News Archive 2016

Unlocking the Wealth of Indian Nations

By Terry L. Anderson*

Many Europeans still view Native Americans as the “noble savage” depicted in the paintings of Karl Bodmer. Traveling with the German explorer Prince Maximillan zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 through 1834, Bodmer saw and painted American Indians with the dignity and cultural wealth they deserved. Unfortunately, that dignity and wealth have been stripped from most Native Americans by the federal government …

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Unlocking the Wealth of Indian Nations

25 years after Maastricht, the euro
is worth rescuing

GIS Statement by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Europe is commemorating the inception of its common currency, the euro, a quarter of a century ago. The goal to establish it was set forth in the Maastricht Treaty, which was drafted in December 1991 and entered into force in 1993. The currency began its virtual existence in 1999, and euro bills and coins entered circulation in 2002. The anniversary is remembered, but not celebrated …

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GIS Statement

Für etwas mehr Mut und Toleranz

Von Michael von Liechtenstein
(Finanz und Wirtschaft, 3. 12. 2016, Seite 3)

Es gibt in Europa viele bedeutende Universitäten, Think Tanks und führende Forschungsteams. Auch ist die Bereitschaft, wissenschaftliche Forschung mit viel Geld zu fördern, hoch. Sobald aber Forschungsergebnisse vorliegen, stottert der Kapitalmotor, und die Umsetzung in innovative Produkte, Dienstleistungen oder Prozesse rückt in weite Ferne, obschon das Finanzkapital vorhanden ist. Warum ist dem so? …

Weiterlesen ->
Für etwas mehr Mut und Toleranz (PDF, 3.5MB)

Wer hat Angst vor Donald Trump?

Kommentar von Prinz Michael von und zu Liechtenstein

Mit dem Sieg von Donald Trump ist der Welt für einen Moment die Luft weggeblieben. Die Wenigsten haben damit gerechnet und sind erschrocken ob der Tatsache. In den Wochen vor dem achten November setzte fast alles und jeder auf den Sieg von Hillary Clinton. Insbesondere an den Finanzmärkten hielt man das Szenario Trump weitgehend für unrealistisch. Die Mehrheit glaubte den Wahlprognosen und ging davon aus, dass ein Sieg Trumps üble Folgen für die Finanzmärkte haben würde …

Weiterlesen ->
Wer hat Angst vor Donald Trump

Jacques Rueff Conference Monaco

Réunion de haut niveau des membres du CEPROM

Le Centre d’Études prospectives pour Monaco (CEPROM) a organisé au Musée océanographique une conférence consacrée à la banqueroute de l’État providence à travers le monde. L’événement a été ouvert par S.A.S le Prince Albert II, créateur du CEPROM, et S.A.S. le Prince Michael de Liechtenstein, Président du Centre européen de la Fondation de l’économie autrichienne. …

continuer à lire ->
Rueff Conference

Americans vote for change and for stability

GIS statement
by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

The citizens of the United States have cast their votes and given their verdict after an extremely ugly campaign that took a strange turn as early as the primaries. The Democrats started almost immediately with two main candidates, which led to a less-than-impressive campaign for the nomination. The Republicans had many potential standard-bearers, but no favorite …

Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Vera Smith Lutz: Hausfrau, Ökonomin, Freigeist

von “eigentümlich frei”

Vera Smith Lutz (1912-1976) war nicht irgendjemand. Sie war eine direkte Schülerin von Friedrich August von Hayek in der London School of Economics. Bei ihm erarbeitete sie eine Dissertation im Jahr 1936: „The rationale of central banking“ …

Weiterlesen ->
Vera Smith Lutz

Das Janusgesicht der europäischen
Integration

von Pascal Salin 

Es ist unbestritten, dass die wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten und Austauschbeziehungen der Menschheit in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten eine Internationalisierung erfahren haben. Die Globalisierung ist zweifellos ein wichtiger Charakterzug unserer Zeit. Sie ist weitgehend das Ergebnis diverser Anstrengungen, den Handel zu liberalisieren …

Weiterlesen -> LI Paper, Liberales Institut, Zürich

The End of Milton
Friedman’s
Monetarism

by Dr. Emanuele Canegrati
and Dr. Keith Weiner

According to the latest data released by the European Central Bank on September 2, the outstanding amount of the central bank’s outright operations touched nearly €1.3T, with the lion’s share going to the public sector purchase program (nearly €1T). Table 1 shows the outstanding amount for every instrument used by the ECB (source: ECB website). …

Continue reading ->
Canegrati/Weiner

Cheap money policy does not fool citizens

GIS statement by
Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

The socialist idea of a planned economy is gradually being made a reality by the monetary policies of central banks, such as the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The idea is also promoted by a considerable number of western economists and politicians. The conventional wisdom within that group is that economies are driven mainly by consumption. They blissfully ignore the importance of investment and savings …

Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Jacques Rueff Conference

Jacques Rueff
Conference
in Monaco

“On the Collapse of the Welfare State – Will the End of a Daydream Turn into a Nightmare?” is the title of the I. International Jacques Rueff Conference in Monaco. It will take place on November 8, 2016 as an academic one-day co-operation, organized and hosted by CEPROM (Center of Economic Research for Monaco, MC) and ECAEF (European Center of Austrian Economics Foundation, FL) …

Continue reading ->
Rueff Conference

GIS Statement

Reducing
the role of cash …

GIS statement by
Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

It has been the intellectual fashion among commentators, politicians and some economists to claim that the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing economic downturn were caused by excessively free markets, or “turbo-capitalism.” From this they deduce that free markets foster inequality, and that inequality is the main source of today’s social and economic problems. …
Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

GIS statement

Democracy and populists: a misconception

GIS statement
by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

It is almost impossible to listen to politicians, intellectuals and media personalities lately without hearing the lament that liberal democracies are being threatened by populists, usually of an authoritarian bent. At face value this assessment seems correct. But on closer examination, doubts grow about whether Western political systems can still be called democratic and liberal. …

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GIS statement

Haberler Conference 2017

The Economics
and Politics of
Interventionism

The XIII. International Gottfried von Haberler Conference has been scheduled for May 19, 2017 and will take place at the University of Liechtenstein in Vaduz (Principality of Liechtenstein). The fact that governments aggressively intervene in and regulate our social, economic and cultural life makes the topic for this unique conference acutely appropriate: “The Economics and Politics of Interventionism” (Wenn Bürokraten Unternehmer spielen: Die Politik des Interventionismus) …

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Haberler Conference

Big Banks Big Losses

The Central Banks’ problem with the profitability of banks

by Dr Emanuele Canegrati

During the press conference, which followed the 21st July’s meeting of the ECB Governing Council held in Frankfurt, Governor Mario Draghi declared that the European banking system currently has a “future profitability problem” rather than a “solvency problem”. He related profitability imbalances afflicting European banks with the high amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) in banks’ assets but he also said that he felt “confident that strong supervision and robust regulation, and better communication, indeed, by the supervisory authorities, the EBA and all this, will still improve the situation and the perception in the rest of the world’s eyes” …

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The Central Banks’ problem

eigentuemlich frei

“eigentümlich frei”
berichtet von der
12. Haberler-
Konferenz

Am Vorabend der 12. Gottfried von Haberler Konferenz merkte der Publizist und promovierte Historiker Michael von Prollius in seiner Tischrede an, dass viele Liberale als echte Individualisten oftmals einzeln unterwegs sind. Viele Liberale würden eben – wie Sisyphos in der griechischen Mythologie – den Stein alleine den Berg heraufrollen wollen, statt die Kräfte für gemeinsame Zwecke und Ziele zu bündeln …

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eigentümlich frei

Vertragen alternde europäische Sozialstaaten Massenzuwanderung?

Essay von Prof. Dr. Erich Weede

Deutschland ist ein alterndes Land. Der Anteil der Menschen im arbeitsfähigen Alter sinkt, der Anteil der Menschen, die Renten oder Pensionen beziehen, steigt. Da liegt es nahe, mithilfe von Ausländern, die bei uns einwandern, die demografische Lücke zu schließen. Gleichzeitig wollen immer mehr Menschen nach Deutsch- land kommen: aus den armen Ländern Afrikas, aus Bürgerkriegsländern des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens, aber auch aus den Balkanländern, wo viele Menschen die Hoffnung auf einen Arbeitsplatz und die Aussicht auf auch nur bescheidenen Wohlstand aufgegeben haben. Optimisten neigen in dieser Situation dazu, auf eine Komplementarität der deutschen und der genannten ausländischen Bedürfnisse zu schließen.

Lesen sie das komplette Essay hier ->
Erich Weede (PDF, 145 kb)

The Return
of Marx and Lenin

GIS statement by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Vladimir Lenin, Russia’s Communist revolutionary, famously observed that the “best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.” Indeed, monetary instability wreaks havoc with the markets and breaks down social classes. It destroys the savings of the middle class in particular. The myth that recessions and overheating can be prevented by central banks and that cheap money stimulates consumption and investment, thus boosting the economy, has led to low to negative interest rate policies in many countries. In reality, this policy causes speculative bubbles and crashes, destroys savings and strains the affected countries’ social fabric.

Read original GIS statement here ->
The return of Marx and Lenin

Making Lemonade out of Brexit Lemons

Making Lemonade out of Brexit Lemons

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Doom and gloom! Voters in the United Kingdom have decided to leave the European Union. Markets are tumbling, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his resignation and politicians around the globe have expressed deep worry.

Leaders of the various EU countries, as well as those in Brussels, have voiced their regret and warned of Brexit’s dangers. Some have also pointed to damaging consequences for the UK, sounding very much as if they are making threats. …

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GIS Statement

Rose Wilder Lane

Rose Wilder Lane:
Die Freiheit finden

Beitrag von eigentümlich frei

Albanologinnen und Albanologen kennen sie. Die anderen nicht. Dabei war Rose Wilder Lane (1886-1968) für den US-Liberalismus mindestens so wichtig wie Ayn Rand. Denn Wilder Lane kannte die Sowjetunion. Und sie kannte Europa. Und beides gefiel ihr nicht. Das ist vielleicht übertrieben. In Europa lernte sie einen Flecken kennen, der sie überzeugte. Nordalbanien. Sie besuchte die Region nämlich in den 20er Jahren und lernte die Gesellschaft in den Bergen schätzen. Die dortigen Stämme wehrten sich mit allen Mitteln gegen den aufblühenden Zentralstaat …

Weiterlesen ->
Rose Wilder Lane

Distorting Debates Through Definitions

Daniel Issing – blog author at studentsforliberty.org – reflects on the seminar ‘Semantic Traps: Politics with Loaded Terms’. It was held on June 9-11, 2016 in Vaduz (FL).

Every libertarian is well aware of the odd name defenders of individual freedom use to label their position nowadays. In fact, the word “libertarianism” is a fairly new creation, emerging in the second half of the last century. It was coined to distinguish this position from those who call themselves “liberal”, a word that once represented a commitment to laissez faire and free markets. Today, however, it means the very opposite and is more akin to the socialist position. The redefinition of terms for political purposes was a very successful marketing coup by social democrats, particularly in the United States …

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Seminar: Semantic Traps

Don’t blow Brexit out of proportion

GIS statement
by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

For weeks, the United Kingdom’s referendum on whether it should leave the European Union, a scenario known as “Brexit,” has dominated discussion in the media. The ups and downs of the debate have had a corresponding influence on financial markets.
The excitement generated can produce shudders as strong as a Hollywood thriller might. But the threat of the UK leaving the EU is being used to distract the public from other issues.
Worrywarts furrow their brows …

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GIS Statement

Video-Bericht 12. Gottfried von Haberler Konferenz

12. Gottfried-von-Haberler-
Konferenz

Video-Bericht von 1FL-News

Zum Anschauen des 1FL-News-Berichts von der 12. Internationalen Gottfried-von-Haberler-Konferenz klicken Sie auf das Vorschaubild oder den untenstehenden Link …

Anschauen ->
Haberler-Konferenz

Conference Semantic Traps

Conference
‘Semantic Traps’

Report by George Winder

To better understand these subtle changes and to make sure to grasp their impact on the economic and political debate, the Liechtenstein Academy Foundation organized a conference at Schloss Freudenfels from June 9-11, 2016 with the title ‘Semantic Traps: Politics with Loaded Terms’. In an academically inspiring cooperation between PERC, ECAEF, and LAF we were very pleased that world leading scholars and also experts from business followed our invitations and joined us to discuss the implications of political language traps on a high academic standard with a selected group of participants. …

Continue -> Semantic Traps

Brexit eBook

Edward Aldred, Gérard BökenkampMichael Wohlgemuth

Open Europe Berlin hat seit seiner Gründung im Herbst 2012 neben ausführlicheren Forschungs-Beiträgen zu EU-relevanten Themen über 500 Blogbeiträge in drei Sprachen veröffentlicht. Seit klar wurde, dass es zu einem EU-Referendum in Großbritannien kommen würde, haben wir verstärkt über Möglichkeiten der EU-Reform und flexibleren Integrationsmodellen nachgedacht. Hierzu kamen dann Beiträge zum Verlauf der Debatte in Großbritannien sowie zu möglichen Folgen eines „Brexit“ auch für Deutschland und die EU …

Weiterlesen -> Brexit eBook

Im Zuge der
Panama-Papers

Prinz Michael von und zu Liechtenstein, in ‘WirtschaftRegional’

Ein dunkles Raunen ging durch die Öffentlichkeit, als im April die Panama Papers ihrengrossen Auftritt hatten. Die Panama Papers handeln von einem grossen Datenhaufen, den eine auf Anonymität bedachte Quelle einer panamaischen Kanzlei entwendet hat, um ihn dann einer überregionalen Tageszeitung kostenlos zukommen zu lassen. Der Auftrag: an die Öffentlichkeit bringen; das Motiv: undurchsichtig; die Story: Vermögensstrukturen über Offshore-Firmen. Eine Story, die Zündstoff bietet für spekulative und wertende Berichterstattungen und die dazu führt, dass die grenzüberschreitende Vermögensstrukturierung als etwas Negatives verurteilt und in eine unmoralische Ecke gedrängt wird …

Weiterlesen -> WirtschaftRegional

Vivien Kellems: Frau gegen Staat

Essay von Henrique Schneider

Man warf ihr vor: „Wer die USA liebt, kann nicht gegen Steuern sein.“ Sie antwortete keck: „Wer das amerikanische Volk liebt, kann nicht für Steuern sein.“ Vivien Kellems Kampf war gegen die Steuer. Und gegen andere Ungleichbehandlungen. „Unsere Freiheiten existieren, weil Leute bewusst die Gesetze gebrochen haben, wenn ihr Gewissen es so verlangte.“ Vivien Kellem (1896 – 1975) war eine erfolgreiche Geschäftsfrau und eine erfolglose Politikerin. Doch das machte ihr nichts. … Weiterlesen -> Frau gegen Staat

Buying time with other people’s money

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

The leaders of the G7, an informal bloc of industrialized democracies consisting of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, met last week in Ise-Shima, Japan. In their joint declaration, the seven heads of government, among other things, confirmed their commitment to Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity, pledging $3.6 billion to this task …

Continue reading ->
GIS Statement

Haberler-
Konferenz legt Staats-, Banken- und Demokratieversagen
offen

Forum Freie Gesellschaft

In Liechtenstein scheint die Welt noch in Ordnung zu sein. Freundliche, offene Menschen leben in einer intakten Umwelt ohne Windkraftwerke. Wohlstand und ein sauberes, wohl geordnetes Fürstentum sind für Besucher augenfällig. Es ist kein Zufall, dass in Vaduz, wo Freiheit und Verantwortung, Marktwirtschaft und Herrschaft des Rechts hoch gehalten werden (nachzulesen in „Der Staat im dritten Jahrtausend”) erfolgreich die nunmehr zwölfte Gottfried von Haberler Konferenz veranstaltet wurde. Durch das Tor zur Welt, das hier stets offen steht, strömten Freiheitsfreunde zum Austausch, zur Krisenanalyse und zur Verbreitung der besseren Ideen, die heute mehr Bedeutung denn je besitzen … Weiterlesen -> Forum Freie Gesellschaft

Unkonventionelle Geldpolitik:
Der Ausstieg
ist machbar

Peter A. Fischer, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Jeder Zentralbanker kennt die Taylor-Rule und John Taylor kennt die meisten Zentralbanker. Der US-Ökonom ist besorgt über die gegenwärtige «strategiefreie» Geldpolitik, hat aber eine Lösung parat. Schon Ludwig von Mises hat davor gewarnt. Der zusammen mit Friedrich A. von Hayek zu den Gründervätern der liberalen «österreichischen Schule» zählende Ökonom schrieb 1923, Regierungen und Bürokratien wollten mehr ausgeben, als sie den Stimmbürgern über Steuern zumuteten. Deshalb würden sie sich überschulden und suchten dann ihren Schuldenberg über eine hohe Inflation oder durch finanzielle Repression wieder loszuwerden …

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NZZ, 21. Mai 2016

Haberler Konferenz

XII. Gottfried von Haberler
Konferenz

wirtschaftszeit.at, 25. 5. 2016

Vaduz (FL) Internationale Vertreter aus Politik, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Medien sind zur zwölften Internationalen Gottfried von Haberler Konferenz nach Liechtenstein gekommen. Mit dem Thema «Über Zentralbanken, Schuldenpolitik und den geprellten Bürger» beleuchtete der die Konferenz ausrichtende liberale Think Tank European Center of Austrian Economics Foundation (ECAEF) geldpolitische Massnahmen und ihre Folgen.

Weiterlesen -> wirtschaftszeit.at

Raffaelo de Mucci

Excellence is Ordinary

by Raffaele De Mucci

To be sure, over the last years we have witnessed – especially in the media – an increasingly indiscriminate and misleading use of the term “excellence”, which is usually seen as the sole route towards modernization and social, political and cultural development. Yet it takes some qualifications and a bit of caution, if we are to employ the concept as it is largely employed nowadays, that is, to indicate situations or personalities which rank above what we consider the “élite” – something even beyond the logic of “meritocracy”, which is solely applied to competitive aristocracies whose members possess particular knowledge and skills which grant them some sort of supremacy … Continue reading -> Semantic Traps

Semantic Traps

Economic riders
of the apocalypse

GIS statement by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have already met twice this year to discuss the world economic situation. After the February meeting in Shanghai, they released a cautiously optimistic communique congratulating themselves for “important achievements” in bolstering growth and stability. This was revised to an even more optimistic assessment of global recovery at the April 14-15 meeting in Washington … Continue reading -> GIS statement

Semantic Traps

Semantic Traps:
Politics with Loaded Terms

PERC, Liechenstein Academy, and ECAEF have teamed up to organize a seminar on “Semantic Traps: Politics with Loaded Terms”. Details including the agenda are listed below. If you are interested in finding out more about the seminar, contact co-directors, Terry Anderson or Kurt Leube. Seminar Date: June 9-11, 2016. Location: Freudenfels Castle at Lake Constance, Eschenz, Switzerland …

Continue reading -> Semantic Traps

A Theory of
Conspiracy

by Raffaele De Mucci

The attacks in Charlie Hebdo (2015), the shutdown of MH17 in Ukraine (2014), the death of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela (2013) – all results of collective hidden conspiracies? The reconstruction of an event through the use of a conspiracy hypothesis can give life to the logical process of counterfactual judgment. Raffaele De Mucci published a Theory of Conspiracy … Continue reading -> Theory of Conspiracy

The Panama
Papers: Mystery, Hypocrisy …

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Privacy is a valuable thing. An anonymous source has provided millions of documents revealing the private financial dealings of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca’s clients to an international consortium of investigative journalists. Those clients no longer enjoy privacy. The names of famous people mentioned in the documents were splashed across headlines around the world.
Continue reading -> GIS Statements

Schadens-
ersatzpflicht
für Politiker

von Carlos A. Gebauer

Plädoyer für eine Schadensersatzpflicht demokratischer Politiker. Warum Abgeordnete gegenüber ihren Wählern juristisch haften und persönlich ersatzpflichtig gemacht werden sollten, wenn sie vorsätzlich oder fahrlässig Schäden verursachen … Weiterlesen -> Hauptstadtbrief

Liberales Institut Zürich

Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen

von Pierre Bessard

Die Forderung, auf Kosten anderer zu leben, entspricht bestenfalls der Laune eines Kindes, das die Ethik der Reziprozität noch nicht verinnerlicht hat. Zu den zurecht verwirrendsten Reformideen, die gegenwärtig zirkulieren, zählt die eines “bedingungslosen Grundeinkommens”. Es geht dabei um nichts Geringeres als die monatliche Zahlung eines ausreichenden Geldbetrags “zur Deckung der Grundbedürfnisse” an jedermann … Weiterlesen -> LI-Papers

vernon smith prize 2016

Vernon Smith Prize:
Call for Papers!

Our 9th International Vernon Smith Prize for the advancement of Austrian Economics is in full gear and calling for papers now:

|- 1st Prize EUR 4,000 -|
|- 2nd Prize EUR 3,000 -|
|- 3rd Prize EUR 2,000 -|

Direct Democracy versus Representative Democracy. Cost and Benefits for the Citizenry! ECAEF invites papers on this topic which meet the following requirements … Continue Reading -> VSP 9

The first crime is the hardest

The first crime is the hardest

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

World-famous British crime novelist Agatha Christie was an outstanding observer of human nature. In Murder in Mesopotamia, her sleuth hero, Hercule Poirot, makes this astute observation: “There are things that my profession has taught me. And one of these things, the most terrible thing, is this: murder is a habit.” The implication is that after one commits a crime for the first time, doing it again becomes easier. Looking at the present behavior of governments and institutions in Europe, one is reminded of the wisdom of this insight … Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Who is afraid of Donald Trump?

GIS statement by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Europe and the world are watching Donald Trump’s behavior in the United States presidential campaign with amazement. He has shocked his country’s media elites, who are more accustomed than their European counterparts to harsh talk and mudslinging between candidates. His aggressive rhetoric and erratic tactics are a novelty for even seasoned followers of U.S. politics … Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Gegen Terror: EZB will grosse
Banknoten abschaffen

Liewo-Interview mit Prinz Michael von und zu Liechtenstein

Im Kampf gegen den Terror will die EZB grössere Banknoten abschaffen, zum anderen eine Bargeld-Obergrenze einführen. Dem ganzen steht der Präsident des Think Tanks ECAEF, Prinz Michael von und zu Liechtenstein, kritisch gebenüber. Er wagt im Gespräch mit der Liewo* eine Einschätzung der Gefahrenlage. Lesen sie den gesamten Beitrag hier -> Liewo-Interview

The Political Value of Gold

GIS statement by Gisela von Liechtenstein.

People and economies have always needed means of exchange that represent value and set prices, even in a barter economy. These means of exchange had to have a trusted value and as economies evolved, precious metals, silver and gold served this purpose … Continue reading -> GIS Statement

8th International Vernon Smith Prize: Essays

Vaduz (FL), February 29, 2016. Essays of the winners of the 8th International Vernon Smith Prize 2015 have now been posted, since all three authors have defended their papers at a special festive event on February 15, 2016 in Vaduz, the Principality of Liechtenstein … Continue reading -> VSP 2015

Liechtenstein Academy

Understanding how Society Works

An Introduction to the Austrian School of Economics (Course)

“Understanding how society works” features a comprehensive innovative curriculum in Austrian Economics, LIECHTENSTEIN ACADEMY tries to get entrepreneurs, individuals and key opinion leaders in politics, the media, and academia interested.

Continue Reading -> Liechtenstein Academy

Liechtenstein Academy

Economies need structural reform, not helicopter money

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, admitted at a press conference during the G20 summit in Shanghai that monetary measures have a limited scope for stimulating the economy. Structural reforms, though they hurt, are necessary. GIS experts have repeated this many times over the past few years, but at least the PBoC is willing to admit it officially … Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Jacques Rueff Conference

Jacques Rueff Conference in Monaco

The Collapse of the Welfare State – Will the End of a Daydream Turn into a Nightmare? The I. International Jacques Rueff Conference in Monaco will be an academic one-day Conference, organized and hosted by CEPROM (Center of Economic Research for Monaco, MC) in co-operation with ECAEF (European Center of Austrian Economics Foundation, FL) … Continue reading -> Rueff Conference

GIS Statement

Reducing the role of cash will destroy the public’s trust in money

Money facilitates trade and serves as remuneration for work. It also stores value. Money that is earned but not spent becomes savings, which can provide capital for investment. The effort expended in providing labor, services, or entrepreneurial activities, as well as the need for goods and investment, form the basis for the value we place in money, writes Prince Michael of Liechtenstein … Continue Reading -> GIS Statement

Monetary Voodoo

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

The governors of the European Central bank met on December 2 and decided to make a further small reduction in already negative lending rates, while extending their bond purchasing program by another six months to March 2017. In its unsuccessful way, the ECB is trying to resolve a trilemma … Continue reading -> GIS Statements

Terrorism and the money-trail mirage

by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

French investigators suspect that the perpetrators of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris used prepaid debit cards to cover their expenses. New measures will be proposed by the European Commission next month to make it harder to finance such operations … Continue Reading -> GIS Statements

Semantic Traps

Semantic Traps:
Politics with Loaded Terms

PERC, Liechenstein Academy, and ECAEF have teamed up to organize a seminar on “Semantic Traps: Politics with Loaded Terms”. Details including the agenda are listed below. If you are interested in finding out more about the seminar, contact co-directors, Terry Anderson or Kurt Leube. Seminar Date: June 9-11, 2016. Location: Freudenfels Castle at Lake Constance, Eschenz, Switzerland … Continue reading -> Semantic Traps

VSP 2015

Vernon Smith Prize Winners

Vaduz (FL), Jan 24, 2016. The international jury of the VSP finally came to a conclusion and is delighted to announce the winners: The 1. Prize goes to Daniel W. Issing (Germany), the 2. Prize to Demelza Hays (USA), and the 3. Prize to Mats Ekmann (Finnland). Heartfelt congratulations! Their profiles and essays will be posted after the winners have defended their papers at a special festive event on February 15, 2016 in Vaduz … Continue Reading -> VSP 2015

A Prince on Politics

A Prince on Politics

by Kurt Leube

“The State in the Third Millennium” is a remarkable work. Elegantly written by a historian who is simultaneously a head of state, politician, successful international businessman, world famous art collector, and leading philanthropist, it will doubtless provoke some frank debates. After much research and historical study of the concepts, purposes, and limitations of the state, Prince Hans-Adam II, the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, has published a work of critical importance … Continue reading -> A Prince on Politics

Migration labor and the welfare state

Migration, labor and the welfare state

The great economist Milton Friedman, a proponent of migration, once said that you can have either open borders or a welfare state, but you cannot have both. Immigrants can be accepted in large numbers as long as they work and are self-sustaining. If they are not, they become premature recipients of welfare, without ever having contributed, writes Prince Michael of Liechtenstein … Continue Reading -> GIS

A Flood of Immigrants

by Pedro Schwartz

Quite some years ago, when I was a very liberal young man writing a doctoral dissertation on John Stuart Mill, I asked my supervisor Lionel Robbins what he thought of the restrictions newly introduced on immigration by the then Conservative government. Robbins answered with another question: … Continue reading -> A Flood of Immigrants

In memoriam Juan Carlos Cachanosky

by Kurt Leube

With the untimely death of Juan Carlos Cachanosky (13. 10. 1953 – 31. 12. 2015) we have not only lost a very dear and reliable friend. We have also lost a brilliantly insightful and resolute free-market scholar who managed to get so many things right and who could explain real world economic behavior with incision and clarity … Continue Reading -> Juan Carlos Cachanosky

Europas Wertegemeinschaft ist ein Wieselwort

Europas Wertegemeinschaft ist ein Wieselwort

von Frank Schäffler

Europa droht zu zerfallen – und die EU-Kommission beschäftigt sich mit einer Kerzen-Verordnung und einem Kerzen-Verbot. Aber geredet wird von europäischen Werten. Weiter können Sprüche und Wirklichkeit nicht auseinander-fallen. Erst durch konkrete Institutionen werden europäische Werte fassbar … Weiterlesen -> Europas Wertegemeinschaft

Let Rwandans decide

Let Rwandans decide whether to stick with success

In a referendum last week on their country’s constitution, the people of Rwanda overwhelmingly approved an amendment that changed presidential term limits. The new rules mean that 58-year-old President Paul Kagame can run again for the presidency in 2017, and could theoretically serve until 2034, writes Prince Michael of Liechtenstein in his latest GIS publication … Continue Reading -> GIS

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Populism and government greed jeopardise rule of law

In an alarming trend, individuals, companies and institutions that have committed no crime are increasingly finding themselves subject to public witch-hunts on ill-defined ‘ethics’ charges. The practice is gaining traction in several countries, though it remains unclear who has the authority to rule what behaviour is ethical and what is not, writes Prince Michael of Liechtenstein in his latest GIS publication …

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Haberler Conference 2016

Haberler Conference 2016 | Program revealed

The conference program for the XII. International Gottfried von Haberler Conference 2016 has been revealed. Topic: “Central Banks, Fiscal Policy and the Betrayed Citizen” – German translation: “Über Zentralbanken, Schuldenpolitik und den geprellten Bürger”. Find more details about each of the three planned sessions right here:

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Ukraine: Light at the End of the Tunnel

Anthony de Jasay Prize Winner

Not only in celebration of Anthony de Jasay’s 90th birthday, but foremost in appreciation of his seminal and exceptional works on defending individual liberty by challenging the legitimacy of states and unchecked ‘democratic’ governments, the ECAEF has established the “ECAEF Prize for Thinkers for the 3rd Millennium”. …

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After Paris, Europe needs to face reality in the Middle East

After Paris, Europe needs to face reality in the Middle East

The world has witnessed several ghastly terrorist attacks in the past month. All are believed to have been carried out by a militant Islamist movement that calls itself Islamic State, or by its affiliates, writes Prince Michael of Liechtenstein. On October 10, two suicide bombers killed 102 peace demonstrators and injured more than 400 in front of the central railway station in Ankara, the Turkish capital. On October 31, a Russian airliner … Continue Reading -> GIS

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Austrian Economics Center | Promoting a free, responsible and prosperous society (Austria)
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Buchausgabe.de | Buecher fuer den Liberalismus (Germany)
Cato Institute | policy research foundation (USA)
Center for the New Europe | research foundation (Belgium)
Forum Ordnungspolitik
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George Mason University
Heartland Institute
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Hoover Institution
Istituto Bruno Leoni
IEA
Institut Václava Klause
Instytut Misesa
IREF | Institute of Economical and Fiscal Research
Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise | an interdivisional Institute between the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and the Whiting School of Engineering
Liberales Institut
Liberty Fund
Ludwig von Mises Institute
LUISS
New York University | Dept. of Economics (USA)
Stockholm Network
Students for Liberty
Swiss Mises Institute
Universidad Francisco Marroquin
Walter-Eucken-Institut