Peter J. Boettke is one of the most influential members of what one might call the “fifth generation” of Austrian economists—an academic cohort that is currently at the peak of its intellectual power and influence, both in this country and around the world.(1) Austrian economics, as a school of thought, holds that the free market […]
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Inflation is the watchword of the day. But what does inflation mean, and how is it likely to impact you? A perfect storm of events--including hiccups in the supply chain, shortages of essential goods, rising fuel prices and the economic fallout of the pandemic, as well as the various corrective tactics used to manage this fallout--is causing a spike in consumer pricing across the board. And as prices continue to rise, anxiety over inflation has spiraled into full-fledged fear. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) seems to bear this fear out, as do recent indications from the Federal Reserve that interest rate hikes will be coming in the New Year. But is actual inflation or just a short-term spike in consumer prices?
8 min read
I grew up with an interest in economics because my father was an economics professor. One of the lights in his intellectual firmament was Milton Friedman (1912-2006), who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1976 for his work “in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and for his demonstration of the […]
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