Why Money?

Charles W. Baird looks at Menger and Alchian's explanations of the origin of money. There is not only the cost of exchange partners, but also the cost of acertaining goods' attributes.

The Perils of Base Money

Leland Yeager warned that the real danger of modern monetary policy is that money is not tied to any physical anchor. Read his article in the Review of Austrian Economics.

Inflation

John Lonski, Moody's Chief Economist, interprets the inflation data:

Is the Wealth Effect Oversold?

One reason economists are worried about falling housing prices is the wealth effect: that changes in the value of what households own affect their consumption spending. As house prices drop, household wealth falls, pulling consumption down.
Bill Wheaton, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thinks the wealth effect is overdone. Certainly the loss of intermediate demand and employment from the 56% drop in homebuilding is not overdone.

Columbia's Economic Transformation

Do corporate tax rates matter?

The Leading IndicatorsAre Down

On Thursday, the Conference Board announced its index of Leading indicators fell three tens of a percent from January to February. It has fallen five straight months and is a percent and a half below its level six months ago. More evidence we are in a recession.

How Deep Will the Recession Be?

What The Fed Did Last Tuesday

Bill Gross, who manages more money in bonds than anyone else in the world, looks at the Federal Open Market Committee's decision last Tuesday to cut its target for the Federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.25%.

What The Fed Did Last Tuesday