Category Economics

Platforms deliver on promises, and that’s why they exist. Platforms don’t sell anything on their own, but instead sell connections. That’s been true for a long time, but in the past 25 years the picture has come into sharp focus.…

Economic freedom matters to economic development. Indeed, a wide body of empirical literature points to limited government, secure property rights, free trade, low regulations, and sound monetary policies as being generally associated with faster economic growth and higher income levels.…

The latest batch of Fauci files was supposed to have been released on Twitter in January, but has gone AWOL, if not down the Memory Hole. Could it be because they too clearly reveal the face of Faucism, a type…

Hotter-than-expected inflation has rekindled fears about a wage-price spiral. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Jason Furman argues the Fed should tighten even faster. The economy’s “underlying inflation” is due to “extremely tight labor markets,” he writes. Although Furman prefers…

Despite common assertions to the contrary, government spending does not necessarily cause inflation. Whether it does so depends on the willingness of the monetary authority to help finance the government spending by printing money.  Inflationary finance, or seigniorage, can be…

The reparations movement has gained tremendous ground in recent years by offering promises of compensation to the descendants of slavery’s victims in the United States. The proposal forms the centerpiece of the New York Times 1619 Project, which is now…

As the old country proverb goes, “if it’s happened once, it’s damned-shor’ gonna happen again.”  Robert Wright’s forthcoming book, New Deals Exposed: How the Miseries of the Great Depression are Being Repeated Today, makes the convincing case that the sort…

In my first essay for AIER, back in July, 2018, I wrote: I’m a ‘directional’ libertarian. That means that if a proposed new policy or reform of an existing policy cuts spending or increases liberty, I’m for it, even if…

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its latest personal consumption expenditures price index (PCEPI) estimation on February 24. The PCEPI is the Fed’s favored measure of inflation. The latest release points to more interest rate hikes in the future. PCEPI…

Founding myths tend to be mired in obscurity, and like many other investment trends, the roots of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) philosophies are unclear.  The founding of the World Economic Forum is one origin. Stakeholder theory is another of…