There are at least three ways used to determine the success of an economy. We deal with something abstract called … Continue reading “Economic recovery: don’t trust the GDP figures”

One frequently hears statements that the stimulus package led to a lower level of unemployment or that it contributed to … Continue reading “Stimulus success stories should be treated with scepticism”

I was shocked but delighted to learn that Elinor Ostrom has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in economics. Elinor Ostrom defies … Continue reading “Ostrom on institutions: complex solutions can spontaneously emerge”

Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson, the winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics, have much to contribute to … Continue reading “What this year’s Nobel Prize winners can teach the Conservatives”

A comment from a Woman’s Own interview in 1987 is often repeated, but rarely in context:  ”There is no such … Continue reading “There is no such thing as society”

What one does is typically built around what one believes. This is as true of economic policy as of anything … Continue reading “Understanding the business cycle”

The word is getting out that Keynesian economics is worthless as a guide to policy. Criticisms of public spending are … Continue reading “Keynes versus the classics – the true story”

In our monograph, Economic Contractions in the United States: A Failure of Government, Nathanael Smith and I evaluate and categorically … Continue reading “Obama’s road to hell”

All of us who knew Milton Friedman can attest to the importance of Rose in so many ways it is … Continue reading “Remembering Rose Friedman”