Economic theory

One of the oldest dilemmas in economic policy is protectionism or free trade. In economic history, there are no countries that adhere entirely to one of the two principles. Although with too many conditions, free trade seems to prevail in modern practice. From the point of view of economic theory, this …

Many of the policies that our and foreign leaders are proposing in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic can be described as Keynesian, named after the English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946). He was born in Cambridge, UK, his basic education was in mathematics, he listened to lectures on economics from brilliant scholars such as …

The mass psychosis about social distancing threatens to transform from a temporary measure into a completely acceptable and permanent approach to life. The idea of limiting and state control over contacts is not new. It is completely opposite to the conclusions reached by the most prominent representatives of economic science. Therefore, it is worth …

Author: Frank Shostak, Mises.org The idea that more money can boost the economy is based on the belief that money has a stimulatory effect by increasing aggregate spending. More money in people’s pockets means they can spend more, and the rest follows from that. Money, in this sense, is a means …

Author: Frank Shostak, Mises.org It is widely believed that the resources that in normal times are used to generate economic prosperity are not used to their full capacity during recessions. Some experts argue that what is needed in such situations are policies that will increase the availability of credit …

Mass industrialization under central planning In his memoirs published after the fall of the Bulgarian Communist Party regime, Todor Zhivkov wrote that his government returned the gold reserve back to Bulgaria. This is perhaps one of the most notorious lies of the communist dictator. Contrary to Zhivkov's claims, in the 1960s …

This article will be devoted to the market structures created by the neoclassical mainstream school. A retrospective of the concept of competition from the classical economists onwards will be made, and thus it will be possible to answer the question of why and how the models of perfect and imperfect competition were created. First, what is a market? Every …

Author: Kristiyan Korelov It has been more than a decade since one of the largest stock market panics in the United States occurred. Credit markets had completely stopped functioning (Gorton, 2008), and the situation was very similar to that of the panic of 1907, when banks were in massive need of liquidity and a huge part of …

Wherever we turn, deflation is always portrayed negatively, and every author is quick to present the fight against deflation as the absolute minimum for economic competence. There are two definitions of deflation: one is a “fall in the price level,” as measured by the so-called Consumer Price Index; a definition common to mainstream economists. …

Original article: Ryan McMaken, mises.org The condemnation of consumerism is ubiquitous in modern media and popular culture. Anyone who has seen “A Charlie Brown Christmas” from 1965 knows about this struggle. Every time we see Charlie Brown opt for the “authentic” Christmas – buying himself a small Christmas tree, which is natural, …