Economy News

from AIER

Established 1999

New England, USA

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Fiscal Policy

  • •

    “Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi’s Keynesian Black Box”

    “In a recent Wall Street Journal column, Princeton economist Alan Blinder wonders why 64 percent of Americans do not believe the $849 billion “fiscal stimulus” bill “saved or created” many jobs. “The main reason,” he explains, “appears to be that the White House’s January 2009 forecast was too optimistic — projecting, for example, an unemployment…

  • •

    “Inflation and Deficit Spending Revisited”

    “In a recent article in this journal, Giffin, Macomber, and Berry (1981), hereafter referred to as GMB, attempt to test the hypothesis that larger deficits cause increases in the money supply and hence inflation. To test the debt monetization hypothesis, they analyze U.S. data for the period 1959-79. Finding no evidence that debt monetization causes…

  • •

    “Budget Deficits and Inflation”

    “The sharp rise in the rate of inflation in 1973, after two years of diminishing rates, was a great surprise to many. What was the primary cause? Many rea-sons have been advanced to explain this change, some of them logical, and some not. Most of the explanations are based, in one way or another, on…

  • •

    “Some Unpleasant Monetarist Arithmetic”

    “In his presidential address to the American Economic Association (AEA), Milton Friedman (1968) warned not to expect too much from monetary policy. In particular, Friedman argued that monetary policy could not permanently influence the levels of real output, unemployment, or real rates of return on securities. However, Friedman did assert that a monetary authority could…

  • •

    Summer Reading III

    According to Reinhart and Rogoff, “for the advanced economies during 1800-2008, the picture that emerges is one of serial banking crises.” In This Time is Different, the authors bring us up to the present by examining the history of banking crises. Banking crises are not only frequent , but often accompanied by other kind of…

  • •

    The Great Reflation

    “The financial crisis, the speculative bubble leading up to it, and the aftermath have proven once again just how true the old saying is that if you want to know what’s going on in the financial system, watch the banks. The banking system has always been the centerpiece of liquidity flows, and financial markets are…

  • •

    “An Old Battlefront Returns in War on Euro”

    “In 1998, four renegade German professors tried to stop the introduction of the euro with a legal challenge in Germany’s highest court. Now, 12 years later, they are fighting against a German bailout for Greece — and this time around, people are listening to them. Wilhelm Hankel is sitting on the stage at a meeting…

  • •

    Debt to GDP: Who Really Carries the Burden?

    Over recent months, much has been made of the rapid increase in public debt levels. Protests against excess government spending in the U.S. and severe economic problems in debt-laden European countries have forced the federal debt to the forefront of national issues. There are, of course, those who attempt to justify the massive debt—if we…

  • •

    Highlighting Hayek

    Is the world finally looking to the ideas of Friedrich Hayek? It appears that the intellectual debate may be heading in a new direction. Stimulus spending has done practically nothing to reduce unemployment or spur growth; instead it has merely inflated the deficit and enraged taxpayers. Instead of falling into a vicious cycle of government…

  • •

    Keynes vs. Hayek: The Great Debate Continues

    The debates raging over what policies will pull the U.S. economy out of its Great Recession replicate one that occurred during the Great Depression. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Ebeling, a professor of economics at Northwood University, we have compelling and concise documentary evidence. He has unearthed letters to the Times of London from…

  • •

    “Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi’s Keynesian Black Box”

    “In a recent Wall Street Journal column, Princeton economist Alan Blinder wonders why 64 percent of Americans do not believe the $849 billion “fiscal stimulus” bill “saved or created” many jobs. “The main reason,” he explains, “appears to be that the White House’s January 2009 forecast was too optimistic — projecting, for example, an unemployment…

  • •

    “Inflation and Deficit Spending Revisited”

    “In a recent article in this journal, Giffin, Macomber, and Berry (1981), hereafter referred to as GMB, attempt to test the hypothesis that larger deficits cause increases in the money supply and hence inflation. To test the debt monetization hypothesis, they analyze U.S. data for the period 1959-79. Finding no evidence that debt monetization causes…

  • •

    “Budget Deficits and Inflation”

    “The sharp rise in the rate of inflation in 1973, after two years of diminishing rates, was a great surprise to many. What was the primary cause? Many rea-sons have been advanced to explain this change, some of them logical, and some not. Most of the explanations are based, in one way or another, on…

  • •

    “Some Unpleasant Monetarist Arithmetic”

    “In his presidential address to the American Economic Association (AEA), Milton Friedman (1968) warned not to expect too much from monetary policy. In particular, Friedman argued that monetary policy could not permanently influence the levels of real output, unemployment, or real rates of return on securities. However, Friedman did assert that a monetary authority could…

  • •

    Summer Reading III

    According to Reinhart and Rogoff, “for the advanced economies during 1800-2008, the picture that emerges is one of serial banking crises.” In This Time is Different, the authors bring us up to the present by examining the history of banking crises. Banking crises are not only frequent , but often accompanied by other kind of…

  • •

    The Great Reflation

    “The financial crisis, the speculative bubble leading up to it, and the aftermath have proven once again just how true the old saying is that if you want to know what’s going on in the financial system, watch the banks. The banking system has always been the centerpiece of liquidity flows, and financial markets are…

  • •

    “An Old Battlefront Returns in War on Euro”

    “In 1998, four renegade German professors tried to stop the introduction of the euro with a legal challenge in Germany’s highest court. Now, 12 years later, they are fighting against a German bailout for Greece — and this time around, people are listening to them. Wilhelm Hankel is sitting on the stage at a meeting…

  • •

    Debt to GDP: Who Really Carries the Burden?

    Over recent months, much has been made of the rapid increase in public debt levels. Protests against excess government spending in the U.S. and severe economic problems in debt-laden European countries have forced the federal debt to the forefront of national issues. There are, of course, those who attempt to justify the massive debt—if we…

  • •

    Highlighting Hayek

    Is the world finally looking to the ideas of Friedrich Hayek? It appears that the intellectual debate may be heading in a new direction. Stimulus spending has done practically nothing to reduce unemployment or spur growth; instead it has merely inflated the deficit and enraged taxpayers. Instead of falling into a vicious cycle of government…

  • •

    Keynes vs. Hayek: The Great Debate Continues

    The debates raging over what policies will pull the U.S. economy out of its Great Recession replicate one that occurred during the Great Depression. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Ebeling, a professor of economics at Northwood University, we have compelling and concise documentary evidence. He has unearthed letters to the Times of London from…