From: Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Fri Feb 26 1999 - 05:49:46 MST
Thought this might be of interest.
Daniel
From: "Mises Institute News" <news@mises.org>
Subject: What's in QJAE 1.4?
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 16:31:19 -0600
The new Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics is printed and will soon be
in the mail to subscribers.
Volume 1.4 features:
ARTICLES
Toward a General Theory of Error Cycles
Jörg Guido Hülsman (State University of New York at Buffalo)
"The purpose of this article is threefold. First, I challenge Mises's theory
[of the business cycle] by arguing that it is not generally and
apodictically valid. Therefore, it cannot be part of economic theory which,
as Mises himself stated, is a purely logical science of action. Second, I
present the outlines of a truly praxeological (and therefore general) theory
of error cycles that withstands this specific criticism. And third, I will
restated Mises's business cycle theory in the light of the new approach,
that is, it will be interpreted as an instance of a more general theory and
thus put on more solid grounds."
* * * * *
A Critical Note on Fractional-Reserve Free Banking
Jesús Huerta de Soto (Universidad Complutense, Madrid)
"Over the last fifteen years, there has been a revival of some of the
economic doctrines of the old Free-Banking School. Supporters of this
revival defend the idea that fractional-reserve free banking would not only
lead to fewer distortions and financial crises than those generated by the
current central banking system, but would also tend to eliminate economic
recessions.... Furthermore, some modern theorists of the Fractional-Reserve
Free-Banking School, led by Selgin (1987; 1988; 1994) have proposed a theory
of money supply under free banking that, using the analytical framework of
monetary equilibrium-disequilibrium developed by the Monetarist and
Keynesian Schools during the first third of this century, aims to shows that
fractional-reserve free banking would merely adjust the creation of
fiduciary media (bank notes and deposits) to public demand for them.... We
will now undertake a critical study of Selgin's theory of 'monetary
equilibrium' under free banking and, in general, of fractional-reserve free
banking."
* * * * *
On the Abuse of Patents as Economic Indicators
Pierre Desrochers (University of Montreal)
"Patents have a long history as a proxy for inventive activity. Although
these data lost ground in the early 1960s to other measures of technical
innovation, they have once again become fashionable in the last decade.
There are many reasons to justify their use, ranging from their availability
to the fact that they are by definition related to inventiveness and that
they appear to be based on an objective and only slowly changing standard.
There are, however, many empirical issues and problems in drawing inferences
from these date, some well-known, others rarely mentioned. It is the purpose
of this article to demonstrate that these drawbacks are major and that
consequently patent data give, at best, a very partial and misleading
picture of innovation and technical change."
* * * * *
Child Labor, Family Income, and the Uruguay Round
Jim Rose (Saitama University)
"It is reasonably clear that child labor falls away quickly with economic
development. However, multilateral trade agreements against child labor such
as those proposed for inclusion in the WTO (and ILO) do not promote economic
development. The contrary is more likely to be the case: they may reduce the
range of alternatives available to children and their parents as producers,
consumers, and breadwinners in developing countries."
* * * * *
BOOK REVIEWS
Central Banking in Theory and Practice by Alan S. Blinder
Reviewed by John P. Cochran
The Political Economy of Economic Freedom by Alan Peacock
Reviewed by Randall G. Holcombe
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