economics

  “Die Ordnung der Gesellschaft ist das Ergebnis menschlichen Handelns, nicht aber menschlichen Entwurfs”.  F.A. Hayek Not knowing the future is a dreadful bother. It creates all kinds of difficulties for financial economists. It does, however, make watching cricket matches more interesting. Lack of certainty about the future is, in fact, one of the primary […]

  Gottfried von Haberler’s contributions to international trade theory and policy have been disruptive and yet the works written by one of most prominent Austrian economists are unfairly undervalued when analysing modern events in world economy, such as the “new protectionism”. Gottfried von Haberler’s theory remains a cornerstone of modern international trade. His simple and […]

  Uncertainty over tariffs and federal spending have characterized the first few months of the second Donald Trump presidency. Since taking office, the Trump administration has instituted various tariffs targeting Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union and countries worldwide. This saga has led to speculation about the prospect of an “External Revenue Service,” “to collect tariffs, duties […]

  Tariffs are among President Trump’s most controversial initiatives. Yes, tariffs – those deplorable taxes that apply to all, benefit few, and are despised universally by every living economist and approximately 99% of the dead ones. Across the major schools of economic thought, economists (notoriously) agree on little. Tariffs are one of the few exceptions. […]

  Rather unusually, the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded yesterday in equal parts to three professors living in the USA: Daron Acemoglu (MIT), his colleague Simon Johnson (MIT) and James A. Robinson from the University of Chicago. This honorable and prestigious award was given to them for their research into the institutions that […]