Mises Search

In order to make the data “talk,” economists utilize a range of statistical methods that vary from highly complex models to a simple display of historical data. It is generally held that by means of statistical correlations one can organize historical data into a useful body of information, which in turn can serve as the basis for assessments of

Fed policy makers are of the view that if there is the need to tighten the interest rate stance the tightening should be gradual as to not destabilize the economy. The gradual approach gives individuals plenty of time to adjust to the tighter monetary stance. This adjustment in turn will neutralize the possible harmful effect that such a tighter

A key factor that constrains people’s ability to generate goods and services is the scarcity of funding. Contrary to popular thinking, funding for consumption and production is not about money as such, but about real savings. Note that various tools and machinery or the infrastructure that people have created is for only one purpose and it is to

In her testimony to the Congressional Economic Committee on November 29, 2017, the Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the neutral rate appears to be quite low by historical standards. From this, she concluded that the federal funds rate would not have to increase much to reach a neutral stance. The neutral rate currently appears to be quite low by

On Friday December 8, 2017, the price of bitcoin closed at $15,206– an increase of 28.3% from November. The yearly growth rate stood at 1,474%. Many economists and financial commentators hold that in the unregulated market of the internet economy, bitcoin is likely to emerge as a new form of money that is going to bypass the central-bank

In most cultures, profit is seen as the outcome of exploitation of some individuals by some other individuals. Hence, anyone who is seen as striving to make profits is regarded as bad news and the enemy of society and must be stopped in time from inflicting damage. Profit however, has nothing to do with exploitation — it is about the most

Following the ideas of Keynes and Friedman, most mainstream economists associate economic growth with increases in the demand for goods and services. Both Keynes and Friedman felt that The Great Depression of the 1930’s was due to an insufficiency of aggregate demand and thus the way to fix the problem is to boost aggregate demand. For Keynes,

For most economic commentators the underlying driving force of inflation is inflationary expectations . For instance, if there is a sharp increase in the price of oil, individuals may form higher inflationary expectations that could set in motion spiraling price inflation. Or so it is held. If expectations could somehow be made less responsive to

There is nothing wrong with declining prices. What signifies industrial market economy under a commodity money such as gold is that prices of goods follow a declining trend. According to Joseph Salerno, In fact, historically, the natural tendency in the industrial market economy under a commodity money such as gold has been for general prices to

In the slump of a cycle, businesses that were thriving come to experience difficulties or go under. These errors aren’t specific to any one firm. They occur in tandem with whole sectors of the economy. People who were wealthy yesterday have become poor today. Factories that were busy yesterday are shut down today, and workers are out of jobs.