Adam Smith Institute blog

Austrian Business Cycles and Neutral Money

sally — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:02:20 +0000

The proponents of Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) are often very critical of the diagnosis offered by monetarism: that sharp and substantial contractions in the money supply are the cause of major recessions. Rather, according to ABCT, a recession is a painful medicine curing the disease monetary policy already caused, as Professor Jesús Huerta de Soto, Spain’s leading Austrian economist, explains:

Putting bankers in jail cannot prevent mistakes

sam — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:53:31 +0000

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has published its report on how to make bankers act less irresponsibly. Among other things, it recommends making bankers criminally liable for reckless professional conduct. “Too many bankers”, it says, “especially at the most senior levels, have operated in an environment with insufficient personal responsibility”.

What kinds of inequality should we be worried about?

sally — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:01:01 +0000

Chart of the week: Target 2 imbalances

sally — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:01:01 +0000

Summary: Target 2 imbalances narrow but remain wide

What the chart shows: The chart shows that Target 2 imbalances, while narrower than a year ago, remain wide – and have stopped narrowing

If only Britain had joined the Euro?

sally — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:42:18 +0000

That high frequency trading we need the financial transactions tax to save us from

tim — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:00:30 +0000

One of the arguments put forward by hte Robin Hood, or financial transactions, tax people is that high frequency trading is the work of the very Devil and it needs to be curbed by that tax. HFT is that algorithmic trading that takes place in nanoseconds as computers and algobots play with each other.

Yes indeedy, tax cuts do grow the economy

tim — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:00:30 +0000

An interesting new paper looks at the effects of tax cuts on the UK economy. The finding won't surprise you and me but it's interesting to wave at others:

Do technological advances destroy jobs without creating new ones?

sally — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:06:32 +0000

The top three myths about immigration

sally — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:38:18 +0000

Preston Byrne says legal aid has to go

sally — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:01:01 +0000

Over at the New Statesman, Adam Smith Institute Fellow Preston Byrne argues that the state needs to extricate itself from legal aid, in order to allow pricing to operate more rationally and create a competitive market: