Macroeconomic Policy

An introduction to comparing between realistic alternatives in government and in markets.

Why does society accept certain items to buy and sell while buying and selling other items such as organs or votes makes people uncomfortable? James Stacey Taylor discusses the idea of allowing markets wherever there is a demand.  

Utilitarianism, human organ sales, and price gouging after natural disasters are discussed in this podcast interview with Debra Satz, as she argues that some markets cannot operate freely and morally at the same time. Why Some Things Should Not Be…

Confusing a majority rule and a democracy can be dangerous. Munger explains that if a majority is allowed to infringe on the rights of an individual, then the majority wins while everyone loses.

Why is the NRA so powerful? Mike Munger explains that in politics, incentives and group size are important for special interest groups to focus and concentrate power.

An introduction to the branch of political economy called public choice theory, which takes the same principles that economists use to analyze agents' actions in the marketplace and applies them to agents' actions in collective decision making. Public Choice Theory…

A walkthrough of the surprisingly dense economic arguments put forward by Keynes and Hayek in “Fear the Boom and the Bust." Keynes vs. Hayek With Poll (Text)

“Once you put down the flags and shut off all the television ads with their Heartland, apple-pie America imagery, the truth of the car business is that it transcends national boundaries.” A look into the parts that go into “American”…

An article examining the many problems that come with the government convincing Texas to borrow money and spend it on things that they were not intending on purchasing in the first place. Free Money From the Government Has Hurt Texas…

Corporations may hand over money when paying taxes, but in reality, consumers are the ones who are losing money, so when taxes on corporations are raised, it takes the power away from ordinary people and gives it away to politicians.…

Each year more and more high-skilled immigrants are flocking to the United States to fill occupations in medicine, engineering, technology, and architecture. Davies discusses why this is occurring, how these high-skilled immigrants are affecting our economy, and how we should…

A look at the gimmicks and loopholes present in our tax code that give politicians an advantage while leaving their constituents with less money in their pockets. How Pols Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Inpenetrable Tax Code(Text)

For many big businesses, more regulation equals less competition. The one who truly suffers when more regulation is put into place is the consumer. How Big Business Benefits from Regulation (Text)

“Combating the negative effects of alcohol by turning markets over to state control makes for a pleasant fairy tale, but data show that it works about as well as a magic wand.” Ignore Alcohol-Sales Fairy Tale (Text)

How can we make the economic playing field more fair? It is not an easy solution to find, but increasing government regulation will actually make the rampant cronyism we see today even worse.

A short film that follows a former soccer coach who aims to discover what it is really like for workers in a Nike sweatshop factory.

Ben Powell discusses the reality that third-world workers face in making decisions about working in sweatshops and the realistic ways we can help those workers without endangering their well-being.

Are sweatshops really as bad as they seem? Matt Zwolinski explains the top reasons why sweatshops are actually beneficial to the poor, and why forcing them to shut down will do much more harm than good.

Trade can be a critically important tool for conserving wealth. Both parties can produce what they need while using fewer resources.

“Trading is a positive sum game" -- when parties cooperate during production, both they and society as a whole will be better off.

Art Carden explains how trade creates wealth. With trading, both parties involved in a trade will end up better off than they were before.

An examination of how markets actually create wealth and empower individuals.

Less than 10% of Africa’s land is formally owned, and this lack of property rights in African countries is stunting economic growth and making it difficult for businesses to expand. Breathing Life Into Dead Capital (Text)

Many people see venture capitalists as greedy and opportunistic, but it is important to understand the good that they do for business. By investing in entrepreneurs who have good ideas but lack the business acumen to succeed, venture capitalists help…

Despite popular belief, property rights are not just benefitting the wealthiest people; in fact, property rights actually help all people regardless of wealth.

A discussion of the problems with No Child Left Behind, our education system’s falling international reputation, the unpreparedness of students entering college, and our higher education loan system, and possible solutions to the many problems our education system faces today.

An explanation of how economic freedom not only benefits large institutions, but also small ones and the poorest members of society. Econ Freedom: Good for Parish/Good for Poor (Text)

Mark LeBar breaks down the different kinds of normative equality and the conflicts we face in trying to embrace all of the different facets of equality.

A debate between economics professor Steve Horwitz and philosophy professor Jeffery Reiman touching on economic freedom, equality, standards of living, and the consequences of the inequality we see today in the United States.

A brief look at income inequality levels around the world and how those numbers have changed over the last 30 years.

Chris Freiman explains how the use of private property as a means of organizing our economic system relates to justice.

“Charity can only be charity when it is voluntary. Coerced acts, no matter how beneficial or well-intentioned, cannot be moral. If we force people to give to the poor, we have stripped away the moral component, reducing charity to mere…

Steve Horwitz exposes the flaws in data showing the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.

Cutting taxes allows for economic growth, and because the government cannot truly control tax revenues, looking to tax hikes in order to solve our deficit problems is not a viable solution. Forget About Tax Hikes & Focus on Growing Economy…

An examination of the top marginal income tax rates and the top capital gains tax rates over the last fifty years.

Davies explores the option of taxing the rich to fix the deficit, and finds that this is not a realistic solution, considering the size of the deficit and the number of wealthy people in the United States.

Due to the fact that spending and revenue intake are totally out of proportion with each other, a complete restructuring of government may be necessary to regain control of the national debt and deficit.

An brief economic analysis and argument that centers on the fact that though government has actually increased revenue in the last fifty years, spending still soars out of proportion with this intake.

The many tax gimmicks the government uses to alter our own perspective on the taxes we pay. Taxes, Deficits, Debts, and Gimmicks (Audio, Slides)

At the rate the federal government spends, it runs out of money on July 31. What programs should be cut to balance the budget and fund the government for the remaining five months of the year? Cutting NASA might buy…

Davies illustrates the size the U.S. federal government's debt and unfunded obligations by comparing them with the size of the GDP of countries around the world.

Part five of Friedman's Donahue interview.

Part four of Friedman's Donahue interview.

Part three of Friedman's Donahue interview.

Part two of Friedman's Donahue interview.

Friedman explores the idea of market economies and command economies in this classic interview with Phil Donahue.

“By holding interest rates at or near zero for so long, the Fed has been forcing seniors to switch to riskier investments like stocks and mutual funds just to maintain their standards of living.” Ben Bernanke's War on Senior Citizens…

Exploring the rhetoric many politicians use to claim the economy is creating jobs. Jobs, Lies, and Unemployment Rate (Text)

Davies explains that lower rates don't mean more spending; they mean more spending now rather than in the future and that the best interest rate is the market rate.

Davies explains that Increasing the amount of money available for goods and services will only increase prices: this is inflation.

Examining the "Washington Monument Syndrome," a rhetorical ploy used by politicians when spending comes under scrutiny. Washington Monument Syndrome (Text)

Friedman connects the dots between stimulus spending and inflation, then explains why the cure for inflation is a hard medicine.

Each year the Tax Foundation announces “Tax Freedom Day”, or the day that you made enough money to pay all your federal taxes. But what about the day that all that federal tax revenue runs out? Happy Deficit Day, America!…

Explains why emergency stimulus spending never is effective and what lawmakers should focus on instead for more permanent solutions. Why Spending Stimulus Plans Fail (Text)

Antony Davies examines evidence shows that there is no connection between federal spending and economic improvement; instead, stimulus money only increases government debt.

Milton Friedman argues that the Great Depression was not, despite common belief, produced by a failure of private enterprise.

Historian Stephen Davies examines three common myths many believe about the Great Depression.