentators economic stability refers to an absence of excessive fluctuations in key economic data such as real gross domestic product (GDP) and the consumer price index (CPI). An economy with constant output growth and low and stable price inflation is likely to be regarded as stable. An economy with frequent boom-bust cycles and

After climbing to 12.2 percent in April last year, the yearly growth rate of combined commercial bank real estate and consumer and business loans plunged to –2.6 percent in early March. For most commentators an important factor in setting economic prosperity in motion is bank lending. Hence, this sharp decline in the yearly growth rate in bank

In an interview with National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” program on Thursday, March 25, 2021, Fed chair Jerome Powell said that even with the economy rebounding faster than expected, any change in monetary policy would happen “very, very gradually over time and with great transparency. Rate increases would only be considered when the economy

Between January 1970 and December 2020 on average changes  in money supply preceded changes in real economic activity by fourteen months, as depicted by real gross domestic product (GDP). Based on this it is tempting to suggest that a strengthening in the growth rate of money supply will result in the strengthening of real economic growth.

On March 11, 2021, US president Biden introduced his $1.9 trillion covid-19 stimulus plan. The president also announced a plan of more than $2 trillion to rebuild US infrastructure, which includes repairing roads and bridges, as well as expanding access to long-term care services under Medicaid, building schools, and expanding internet access

According to the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) the US personal savings rate stood at 13.6 percent in February 2021 against 8.3 percent in February 2020. Since consumption expenditure is considered as the driving force of the economy, obviously a strengthening in savings, which implies less spending, cannot be good for economic

As a result of the recent stimulus policies employed by the US government and the Fed, most commentators are of the view that the risk of a deepening slump in the US economy on account of the covid-19 pandemic has now receded. Some other commentators are not so certain that the risk has declined, arguing that the economy is still heading towards

Listen to  the  Audio Mises Wire  version  of this article. In order to understand the effects of inflation it is helpful to understand that inflation is not a general rise in prices as such, but an increase in the supply of money which then sets in motion a general increase in the prices of goods and services in terms of money. Consider the case