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    The search for stable prices and the role of gold — CMRE

    By Prof. Forrest Capie, Official Historian (Bank of England) — How can stable prices be secured so that the economy can be allowed to deliver what it is capable of? There was a time when the question simply did not arise.  Money was tied to gold and stability prevailed. At the present time some monetary…

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    The ritual of sound-bite economics — WP

    By Robert J. Samuelson Monday, September 20, 2010; A15 It is a ritual as predictable as the tides. With every election, we descend into sound-bite economics. Rhetorical claims grow more partisan and self-serving. We are now deep in this process. President Obama’s policies either averted another Great Depression — or have crippled the recovery. These…

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    The German Miracle: Another Look

    Earlier this summer George Soros and some leading Keynesian economists criticized what they regarded as Germany’s overly strict fiscal discipline. Yet Germany’s real output expanded at a robust 9% annual rate in the second quarter, while the U.S. economy grew at an anemic 1.6% rate. So is Germany now a role model for how to…

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    “Debt, financial crisis hurt U.S. competitiveness”

    “Government debt and deficits have emerged as a chief concern among developed world economies, as a decline in tax receipts during the recession and an increase in spending on stimulus programs combined to require record levels of government borrowing. Crafting an “exit strategy” – cutting annual deficits without undermining economic growth by doing so too…

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    Prof. James M. Buchanan Is the 2010 Recipient of FSSO’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    Professor Emeritus of Economics at George Mason University and Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan received the Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders’ Lifetime Achievement Award at George Mason University on September 9th, 2010.   The event was co-hosted by Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Liberty Fund, George Mason…

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    “The Optimal Degree of Discretion in Monetary Policy”

    “How much discretion should the monetary authority have in setting its policy? This question is analyzed in an economy with an agreed-upon social welfare function that depends on the economy’s randomly fluctuating state. The monetary authority has private information about that state. Well designed rules trade off society’s desire to give the monetary authority discretion…

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    “A Comparison of Three Institutions for Monetary Policy When Central Bankers Have Private Objectives”

    “How do different institutional arrangements for the central bank perform when central bankers have private objectives and society’s objectives vary with time? This paper evaluates three benchmark monetary institutions from a constitutional perspective: (i) a contract with an inflation- or monetary target announcement; (ii) an inflation rule, (iii) the laissez faire policy, i.e., the absence of…

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    “Burry of ‘The Big Short’ Bets on Farmland, Gold After Profits on Subprime”

    “Gold is also a favored investment as central banks issue debt and devalue their currencies, he said. Governments haven’t adequately addressed the causes of the financial crisis and may be sowing the seeds for future problems by borrowing, he said. In the U.S., lawmakers showed they didn’t understand how to prevent another crisis when they…

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    How Long Until Financial Reform Kills Small Firms and Drives Big Firms to Hong Kong?

    “This week, financial advisors have been informed of some new disclosure and reporting rules. As expected, the impact of the Dodd/Frank Bill is already foreshadowing a ridiculous amount of additional paperwork – mostly silly work as one of my colleagues would call it. Financial regulation is a double-edged sword and changes were necessary, no arguments…

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    The Economic Principles of America’s Founders: Property Rights, Free Markets, and Sound Money — HF

    Published on August 30, 2010 by Thomas West — Abstract: Although there are many scholarly treatments of the Founders’ understanding of property and economics, few of them present an overview of the complete package of the principles and policies upon which they agreed. Even the fact that there was a consensus among the Founders is…