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Private road

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A '''private road''' is a road owned and maintained by a private individual, organization, or company rather than by a government.{{Fact|Summary taken over from Wikipedia as it seems the best one around.}}

{{See also|Private infrastructure}}

==Private roads in the UK==
===First private roads===
With the fall of Rome, Europe moved into a period dominated by very localized and largely self-sufficient agricultural communities. Direct knowledge of the process of development and maintenance of roads in Britain before the twelfth or thirteenth century is almost non-existent, but at least some parts of the road networks were in good condition is evidenced by the records of military marches, some averaging as much as fifty miles per day. There is substantial evidence that the kings and their courts "moved incessantly around the kingdom, occasionally with the army", requiring passable roads to carry a "very sizable company." The vast majority of road use involved local people traveling short distances, to markets, churches and courts. There was need for lanes to provide access to holdings in the fields; to take loaded wagons to the windmill or to the watermill in the meadows; to reach the woodland with its timber, its fruit and its pannage for swine; to take the flock to the common pastures and heaths. The course of the roads with a purpose so narrow would be determined only by local needs.

The land over which a road passed actually "belonged" to the owner of the land on either side of the road, so if a road was abandoned (e.g., because travelers began beating a different path), it would revert to that landowner. However, under Anglo-Saxon custom, one of the rights to part of the land (i.e., the road) was assigned to the extended community as an easement: "the right of passage was a communal right". Indeed, the concept of the "highway" initially referred to this customary right of passage rather than to the roadway or path itself. Individuals had customary obligations to other members of a community to remove any impediments to travel such as overhanging trees, hedges, logs, and perhaps water, through a drainage ditch, not to build roads. In fact, the word "road" apparently comes form the Anglo-Saxon word "ridan" (to ride) which may derive from the verb "rid," meaning to free or clear away any obstruction. Third, the members had a customary obligation to make sure that all members maintained the roadways over their lands. The actual need for enforcement was rare, however, due to the reciprocities that existed within these close-knit communities.<ref name="Benson_Roads">Bruce L. Benson. [http://www.coss.fsu.edu/economics/sites/coss.fsu.edu.economics/files/users/bbenson/roads_public.pdf "Are Roads Public Goods, Club Goods, Private Goods, or Common Pools?"] (pdf), 2002, referenced 2013-01-17.</ref>

===After the Norman conquest===
The road system that was in place through the middle of the eleventh century proved to be adequate enough to make "possible a centralization of national government to which there was no parallel in western Europe" following the Norman conquest in 1066. At the same time, however, many of the underlying incentives were undermined. For instance, William seized virtually all of the land in England, and while he held many large estates for his own use, he also granted use of large tracts to Barons and the Church in exchange for support. Enclosure of some land which had been controlled by local agricultural communities as open fields and common pastures soon followed. In particular, land granted to the aristocracy, called the demesne, could be enclosed (other types of land were controlled by freeholders who paid rent to the lord, and by the villiens who provided labor to the lords). The Statute of Merton (1236) also permitted the lords to enclose large portions of the "waste," the high woodlands and unimproved pastures that lay in clumps around the arable lands, at the expense of the freeholders and villiens who used such areas, and as noted in Darby, grazing was also significantly restricted in the vast royal forests and parks "in the interest of the chase." Then, in the 1400s, as wool prices rose relative to grain prices, the lords evicted large numbers of tenants and enclosed additional large tracts of land, converting it to sheep pasture from crops and stubble fields upon which cattle had grazed. Hundreds of local villages were abandoned. Many of the remaining kinship groups and tithing were broken apart as people were driven from their traditional homes.

While members of local communities probably still had incentives to maintain roads for local use, the breakdown of the voluntary hierarchical system apparently produced a growing problem of under-maintenance for some long-distance connections. At the same time that the demand for long distance travel was growing due to the activities of the king and his court. In addition, representatives of the church with its widespread holdings also traveled extensively. Trade also was expanding throughout eleventh and twelfth centuries. Most commercial retailing activities took place at fairs during this period, and merchants traveled from fair to fair in order to sell their wares and buy others, thus requiring increasingly intensive use of some roads.

Not surprisingly, it was not the royal government that took up the road-provision task; it was he religious and the merchant communities. Numerous examples of merchants and merchant organizations contributing to the construction and/or maintenance of roads, and especially bridges, can be found. Some guilds were particularly active in this regard, especially when much of the business of the country was conducted at local fairs, and this was the case until the establishment of more permanent markets in the sixteenth century. However, some guilds and wealthy merchant benefactors continued supporting bridges and roads well into eighteenth century.

Roads played a very significant role in determining the success of a market town and those trading with it, so other members of both the local community and the merchant community tended to be vary grateful to someone who aided the two communities in this way. Thus, building and maintaining roads and bridges was an investment in reputation. And for Christians, even more significant personal benefits were anticipated.

The medieval Church was a major trader, and in addition, many of the important fairs were held at priories and abbeys. Furthermore, the Church encouraged pilgrimages. The Church also maintained frequent tours by preachers and friars, but perhaps the most significant source of Church-related travel was the monasteries, whose scattered estates required constant visits. Therefore, the Church promulgated the belief that care of the roads was "a work of Christian beneficence, well pleasing to God". This created incentives for private citizens within the Christian community to aid in the maintenance of roads and bridges, and the Bishops' registers throughout the United Kingdom provide ample evidence of such activity. Indeed, such religious beliefs explain the development of the long-lasting customary obligation that local parishes accepted for road maintenance. The monks also accepted a customary obligation to maintain roads, willingly taking on the task because it "was a pious work highly to be commended".<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===After the dissolution of monasteries===
This system of voluntary road maintenance was also ultimately undermined, however, as a consequence of the almost continuous struggle for power between the English kings and the Church. Henry VIII finally dissolved the monasteries in 1536-39, divided their properties, and transferred them to "a class of rapacious landlords who would be slow to recognize any claim upon their rents for the maintenance of roads.... The inevitable result would be a rapid decadence of many highways which had hitherto been in common use".

Local parishes continued to maintain roads in many areas, particularly for local travel (probably 80 to 85 percent of the actual roads in Great Britain), and various merchants and guilds also continued to provide support for some roads and bridges near market towns, but the elimination of the monasteries and the undermining of the incentives of the Church to encourage its parishioners to maintain roads that were important for long-distant travel was apparently quite significant. The roads that had been maintained with the assistance and urging of the monasteries began to deteriorate (possibly 15 to 20 percent of the roads). Indeed, it is contended that the seizure of the monasteries was the primary factor leading to passage of the "Statute for Mending of Highways" in 1555 which mandated that parishes establish a very specific institutional arrangement for maintenance of ''all'' roads in each parish.

The local justices-of-the-peace were ordered to appoint surveyors and collect fines that arose as a result of the failure of individuals to contribute their required inputs. Both the justices and the surveyors were to perform their tasks without compensation. All of the manual labor, tools, horses and carts needed for repairing the roads were to be provided by the parishioners, also without any compensation. For the roads where travel remained largely local, the highway statute of 1555 was largely unnecessary, and for roads that were heavily used by travelers who did not live in the local community, they were largely unsuccessful. A long series of additional statutes attempted to create sufficient negative incentives for the parishioners and surveyors to do their mandated duties. Ultimately none worked and the system of fines evolved into commutations to be collected from individual parishioners that relieved their obligations to perform the statutorily mandated duties and allowed the justices to hire laborers to work under the supervision of the surveyors. These funds also proved inadequate for the heavily traveled arteries, however.

Thus, commutations were supplemented with a general highway tax from the mid-seventeenth century onward. However, an even more important source of funds was generated through the criminal law by fines levied by the royal courts through presentment or indictment of the parish as a whole for the non-repair of its highways. Some parishes were perpetually under indictment, and "At varying dates in the different Counties, but eventually ... nearly all over England, it became the regular thing for a parish periodically to find itself indicted at the Sessions for neglecting to keep its highways in repair" and to pay a substantial fine rather than repair the roads. Despite these sources of revenues, however, the quality of road and bridge construction and repair on the major arteries did not compare to what had been done under the supervision and encouragement of the monks in the previous centuries.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Turnpikes===
The right to charge a toll in the United Kingdom had been severely restricted, in part because tolls were an important source of royal revenues. These revenues were not earmarked for road maintenance, however, so they went into the general treasury. Kings, and later parliament, had the power to grant the right to collect tolls to private individuals or organizations. In fact, there is evidence that burgesses (merchants who formed local governments in market towns) in several communities had petitioned for and been granted the right to collect tolls as early as 1154. Furthermore, there was one situation under which tolls could be collected by a private citizen without getting government permission: land owners could charge for passage through private land as long as an easement (customary or mandated) had not already been established. Not surprisingly, there is considerable evidence that enterprising land owners began to establish new "private roads" that allowed travellers to avoid the "ill-repaired public highways".

A long series of parliamentary acts were passed beginning in 1663 enabling the establishment of local ad hoc bodies known as "Turnpike Trusts," however, these were not parliamentary innovations. The initiative was always at the local level, as parishioners had to petitioned parliament for each segment of road on which they wanted to establish tolls.

After about 1700 the turnpike-establishment process became fairly standardized. A group of local landowners and/or merchants would accumulate the money necessary to fund pursuit of a Turnpike Act in parliament and to carry the cost of the trust through its start-up period. Turnpike Acts established a Turnpike Trust and granted it an exclusive right to operate a road (generally for 21 years), but trustees did not have complete private rights to the roads they were to operate. They were responsible for erecting gates to collect tolls, appointing collectors and a surveyor to supervise repairs, and a Clerk and Treasurer to administer the trust, but they were required to be unpaid. The tolls to be charged for various types of traffic were often specified in the legislation, and the funds collected could only be applied to the road named in the Act. No revenues could be diverted to other uses or retained as profit. If the tolls were insufficient to cover costs at particular times (e.g., up front), trusts were allowed to borrow at a rate of interest fixed by the Act.

Turnpikes were usually existing highways, although new roads were also built, particularly after 1740, and more importantly, the extent of "usable" roads for heavy traffic expanded significantly. The early turnpikes were maintained using the same techniques as the monasteries and parishes had employed before, but much more intensively. However, Trusts employed paid surveyors who, thorough specialization, developed expertise in road maintenance, and after about 1750 there is considerable evidence of experimentation and innovation in construction and maintenance by some of these specialists.

Innovations in surfacing, road widening and banking, and later, improvements in administration all made travel in the United Kingdom faster and less expensive. Turnpike formation really accelerated during the 1750s (and actually, during the 1740s as well), and by 1770 Trusts controlled almost 16,000 miles of turnpikes. The period of rapid expansion in turnpikes (1740-1830) involved a dramatic increase in heavy long-distance traffic due to the [[industrial revolution]]. Indeed, the early period of the industrial revolution was supported by turnpike road (and to a degree, by water) transport, rather than by the railroad system that often seems to get credit for supplying the transportation needs of the revolution.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Decline of the Turnpike System===
Turnpike activity peaked in about 1830 when there were 1,116 Turnpike Trusts operating 22,000 miles of roads, and declined thereafter.

The mandated structure and characteristics of the trusts created significant principal-agent problems. The Trustees were not allowed to be paid or earn profits, so other income generating activities (farms, businesses) commanded most of their attention. Toll gates were farmed out, and while trustees were supposed to monitor the gate-keepers and surveyors, their incentives to do so were very weak. There was no threat of takeover when a trust was operated inefficiently. With little monitoring and no competitive threat, corruption was rampant "and only a small part of the money collected for the upkeep of the road was in fact used for that purpose".

The political limitations on trusts also led to significant complaints by shippers and travellers. While they probably did not want to pay tolls at all, that may not have been the most significant cost imposed by the turnpike system. A serious complaint was that there were too many toll booths, requiring too many stops, thereby slowing transportation services unnecessarily. While consolidation of small trusts was desirable, the trusts operated at the prerogative of parliament, and any formal consolidation required parliamentary approval. Some efforts were made to obtain parliamentary approval to combine small trusts into larger organizations, but parliament did not respond with necessary enabling legislation that might have led to widespread consolidation, choosing instead to deal with such proposals individually and quite slowly. The vast majority of the small trusts remained independent until their bankruptcy and demise.

There was also significant political opposition to the trusts themselves. Opposition came from those involved in competitive transportation modes such as the river and canal barges and railroads, from the trade centers that already had effective transportation connections and feared competition from other centers if their road connections were improved, from some landowners and farmers who feared that better roads would make it easier for their low-wage laborers to be attracted away, from farmers who supplied local markets and feared that improved roads would bring in competition from distant suppliers, from heavy road users who did not want to pay tolls for access even though they wanted the roads to be maintained, and so on. Therefore, in order to gain sufficient support for passage, Turnpike Acts always had to reflect significant political compromise, including long lists of toll exemptions for powerful individuals and groups who opposed each Act. Agricultural interests and in some areas, industrial groups, were particularly effective at obtaining exemptions. Often those with exemptions were some of the worst abusers of what to them remained a common pool resource. Exemptions also grew over time (individual Trust Acts were annually renewed, with revisions possible), seriously reducing trust revenues.

The Parliament also imposed steep tolls for steam carriages, despite their safety, cost advantages, speed, capacity, and reduced road damage. Many interests - corn merchants, harness makers, horse-copers, railway promoters, iron masters hoping to make rails, and those who were simply against change - would unite against steam carriages. As a result, the use of mechanical vehicles on Britain's roads was delayed for some 60 years. That was another reason why highways were not competitive with the developing railroads.

As chronic insolvency spread, the burden of maintenance for more and more turnpikes was shifted, once again, onto the parishes. This simply led to resistance which actually flared into a "conclusive popular rebellion known as the Rebecca Riots" in South Wales during 1842-43. This resulted in a royal Commission to inquire about the grievances in South Wales, and finally to the dismissal of all Turnpike Trustees throughout the area and the merger of all trusts into "County Road Boards" which took over the roads, their debts, and the tolls of the former trusts. A "General Superintendent of County Roads in South Wales" was appointed by the central government, putting the roads in the area "Under what was virtually Government control" which also loaned 218,000 Pounds to counties so they could pay off creditors and consolidated debts at low interest rates. These county organizations were able to substantial reduce the number of toll gates as well as the level of tolls that had led to the revolts. Furthermore, they actually were able to operate efficiently enough to pay off the accumulated debts over the next 30 years, suggesting that if Parliament had responded earlier to the need for consolidation, the riots and subsequent government control might have been avoided.

The Parliament started to gradually abolish more and more tolls. Most Trusts were renewed each year, although from 1864 onward, 20 to 30 trusts were dissolved annually, with the roads turned over to a local parish or a highway district. Dissolution accelerated, however, and in 1871 all tolls were ended in the London area. The number of trusts was down to 854 in 1871, 588 in 1875, 184 in 1881, 71 in 1883, 15 in 1887, and 2 in 1890. The last trust ended operations in November of 1895.

This rapidly placed thousands of miles of roads back into the care of the parishes, leading to increased local resistance. In order to mitigate some of the local opposition the central government began giving Grants in Aid in 1876 to help pay for maintenance. More and more aid from the central treasury was given to counties for road maintenance and the parishes were finally formally dissolved of their road maintenance liability in 1895. Funding shifted from tolls to county taxes along with subsidies from the central government, and government expenditures on roads increased rapidly. The average government expenditure per mile of county roads rose from 43 pounds in 1890 to 69 pounds in 1902, for instance while expenditures on urban roads increased from 49 to 207 pounds over the same period.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

==Private roads in the US==
Once the state of Pennsylvania chartered a private company in 1792 to build a road connecting Philadelphia and Lancaster, rival states felt impelled to follow. Private initiative was the only effective means of providing new highways, because state and county finances were almost nonexistent and town resources were meager.

The '''turnpikes''' were financed by private stock subscription and set up to pay dividends. Built with a surface of gravel and earth, turnpikes were usually 15 to 40 miles in length, and cost $2,000 per mile to build. They were massive undertakings and relied on widespread investment from the community. Stock purchased was more like a contribution to community improvement rather than a business investment. Some travelers objected to the idea of paying tolls, particularly to a corporate monopoly. Legislators, often suspicious of corporate motives, wrote extensive (and economically debilitating) restrictions into company charters, specifying conditions for construction, maintenance, and toll rates, and toll collection.

Only Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio subsidized their turnpike companies; New York chartered the most turnpikes. The opening decade of the nineteenth century saw the most charter activity, though roughly one-third of the companies chartered failed to construct a single mile of roadway.

The unprofitability of turnpikes soon became obvious. The vast majority of turnpikes paid only very small dividends or none at all. First, toll evasion was rampant, as people would circumvent tollgates, a practice known as "shunpiking." Second, many roads were built in advance of settlement and travel demand was low. Third, legal restrictions and regulations, limiting both toll rates and countermeasures to shunpiking, hamstrung the turnpikes’ abilities to improve their financial situation.

But poor financial returns did not necessarily mean unfruitfulness. Even an unprofitable turnpike stimulated commerce, raised land values, and aided expansion. Therefore, community leaders resorted to a fascinating array of tactics to boost the turnpike cause despite the sad prospects for dividends. Supporters used newspaper appeals, town meetings, door-to-door solicitations, and correspondence to apply social pressure. In this way as in others, American communities relied on voluntarism, as so elegantly described by [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], to meet local needs. "With but few exceptions, the vast majority of the stockholders in turnpike were either farmers, land speculators, merchants or individuals and firms interested in commerce."

In the late 1820s canals began competing with many of the major turnpikes. Railroads joined in a bit later. Between 1825 and 1845 turnpike mileage dropped considerably. At the same time, however, the canals and railroads changed the patterns of trade and development, and stimulated new demands for shorter toll roads that would serve as feeders. Turnpike activity by no means ceased with the advent of canals and rails.

The toll road idea endured to the end of the century. Discoveries of gold, silver, copper, and other minerals in California, Colorado, and Nevada sparked rushes of newcomers. Even before statehood for Colorado and Nevada entrepreneurs organized their own toll road enterprises to serve the mining communities, and some got rich in the process. Well over 360 toll roads were constructed in California, Colorado, and Nevada alone. This experience indicates that private initiative can provide infrastructure for economic development.

By the end of the nineteenth century, state and county governments had grown in capabilities and new agencies began setting goals for centralized highway management. Independent private toll roads were not thought appropriate in the era of progressive governance, and most of those remaining were bought out or shut down.<ref name="Klein_Private">Daniel Klein. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/private-highways-in-america-1792-1916/ "Private Highways in America, 1792-1916"] ([http://www.scu.edu/civilsocietyinstitute/articles/upload/PrivateHighways.pdf pdf]), ''The Freeman'', February 1994. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref><ref name="Klein_Voluntary">Daniel Klein. [http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/018.pdf "The Voluntary Provision of Public Goods? The Turnpike Companies of Early America"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics'', ''University of California'' at Irvine, Reprint No. 18, ''Economic Inquiry'', March 1990. Referenced 2012-12-08.</ref>

:'''Turnpike Incorporation, 1792-1845:<ref name="Klein_Toll">Daniel B. Klein and Gordon J. Fielding. [http://www.its.uci.edu/its/publications/papers/ITS/UCI-ITS-WP-91-14.pdf "Private Toll Roads: Learning From the Nineteenth Century"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics and Institute of Transportation Studies'', ''University of California, Irvine'', December 1991. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref>'''
:{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
!State
!1792-1800
!1801-10
!1811-20
!1821-30
!1831-40
!1841-45
!Total
|-
|New Hampshire
|4
|45
|5
|1
|4
|0
|59
|-
|Vermont
|9
|19
|15
|7
|4
|3
|57
|-
|Massachusetts
|9
|80
|8
|16
|1
|1
|115
|-
|Rhode Island
|3
|13
|8
|13
|3
|1
|41
|-
|Connecticut
|23
|37
|16
|24
|13
|0
|113
|-
|New York
|13
|126
|133
|75
|83
|27
|457
|-
|Pennsylvania
|5
|39
|101
|59
|101
|37
|342
|-
|New Jersey
|0
|22
|22
|3
|3
|0
|50
|-
|Virginia
|0
|6
|7
|8
|25
|0
|46
|-
|Maryland
|3
|9
|33
|12
|14
|7
|78
|-
|Ohio
|0
|2
|14
|12
|114
|62
|204
|-
!Total
|69
|398
|362
|230
|365
|138
!1562
|}

===Bridges and other infrastructure===
The first private toll-bridge company, the Charles-River Bridge, opened in 1786 was called "the greatest effect of private enterprise in the United States." Its investors were rewarded with a return of 10.5 percent annually for the first six years. Through 1798, about 59 bridge companies were chartered in the states under consideration, principally in New England. Many of them failed and some were unprofitable, but a considerable number, especially in the Boston area, had proven themselves lucrative by the end of the century. In contrast to the turnpikes, the bridges did not suffer from toll evasion and liberal exemptions, and when profits were low they commonly obtained toll increases.

Many enterprises were undertaken to make improvements, and it is debatable whether they can be counted as business corporations. There were marine and agricultural societies,
but then come corporations for land improvement, lumber cultivation, and inland navigation. For example, a "case near the line" is the River Machine Company, incorporated in 1790 to dredge the Providence River. "The merchants of Providence had agreed to raise $1,000 in forty ’equal shares’" for the project. The company was to collect tolls from certain vessels, but any surplus was to be used at the end of twenty years for other improvements. "Thus no dividends were contemplated."
<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

===Early 20th century===
In 1908 was opened the Long Island Motor Parkway, the first road built specifically for the automobile. Created by William Kissam Vanderbilt II (the great-grandson of [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]]), a car enthusiast who loved to race. His race came under fire after a spectator was killed in 1906, and Vanderbilt wanted a safe road on which to hold the race and on which other car lovers could hurl their new machines free of the dust common on roads made for horses. The parkway would also be free of "Interference from the authorities," he said in a speech. The toll road was built of reinforced concrete, had banked turns, guard rails and, by building bridges, eliminated intersections that would slow a driver down.

The motor parkway was open until 1938, but it could not compete with the public roads, even after the toll was reduced to 40 cents. The urban planner Robert Moses eventually gained control of the pioneering road for back taxes of about $80,000. The day of public roads had come, supplanting private highways.<ref name="Patton_Dream">Phil Patton. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/automobiles/12LIMP.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&_r=0 "A 100-Year-Old Dream: A Road Just for Cars"], ''The New York Times'', published: October 9, 2008. See also the {{w|Long Island Motor Parkway}} on Wikipedia. Referenced 2013-12-15</ref>

Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1912. Carl Fisher, father of the Indianapolis 500, envisioned a well-paved, reliable cross-country road to avoid urban congestion, encourage travel, promote the automobile industry, and build up the rural communities along the way. His idea was so popular and necessary, that droves of private citizens, fed up with muddy backcountry roads, paid $5 each to become members of the highway organization that Fisher founded with Frank Seiberling of Goodyear and Henry Joy of the Packard Motor Car Company. Local communities, in exchange for providing labor, received free road-building materials from the organization and, more important, a significant boost to local commerce. Automobile manufacturers saw the highway plan as an essential foundation for the growth of their industry and volunteered substantial funds.

Despite its lack of federal support, the highway plan was anything but uncoordinated. As a 1916 guidebook touted, the Lincoln Highway cut the time needed for cross-country travel by two-thirds and reduced the cost to an affordable $5 a day. Even when lack of funds threatened the future of the road, the association worked with local governments to build sections of the highway to connect with the “seedling miles” of concrete road built in strategic locations by the association.

The federal government realized too late the importance of what the Lincoln Highway Association was the first to promote, and by 1921 it was anxious to catch up. The private initiative symbolized by the highway association was crowded out by the Federal Highway Act.<ref name="Jenco_Freeing">Leigh Jenco. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/freeing-the-freeways/ "Freeing the Freeways], ''The Freeman'', November 01, 2000, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

===Current private roads===
By 2007, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels has auctioned the rights to operate the Indiana Toll Road — a 157-mile road linking the Chicago Skyway in the west to the Ohio Turnpike in the east — to a private group for $3.8 billion. Meantime, Chicago mayor Richard Daley has harvested $1.8 billion auctioning the Skyway to a private group, and another half-billion or so turning city-owned garages over to private operators. Across the country, cash-strapped governors and mayors were discovering that their airports, bridges, toll roads, water systems, and other revenue-generating operations are worth far more than they thought, and were eyeing auctions that might produce windfalls similar to those in Chicago and Indiana. They’re also looking to recruit private investors to build and operate new toll roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Confronting a $3 billion transportation-funding shortfall, Indiana decided to use an auction to extract the Toll Road’s long-term value. In effect, a private operator gave Indiana an up-front payment in exchange for the right to collect tolls on the road for 75 years. Like the Chicago deal, which hands over the Skyway for 99 years, the Indiana lease is basically a sale, since its term exceeds the road’s anticipated life. Each agreement requires the private operator to invest in rebuilding the road as it falls apart and to follow a lengthy list of operating standards, from how best to fill potholes to how quickly to clear roadkill.

In California, a private company was constructing a nearly ten-mile, $800 million extension of Route 125, south of San Diego, in exchange for a 35-year lease to manage the road and collect tolls.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization">Steven Malanga. [http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_privatization.html "The New Privatization"], ''City Journal'', Summer 2007, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref> The California Private Transportation Company provided, in the median of California’s State Route 91, the first "Express Toll Lanes" with variable tolls, electronically collected, designed to ensure congestion-free travel at all times.<ref name="Roth_Important">Gabriel Roth. [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1822 Roads Are Too Important to Be Left to Governments], ''The Independent Institute'', September 26, 2006, referenced 2013-02-17.</ref>

Utah contemplated private financing to build the Mountain View Corridor, a road connecting Salt Lake City Airport to towns in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, instead of raising its gas tax by up to 50 cents per gallon. Virginia has inked an agreement with Australian toll-road firm Transurban, which already leases the state’s nine-mile Pocahontas Parkway, to study expanding Interstate 95 with high-occupancy toll lanes. If approved, the project would cost nearly $1 billion. "These roads don’t exist and in many cases they won’t ever exist unless the private sector builds them," says Mark Florian, a Goldman Sachs investment banker and an advisor on several such transactions in Texas.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

A number of U.S. states have moved ahead with [[public-private partnerships]] (PPP) and privatization. The following projects from Virginia illustrate the possibilities of expanding the private role in infrastructure investment:
* Midtown Tunnel. Skanska and Macquarie are building, and will operate, a three-mile tolled tunnel under the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Private debt and equity are covering most of the project’s $2.1 billion cost.
* Capital Beltway. Transurban and Fluor have built and are now operating and maintaining new toll lanes along 14 miles of I-495. The firms used debt and equity to finance about $1.5 billion of the project’s $2 billion cost. The lanes opened in November 2012 after being completed on time and on budget. The same firms will be partnering with Virginia to finance, build, and manage new toll lanes south from the Beltway along I-95.
* Dulles Greenway. The Greenway is a privately owned toll highway in Northern Virginia completed in the mid-1990s with $350 million of private debt and equity, and without government aid.
* Jordan Bridge. FIGG Engineering Group and partners fully financed and constructed a $142 million highway bridge over the Elizabeth River between Chesapeake and Portsmouth. The cost of this handsome and soaring private bridge will be paid back by toll revenues over time. The bridge opened in 2012.<ref name="Edwards_Infrastructure">Chris Edwards. [http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/tbb_067.pdf "Infrastructure Investment: A State, Local, and Private Responsibility"] (pdf), ''Cato Institute'', No. 67, January 2013, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

==Europe==
Privately financed infrastructure has made another appearance in post–World War II Europe. Starting with 1955 legislation, France began to tap private investors to build and operate what eventually amounted to 3,400 miles of autoroutes between cities.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" /> For years there was a gap in the ring road surrounding Paris that created huge traffic problems. Then private developers made an unsolicited proposal to build a $2 billion toll tunnel in exchange for a 70-year lease to run it. They built a double-decker tunnel that fits six lanes of traffic in the space usually required for just two. The tunnel's profit-seeking owners have an incentive to keep traffic moving. They collect tolls based on congestion pricing, and tolls are collected electronically, so cars don't have to stop. The tunnel operators clear accidents quickly. Most are detected within 10 seconds -- thanks to 350 cameras inside the tunnel. The private road has cut a 45-minute trip to 10 minutes.<ref name="Stossel_Private">John Stossel. [http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/05/private-enterprise-does-it-bet "Private Enterprise Does It Better"], ''Reason.com'', August 5, 2010, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

Margaret Thatcher’s energetic [[privatization]] drive in 1980s England sold existing government assets and spawned scores of public-private construction projects. The Soviet Union’s collapse led to extensive privatization in former Eastern bloc countries during the nineties. As of 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated that worldwide, more than 1,100 public-private deals have taken place in the transportation field alone over the last two decades. Total value: approximately $360 billion.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==Analysis from a public goods perspective==
{{See also|Public goods}}
To what extent can we expect private initiative to have been successful in providing roads, as evidenced in early United States? Despite the large social benefits of the roads, it would seem that the individual could find no advantage in supporting them. Since citizens knew that turnpike stock was a poor investment, purchasing stock was much like paying for the road. Once stock subscriptions were sufficient to construct the road, there would be no way to withhold the benefits of the road from those who did not contribute. The input of a single individual would not make the difference, or so it would seem.

On the basis of narrow self-interest it would have been foolish for any one person to make a voluntary sacrifice. Turnpike stock subscription appears to have been a [[free rider problem]] ''par excellence''. In view of the apparent free rider problem, the success was striking. The movement built new roads at rates previously unknown in America. Over $11 million was invested in turnpikes in New York, some $6.5 million in New England, and over $4.5 million (excluding state investment) in Pennsylvania. (A turnpike typically had a construction cost of $700 to $3,000 per mile and a length of 15 to 40 miles.) Based on the population of 1830, per-capita turnpike investment was approximately $3.90 in Massachusetts. Between 1794 and 1840, 238 private New England turnpikes built and operated about 3,750 miles of road. New York led all other states in turnpike mileage with over 4,000 as of 1821. Pennsylvania was second, reaching a peak of about 2,400 miles in 1832. New Jersey companies operated 550 miles by 1821; Maryland’s operated 300 miles of private road in 1830. Turnpikes also represented a great improvement in road quality .

The local turnpike was supported by the more prominent citizens, but it is not as though a handful of affluent landowners paid for the project. Stock subscription was broad-based, In most cases upwards of 50 people contributed, usually over 100 for a larger turnpike, no one with more than 15 percent of the stock. After the most travelled routes had been converted to turnpikes, it became more difficult to raise money for their construction, but nonetheless turnpikes continued to be built, even though, by 1805, hope of direct remuneration had disappeared. Yet between 1805 and 1838 over 500 turnpikes were chartered and built, each one representing a separate instance of public good provision. Even though the turnpikes offered enormous nonexcludable benefits, far outweighing the costs of the project, a straight application of the simple public-goods model would lead us to doubt that many turnpikes were built and that a single one was built after 1805.

Daniel Klein points out that community isolation, citizen familiarity, and weak, decentralized government bred close social ties and a strong participatory ethic. Towns of the early nineteenth century were independent and strong, and in the first three decades of the republic, the township held almost all of the administrative power of government. [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], in his opus [[Democracy in America]], says the towns "are independent in all that concerns themselves alone; and among the inhabitants of New England I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the state has any right to interfere in their town affairs." The participatory nature of town government in early America has been well noted. This feature often makes it pointless to draw lines separating private and public works. At the same time, religious congregations often showed a penchant for making themselves busy in various improvement endeavors, such as schools, libraries, and poor relief. By generating the requisite social relations, or "social capital", as well as human capital, the religious and benevolent activities not only incited but empowered the application of voluntary efforts to community goals. The citizens’ cooperation with government efforts is noteworthy, but more significant is the willingness to forge public improvements by voluntary association.

Things have changed a lot since 1810. Neighbors are often strangers, so how can we expected social pressure and the like to curtail free riding? On this, Klein has two remarks: one, whether it be a street association or the [[American Cancer Society]], suasion tactics often yield results, as reported regularly in ''Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Ouarterly''. Second, if voluntary forces are deemed ineffective in providing public goods, that in itself is a policy issue. The ability of voluntary association to provide infrastructure, education, security, and poor relief depends on the exercise and spontaneous development of certain institutions, activities, and sentiments. Since governmental bodies dominate these services it is no surprise that the faculties of sodality remain degenerate. When a problem arises government is expected to deal with it. Participation does not become a personal responsibility and organizing leadership does not become a source of social esteem. Thus there is a lesson in the broader circumstances of early America which bred effective voluntary forces, as well as in the specific ways those forces established turnpikes.<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

In modern times, private contractors are much better than government at getting construction done on time and on budget. A 2002 government study in the United Kingdom, where public-private transactions are more common, found that 70 percent of public construction undertaken by the government ran late and that 73 percent of it finished over budget. But when government contracted projects to private firms, just 24 percent of them were late and only 20 percent were over budget. There’s no mystery here, since private contractors can’t start collecting revenues until properties are up and running.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* Walter Block
** [[The Privatization of Roads and Highways]], 2006; [https://mises.org/daily/3416 Introduction]; [http://mises.org/media/3539 panel discussion] (video), January 2009 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9kn1LKTHA YouTube], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUA4h8ctNWM abridged YouTube])
** [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/highway_safety.pdf Theories of Highway Safety] (pdf), July 2011
** [http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_2/3_2_7.pdf Free Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads] (pdf)
** [https://mises.org/document/5165/Rejoinder-to-Carnis-on-Private-Roads Rejoinder to Carnis on Private Roads] (pdf version), 2010
** [https://mises.org/journals/jls/4_3/4_3_6.pdf Congestion and Road Pricing] (pdf), 1980
** [http://www2.units.it/etica/2003_2/block.htm Overcoming difficulties in privatizing roads], 2003
** [https://mises.org/journals/jls/7_1/7_1_1.pdf Public Goods and Externalities: The Case of Roads] (pdf), 1983
** [http://www.mises.org/media/5270 "Privatization of Roads"] (audio) lecture, July 2010
** [http://www.mises.org/media/1440 Privatization: Roads, Eminent Domain] (audio) lecture, August 2004
** [[Lew Rockwell Show]]: [http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/08/20/23-road-socialism/ Road Socialism] (audio) interview, August 2008 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvY1aHAfX4w YouTube])
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPCk69X9AF8 Roads, Education, and Waterways: The Case Against Public Services] (video) lecture, January 2008
** {{cb|2014/02/walter-block-on-the-privatization-of-roads/|Walter Block On The Privatization of Roads :: The Mises Economics Blog: The Circle Bastia|Mises Updates|February 2014}}

* Articles, essays and reviews
** {{md|5498|Privatize the Highways — and All Roads for That Matter|Zachary Slayback|August 2011}}
** {{md|3415|New Ideas for Roads|[[Jeffrey Tucker|Jeffrey A. Tucker]]|April 2009}}
** [[The Freeman]] Review: [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-privatization-of-roads-highways-human-and-economic-factors/ "The Privatization of Roads and Highways"] by Arthur E. Foulkes, April 2011
** {{mb|17360|A Step Closer to Privatizing Infrastructure?|Briggs Armstrong|June 2011}}
** [[The Free Market]]: [http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=202 "Private Roads"] by Eric Peters, February 1996
** "Management versus Ownership: The Road-Privatization Debate" ([http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae4_2_4.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis, Summer 2001
** "New Directions in Road Privatization" ([http://mises.org/journals/scholar/road.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis
** {{mb|17830|Road Shortage in Socialist Paradise|Per Bylund|July 2011}}
** [http://www.as.ua.edu/history/html/faculty/beitofromprivies.pdf ''From Privies to Boulevards: The Private Supply of Infrastructure in the United States during the Nineteenth Century''] (pdf) David T. Beito (in Jerry Jenkins and David Sisk, "Development by Consent: The Voluntary Supply of Public Goods and Services", 1993
** [http://www.transport-links.org/transport_links/filearea/documentstore/322_Swedish%20Private%20Roads%20Associations.pdf Private-Public Partnership for low volume roads: the Swedish Private Roads Associations] (pdf) by Sven Ivarsson, 2003
** [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-231.html Highway Aggravation: The Case For Privatizing The Highways] by Peter Samuel, June 1995
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/roads-without-the-state/ Roads Without the State] by Peter Samuel, January 1998
** [http://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=64 Street Smart: Competition, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Roads] ([http://www.independent.org/publications/books/summary.asp?id=64 summary], [http://books.google.de/books?id=sYAxKrpSjOsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Book preview]) by Gabriel Roth, 2006
** ''Roads in a Market Economy'' by Roth, G., 1996
** [http://reason.com/archives/1996/08/01/road-warrior Road Warrior] by Robert Poole, August 1996 (review of Roads in a Market Economy, by Gabriel Roth)
** [http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_2_1_benson.pdf#page=2 The Mythology of Holdout as a Justification for Eminent Domain and Public Provision of Roads] (pdf) by Bruce L. Benson, 2005
** [http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/frazier3.html Private Roads Work] by Bart Frazier, January 2009
** [http://reason.org/news/show/good-roads-sooner-public-priva Good Roads Sooner: Public-Private Partnerships in New South Wales] by Bob Carr, January 2010 (about private roads in Australia)
** [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2077 Adopt a Highway: The Case for Privatizing Our Roads] by John Semmens, November 2007
** [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3525878 Jim Peron: All roads do not lead to congestion] by Jim Peron, September 2003
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/government-highways-unsafe-at-any-speed/ Government Highways: Unsafe at Any Speed] by Richard Barbarick, June 1993
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn057.pdf Liberate the Roads! The Benefits That Will Come From Road Privatisation] (pdf) by Martin Ball, 1994
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn049.pdf The Private Ownership of Public Space: The New Age of Rationally Priced Road Use] (pdf) by Brian Micklethwait, 1993
** [http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/Mcchesneysnow.html Snow Jobs] by Fred S. McChesney, October 2001
** {{md|1704|Snowed by Road Statism|Paul Servodio|December 2004}}
** [http://www.voluntaryist.com/voluntaryist.pdf The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions: Voluntaryism and the Roads] (pdf) by Carl Watner (from ''I Must Speak Out''), p. 474-485, June 1998
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-myth-of-crumbling-highways The Myth of Crumbling Highways] by David Hartgen, April 2013
** [http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Klein.Majewski.Turnpikes Turnpikes and Toll Roads in Nineteenth-Century America] Daniel B. Klein and John Majewski, 2010
** {{mb|9736|Privately-repaired potholes: a good start|Ryan McMaken|April 2009}}

* Other media
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyPEgIDhj5s Taking Politics Out of Transportation: Economist Bruce Benson on Private Roads] news magazine by [[Reason.tv]], December 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUULDlMPFYU Tolls, Not Taxes: How Americans Want to Fix Traffic Jams] news magazine by Reason.tv, February 2012
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5DCmDXJun4 Private Roads] news magazine by [[John Stossel]], 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a2EhgADVFY The Case for Private Roads] segment from ''Stossel'', 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmAgSOgJ7NY Infrastructure Spending] segment from ''Stossel'', 2011
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKXLqvfy3II There Were Private Roads Before Government Roads]
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x6oosvWnRs "But What About the Roads?!": Road Provision in a Voluntary Society] August 2012

* [[Wikipedia:Free-market roads|Free-market roads]] and {{wplink}}

[[Category:Private alternatives to public goods]]
[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Reading lists]]

Guilt

2014-02-04T23:16:18Z

Pestergaines: +link

'''Guilt''' or '''remorse''' is an emotion that occurs when a person feels that his behavior has fallen short of what his own ethical principles called for him to do (or not do). It is a form of regret.

==Interpretations==
[[Ayn Rand]] placed a great deal of emphasis on guilt as a means of controlling people, and titled chapter 19 of ''Atlas Shrugged'' "The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt." One of her characters stated, "The worst guilt is to accept an undeserved guilt".

George H. Smith, in ''Atheism: The Case Against God'', writes that people can be controlled by either physical or psychological sanctions: "A physical sanction, if successful, causes the emotion of fear. A psychological sanction, if successful, causes the emotion of guilt. A man motivated by fear may still retain an element of rebelliousness, of determination to strike back given the opportunity. A man motivated by guilt, however, is a man with a broken spirit; he will obey the rules without question."<ref>{{cite book|title=Atheism: The Case Against God|author=Smith, George H.|pages=173|chapter=Religious Morality|url=http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jksadegh/A%20Good%20Atheist%20Secularist%20Skeptical%20Book%20Collection/SMITH_The_Case_Against-God.htm}}</ref>

Shame and guilt sometimes, but not always coincide; either can exist independently of the other. A person can feel ashamed of an act that he regards as foolish but not morally wrong, without feeling guilt. He can also feel guilty about committing an immoral act without feeling shame, for example if he does not care about the opinion of others or if others do not know about the act that he committed.

==Courts==
In some jurisdictions, governmental courts can consider a defendant's remorse (or lack thereof) as a factor relevant to sentencing for criminal offenses. It could be considered relevant to his risk of re-offending; if he is likely to commit a new crime, then the court might deem it appropriate to protect society by imprisoning him for a longer period of time.<ref>{{uscsub|18|3553|a}}</ref> Of course, there can be epistemological problems involved in determining the defendant's level of remorse; for example, he might make an insincere statement of regret in allocution. Sometimes his remorse or lack thereof can be inferred from his behavior, such as attempting to make amends for his behavior or engaging in similar criminal behavior. However, these actions too could be done with the intention of giving the court a certain impression, rather than out of genuine remorse.

The courts' giving defendants extra prison time for lack of remorse could be considered an infringement of [[freedom of thought]]. As mentioned above, a defendant could quite easily feel regret, but not remorse, for his crime. His fear of future punishment might suffice to deter him from further lawbreaking. A defendant could also feel genuine remorse and yet still re-offend, if he succumbs to temptation or changes his mind about his ethical principles later. In a libertarian judicial system, the plaintiff might consider his perceptions of the defendant's level of regret in deciding how strict or forgiving to be in exacting restitution.<ref>{{cite book|quote=Assuming the aggressor could not make immediate payment of his entire debt, the method used to collect it would depend on the amount involved, the nature of the aggression, the aggressor's past record and present attitude, and any other pertinent variables.|title=The Market for Liberty|chapter=Rectification of Injustice|pages=101|author=Tannehill, Morris and Linda|date=1970}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Links==
* {{w|Guilt (emotion)}} on Wikipedia

[[Category:Concepts]]
{{Stub}}

Guilt

2014-02-04T23:12:25Z

Pestergaines: Polished, removed some editorializing; +stub

Without Intellectual Property

2014-02-04T22:21:28Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

{{TOC right}}
How would the world look like '''without [[Intellectual Property]]?''' What are the current success stories and possible alternatives for creators if some or all forms of IP were repealed (or became unenforceable)? This page attempts to list a few examples.<ref name="Cole_Benefits">Julio H. Cole. [http://mises.org/journals/jls/15_4/15_4_3.pdf "Patents and Copyrights: Do the Benefits Exceed the Costs?"] (pdf) ''Journal of Libertarian Studies'', Volume 15, no. 4 (Fall 2001), pp. 79–105. Referenced 2011-09-17.</ref>

{{See also|Costs of Intellectual Property}}

==Industries without IP==
There are industries and products where copyright protection serves a small role ("Low-IP industries") despite the creative effort going into them (when compared to "High-IP industries" like movies, books and music). Johanna Blakley lists the following examples:

* Fashion
* Food industry (cannot copyright a recipe, or the look and feel of even the most unique dish)
* Automobiles (cannot copyright their sculptural design)
* Furniture
* Magic tricks
* Hairdos
* [[Open source software]]
* Databases
* Tattoo artists
* Jokes
* Fireworks displays
* The rules of games
* The smell of perfume<ref name="Blakley_fashion" />

Other examples include the financial industry (composition of mutual funds) or strategies in team sports like football<ref name="Raustiala_Copycats">Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443991704577577433289673596.html "In Praise of Copycats"], ''Wall Street Journal'', August 10, 2012, referenced 2012-08-26.</ref> or even dance moves.<ref name="Fedako_polices">Jim Fedako. [http://archive.mises.org/12898/who-polices-dance-recitals/ "Who polices dance recitals?"], ''Mises Blog'', June 5, 2010. Referenced 2013-01-01.</ref>

==When copying is free==
The internet is a copy machine. Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies flow with as little friction as possible. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?

In his article "Better than free", Kevin Kelly answers: '''When copies are free, you need to sell things which cannot be copied.''' He specifies eight "generatives" that cannot be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. In the digital arena, generative qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that can be sold.

* '''Immediacy''': Sooner or later you can find a free copy of whatever you want, but getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released - or even better, produced - by its creators is a generative asset. Many people go to movie theaters to see films on the opening night, where they will pay a hefty price to see a film that later will be available for free, or almost free, via rental or download. Hardcover books command a premium for their immediacy, disguised as a harder cover. First in line often commands an extra price for the same good. As a sellable quality, immediacy has many levels, including access to beta versions. Fans are brought into the generative process itself. Beta versions are often de-valued because they are incomplete, but they also possess generative qualities that can be sold. Immediacy is a relative term, which is why it is generative. It has to fit with the product and the audience. A blog has a different sense of time than a movie, or a car. But immediacy can be found in any media.

* '''Personalization''': A generic version of a concert recording may be free, but if you want a copy that has been tweaked to sound perfect in your particular living room - as if it were preformed in your room - you may be willing to pay a lot. The free copy of a book can be custom edited by the publishers to reflect your own previous reading background. A free movie you buy may be cut to reflect the rating you desire (no violence, dirty language okay). Aspirin is free, but aspirin tailored to your DNA is very expensive. As many have noted, personalization requires an ongoing conversation between the creator and consumer, artist and fan, producer and user. It is deeply generative because it is iterative and time consuming. You can't copy the personalization that a relationship represents. Marketers call that "stickiness" because it means both sides of the relationship are stuck (invested) in this generative asset, and will be reluctant to switch and start over.

* '''Interpretation''': As the old joke goes: software, free. The manual, $10,000. But it's no joke. A couple of high profile companies, like [[Red Hat]], [[Apache]], and others make their living doing exactly that. They provide paid support for free software. The copy of code, being mere bits, is free -- and becomes valuable to you only through the support and guidance. Right now getting your copy of your DNA is very expensive, but soon it won't be. In fact, soon pharmaceutical companies will PAY you to get your genes sequence. So the copy of your sequence will be free, but the interpretation of what it means, what you can do about it, and how to use it - the manual for your genes so to speak - will be expensive.

* '''Authenticity''': You might be able to grab a key software application for free, but even if you don't need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You'll pay for authenticity. There are nearly an infinite number of variations of the [[Grateful Dead]] jams around; buying an authentic version from the band itself will ensure you get the one you wanted. Or that it was indeed actually performed by the Dead. Artists have dealt with this problem for a long time. Graphic reproductions such as photographs and lithographs often come with the artist's stamp of authenticity - a signature - to raise the price of the copy. Digital watermarks and other signature technology will not work as copy-protection schemes but they can serve up the generative quality of authenticity for those who care.

* '''Accessibility''': As an owner, you have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up. And in this mobile world, you have to carry it along with you. Many people will be happy to have others tend our "possessions" by subscribing to them. We'll pay Acme Digital Warehouse to serve us any musical tune in the world, when and where we want it, as well as any movie, photo (ours or other photographers). Ditto for books and blogs. Acme backs everything up, pays the creators, and delivers us our desires. We can sip it from our phones, PDAs, laptops, big screens from where-ever. The fact that most of this material will be available free, if we want to tend it, back it up, keep adding to it, and organize it, will be less and less appealing as time goes on.

* '''Embodiment''': At its core the digital copy is without a body. You can take a free copy of a work and throw it on a screen. But perhaps you'd like to see it in hi-res on a huge screen? Maybe in 3D? PDFs are fine, but sometimes it is delicious to have the same words printed on bright white cottony paper, bound in leather. What about dwelling in your favorite (free) game with 35 others in the same room? There is no end to greater embodiment. Sure, the hi-res of today - which may draw ticket holders to a big theater - may migrate to your home theater tomorrow, but there will always be new insanely great display technology that consumers won't have. Laser projection, holographic display, the holodeck itself! And nothing gets embodied as much as music in a live performance, with real bodies. The music is free; the bodily performance expensive. This formula is quickly becoming a common one for not only musicians, but even authors. The book is free; the bodily talk is expensive.

* '''Patronage''': It is Kelly's belief that audiences WANT to pay creators. Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect. But they will only pay if it is very easy to do, a reasonable amount, and they feel certain the money will directly benefit the creators. Radiohead's recent high-profile experiment in letting fans pay them whatever they wished for a free copy is an excellent illustration of the power of patronage. The elusive, intangible connection that flows between appreciative fans and the artist is worth something. In Radiohead's case it was about $5 per download. There are many other examples of the audience paying simply because it feels good.

* '''Findability''': Where as the previous generative qualities reside within creative digital works, findability is an asset that occurs at a higher level in the aggregate of many works. No matter what its price, a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention - and most of it free - being found is valuable. The giant aggregators such as Amazon and Netflix make their living in part by helping the audience find works they love. This is why publishers, studios, and labels will never disappear. They are not needed for distribution of the copies (the internet does that). Rather they are needed for the distribution of the users' attention back to the works. Like other intermediates such as critics and reviewers, from an ocean of possibilities they find, nurture and refine the work of creators that they believe fans will connect with. For many years the paper publication TV Guide made more money than all of the 3 major TV networks it "guided" combined. The magazine guided and pointed viewers to the good stuff on the tube that week. Stuff, it is worth noting, that was free to the viewers.

In short, the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.<ref name="Kevin_Better">Kevin Kelly. [http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php "Better Than Free"], ''The Technium'', 31 January 2008. Referenced 2011-10-21.</ref>

{{See also|#Books for free leading to increased sales|#Music}}

==Writing==
In the modern publishing world, virtually everything written is copyrighted, whether or not intended by the
author. There is, however, one important exception – documents produced by the U.S. government. Despite being available for free downloading, some documents became genuine bestsellers (like the ''9/11 Commission Report'', with the first publisher selling over a million of copies).<ref name="Boldrin_Govt_Docu">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 26-27.</ref>

===Books for free leading to increased sales===
A 2010 study concluded that there is a moderate correlation between free digital books being made permanently available and short-term print sales increases; however, free digital books did not always equal increased sales.<ref name="Hilton_Influence">John Hilton III and David Wiley. [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;view=text;rgn=main;idno=3336451.0013.101 "The Short-Term Influence of Free Digital Versions of Books on Print Sales"], Volume 13, Issue 1, Winter 2010. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

[[Neil Gaiman]] changed his stance on "piracy" of his works after noticing that it supports the sales of physical books. As an experiment, his popular book ''American Gods'' was put up online for anyone to read and download for a month. The following month sales of his books through independent bookstores went up by 300%. Like lending, this sort of piracy amounts to advertising.<ref name="Gaiman_Piracy">Neil Gaiman. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlI "Gaiman on Copyright Piracy and the Web"] (video), ''Open Rights Group'', 03.02.2011. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

[[Paulo Coelho]], the best-selling author of "''The Alchemist''", is using [[BitTorrent]] and other filesharing networks as a way to promote his books. Coelho’s view is that letting people swap digital copies of his books for free increases sales. In a keynote speech at the Digital, Life, Design conference in Munich he talked about how uploading the Russian translation of "The Alchemist" made his sales in Russia go from around 1,000 per year to 100,000, then a million and more. He’s convinced that letting people download free copies of his books helps sales. For him the problem is getting around copyright laws that require him to get the permission of his translators if he wants to share copies of his books in other languages.

He took it one step further and set up a WordPress blog, Pirate Coelho, where he posts links to free copies of his books on filesharing networks, FTP sites, and so on. He says it had a direct impact on sales.<ref name="Alchemist_Coelho">[http://torrentfreak.com/alchemist-author-pirates-own-books-080124/ "Alchemist Author Pirates His Own Books"], January 24, 2008. [http://en.sevenload.com/videos/bIjFXZD-DLD08-Day1-Creating-universes "Day1 - Creating universes"], uploaded on Jan 21, 2008. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref> His online e-mail newsletter, published since 2000, has 200,000 subscribers. In 2006 he started blogging, in 2007 he joined MySpace and Facebook to interact more actively with readers. By 2007 Coelho's total print sales worldwide surpassed 100 million books. "Once we did the Pirate Coelho there was a significant boost," he says. "Publishing is in a kind of Jurassic age," Coelho continues. "Publishers see free downloads as threatening the sales of the book. But this should make them rethink their entire business model."<ref name="Kirkpatrick_Author">David Kirkpatrick. [http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/01/technology/kirkpatrick_coehlo.fortune/index.htm "Author Paulo Coelho's profitable Net obsession"], ''CNN Money'', February 1 2008. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

===Academic and Ideological Authors===
Even today, most authors never make much money writing books, and some actually print their works with their own money. Others are willing to accept payment in copies of their works (often in the form of off-prints of journal articles). Much scientific and academic writing is of this kind. For many of these authors, writing for publication is a way to increase their “brand-name capital” in order to obtain higher incomes from other activities.

Other authors are interested in spreading their views, so they presumably have no interest in discouraging reproduction of their writings — provided their authorship is acknowledged, they would be quite happy if others were willing to reprint them with their own resources. The output of this type of writing would evidently not be much affected by the absence of copyright.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

===Professional Writers===
Some writers do it for a living. If there is no other way to reward them, then the absence of copyright would most likely reduce their literary output. The question is whether copyright is the only way to guarantee an income for this type of writer. [[Arnold Plant|Plant]], for one, thought that writers would find a way to sell their product, provided that a demand for it exists at all. (Copyright does not ''create'' this demand, it only provides a means to ''monopolize'' a demand once it exists.)

We cannot know a priori what kinds of market structures would dominate in a different legal setting, though possibly there would be greater reliance on salaried writers for subscription-type publications, perhaps with content more or less “given away” as [[loss-leader]]s to stimulate sales of other products. This is the business model underlying present-day journalism, which essentially hires staff writers in order to help sell the main product, which is advertising.

There are many other examples of such arrangements. Early radio broadcasters, for instance, were subsidized by radio manufacturers, who were willing to lose money on broadcasting in order to stimulate demand for radio sets.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

===Title "Lotteries"===
In the case of book publishing, the absence of copyright protection would likely result in a smaller number of titles published. This would not necessarily be a bad thing, since what we really want is not more titles, but more good books at lower prices. [[Arnold Plant|Plant]] argues that the copyright system has a somewhat perverse consequence in that it encourages publication of more titles, but not enough copies of the books people really want to read.

Because of the nature of his business, a publisher cannot be sure of the success of a new title, and most titles do not cover their costs. However, a successful title can be quite profitable, and these profits subsidize losses from unsuccessful titles. Since a publisher cannot know beforehand which new titles will be successful, publishing has some aspects of a lottery: in order to make money on successful titles, the publisher has to take a chance on many different titles, most of which he knows will be failures.

Copyright affects this situation by increasing the profitability of successful titles: in terms of the lottery, copyright protection increases the "prize" without affecting, on the other hand, the risks involved. ''Ceteris paribus'', we expect that, with equal risks, a larger prize will induce a player to buy more "tickets." Therefore, more titles will be published under a copyright system, but the resulting monopoly position guarantees that the books people really want (the successful titles) will be published in smaller quantities and at higher prices.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

===Sponsorship===
With attempts to enforce copyright increasingly becoming nonviable, writers may turn to other sources of funding, like sponsorship.

There may be a revival of the patronage model, with wealthy fans supplying the writers they admire with the funds they need to concentrate on their work. In truth, we already have an indirect version of this in the form of arts foundations underwritten by private donors. This notion of a writer being personally sponsored by a rich individual may seem unusual, but, unless one wants to dismiss the entire corpus of Western literature written before the 1700s, it has to be admitted that the arrangement can produce great books.

The technology that led to this dilemma also offers an alternative in the form of crowdsourced patronage. The best-known of these new funding platforms is ''Kickstarter'', a website that allows people to raise money for all kinds of projects, including books (and magazines and bookstores). The donors don’t own any rights to the results, but their donations can win them such unusual benefits as having characters named after them in a forthcoming novel.

On Kickstarter, book proposals have attracted from as much as $85,000 (for a memoir about psychedelic visionary Terence McKenna, to be written by his younger brother) to as a little as $324 (to commission original cover art for a self-published e-book). The more modest the goal, the more likely it will be met. The average successful proposal seems to run a few thousand bucks — not as much as a traditional hardcover book advance, certainly, but more than what many writers might get from a small press.<ref name="Miller_favorite">Laura Miller. [http://www.salon.com/2011/10/05/your_favorite_author_brought_to_you_by_a_wealthy_patron/singleton/ "Your favorite author, brought to you by a wealthy patron"], ''Salon'', October 5, 2011. Referenced 2011-10-13.</ref>

Any patronage system would necessitate some manner of creator compliance with the patron's wishes; that is what the patron is paying for. However, with a large number of potential patrons on the market, a given writer does not need to feel dependent on financial arrangements with a particularly disagreeable patron; he is free to find another patron — or even to work for a multitude of patrons simultaneously.

Patronage can be expressed monetarily, but it need not be. In-kind patronage — such as that performed by numerous online magazines that publish essays by contributing authors — is another mechanism by which writers can find resources to support their endeavors.<ref name="Stolyarov_Writers">Gennady Stolyarov II. [http://mises.org/daily/4008 "Writers Can Prosper Without Intellectual Property"], ''Mises Daily'', January 13, 2010. Referenced 2011-10-17.</ref>

===Self-Patronage===
"Self-patronage" means writing during one's leisure time while pursuing another occupation as a primary income generator. If another person with an above-average income can serve as a patron for a writer, then it is just as easy for the writer himself to earn an above-average income in a profession of his choice and then use it to subsidize his writing.

This is a promising option for many writers today, and it should not be dismissed as a viable long-term model for the creation of quality output. Self-patronage is tremendously efficient; it frees the writer from having to get clearance from any external entity to write or publish what he pleases. Moreover, it frees the writer from needing to satisfy a mass audience; he can make his works as sophisticated, specialized, or controversial as he pleases. If they gain notice and admiration, this can result in some added bonuses for the writer; if they fail to catch on, he is not endangered in his livelihood and can always try again.

With the ability to publish for free on the Internet, writers no longer require access to large institutions or wealthy individuals in order to spread their ideas to a large audience. They do, of course, need to compete with a much larger pool of creators than has ever existed — and this may result in difficulties for quality work in getting notice commensurate with its merits. However, because self-patronage eliminates the costs of getting external clearance, a writer can be as productive as he is motivated to be.<ref name="Stolyarov_Writers" />

===Online-Content Sites===
A remarkable development on the Internet in recent years has enabled hundreds of thousands of writers to earn modest income streams from advertisements that appear on the pages where their work is published. Large commercial websites typically contract with numerous advertisers and establish an infrastructure for writers to conveniently publish a variety of works.

Various commercial enterprises with a variety of compensation mechanisms have evolved to enable layman writers to earn small revenues from their work without needing to have expertise in marketing or salesmanship. The methods have their shortcomings, but a few years ago they did not exist at all. Within a few decades, it may be possible for large numbers of authors to earn a living by writing and publishing their works on the Internet without being members of any syndicate or media organization's staff.<ref name="Stolyarov_Writers" />

===Larger Initial Advances===
Writers seeking to publish their works via the "traditional" system could come to expect larger initial advances from publishers as a tradeoff for smaller, less stable, and generally diminishing royalty streams. The publisher would pay the writer a larger one-time fee, getting in exchange the first-mover advantage over the competition.

British novels during the 19th century did not have copyright on their works in the United States; instead, they typically sold the rights to a first printing of their work in the United States. Thereafter, the original US publishers of these authors would not owe them royalties and would therefore not be obligated to pay this additional expense, putting them on par with potential later publishers of the same works. The British authors made more money selling their works in the US in this manner than they did under the copyright and royalty system in Britain. Moreover, their works became significantly more popular in the United States than those of their American contemporaries.<ref name="Stolyarov_Writers" />

===Living books and added value===
Offering books for free doesn't have to be a "give it away and pray" business model. Instead, people need to have a reason to buy.

In one case, it can be regular updates to any book you buy. So, rather than thinking about it as buying the content of the book, you can think about it as paying for a regular update on a particular topic. It becomes an ongoing service, which provides a scarce good, rather than a single transaction for content. As such, "piracy" becomes less and less of an issue, because the content you get may be quite out of date, and give you reason to pay up for real to make sure you are regularly up-to-date. The publishing house [[O'Reilly]] publishes (wonderful and useful) technology books, where there's an obvious advantage to keeping current and up-to-date for readers of those books.

The biggest threat from pirated ebooks is to the most established franchise authors. In Tim O’Reilly's observations about piracy: obscurity is a greater threat to most authors than piracy, and piracy is "progressive taxation."<ref name="Living_Books">[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091126/1153467096.shtml "Creating Living Books: A Defense Against 'Piracy'?"], ''techdirt'', Dec 10th 2009. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

The most popular authors are also the ones who have the biggest personal followings. They are the most capable of adding material: notes about what they’re working on, correspondence with fans or critics, even observations about other people’s books that would add some value for many of the readers of their stories. In fact, a regular "update to my readers" from a top-flight author that is available only in their ebooks, or to purchasers of their ebooks, would be an attraction to many and could serve as a constant reminder that downloading their books from illegitimate sources is cheating them.<ref name="Shatzkin_piracy">Mike Shatzkin. [http://www.idealog.com/blog/some-thoughts-about-piracy "Some thoughts about piracy"], ''The Shatzkin Files'', November 25, 2009. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

===Keeping the physical form===
There should remain some market for printed books, at least. While in the past publishers tried to produce books as cheap as possible, that worked as long as buying printed books was the only way to read them. If printed books are optional, publishers will have to work harder to entice people to buy them. There should be some market, but it's hard to foresee how big, because its size will depend not on macro trends like the amount people read, but on the ingenuity of individual publishers.

Some magazines may thrive by focusing on the magazine as a physical object. Fashion magazines could be made lush in a way that would be hard to match digitally, at least for a while. But that is probably not an option for most magazines.<ref name="Graham_Publishing" />

===Publishing books in parts===
In centuries past, authors used to have their books published one chapter at a time in major periodicals. Readers had to purchase multiple issues to read the entire book.

In this way, authors can get paid by the newspapers. The newspapers make a profit by selling multiple, successive issues. Printing companies can "free ride" by printing the book without paying royalties. Authors are promoted by having their works published by multiple firms. Consumers get the best deal of all: they can read a few chapters in the newspaper, then purchase the entire book at a competitive price.<ref name="Community_Without">Mises Community. [http://mises.org/Community/wikis/economics/a-world-without-intellectual-property.aspx "A World Without Intellectual Property"], referenced 2012-03-29.</ref>

==Computer software==
Many claim that if software could be copied freely, then software developers would have no incentive to create it. Note, however, that hardware manufacturers would have an incentive to support software development (and perhaps even give it away), since the availability of more and better software increases the demand for hardware.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

In few industries has there been such extensive innovation as in the software industry – and virtually none of the innovations in this industry took place with the protection of intellectual monopoly.

Prior to the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''Diamond vs Diehr'', it was not possible to patent software at all and the current burst of patent lawsuits originates in the subsequent extension of patents to software products in the 1994 Federal Circuit Court ruling ''In re Alapat''.

Not only did patents play no role in software innovation, copyrights played only a limited role. While computer programs were often copyrighted, in the early years of the PC industry, copyright was seldom respected or enforced. [[Microsoft]] made little effort either legal or technical to protect their "intellectual property" in their early creative days. It is in the 21st century that they invest their time and energy in the prevention of copying.

The best evidence that copyright and patents are not needed and that competition leads to thriving innovation in the software industry, is its thriving and innovative portion developing [[open source software]].<ref name="Boldrin_Monopoly">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 19-23.</ref>

Some computer game creators choose to release their games for free and still earn money.<ref name="Petitte_Anodyne">Omri Petitte. [http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/21/anodyne-pirate-bay/ "Anodyne creators earn over $12K from Pirate Bay promotion"], ''PC Gamer'', February 21 2013. Referenced 2013-02-24.</ref>

==Music==
There might be greater reliance on such collateral sources of income as personal appearances, lectures, consulting, live performances, etc. If musical recordings could be freely copied (which increasingly happens to be the case now), musicians would still have an incentive to compose and record music in order to stimulate the demand for live performances.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

===Financed by fans===
In 2005, the Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Siberry has offered her songs as plain MP3s and the customers could set whatever price they like.<ref name="Lohmann_Siberry">Fred von Lohmann. [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2005/11/jane-siberry-opens-window-better-download-world "Jane Siberry Opens a Window On a Better Download World"], ''Electronic Frontier Foundation'', November 27, 2005. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

Fans were offered the choice to pay nothing, pay later, pay what they wish, or pay $0.99 for each song they download from her. The results might come as a surprise to some as the majority of people opted not to take the free track; in fact the average price paid for a track came in at $1.14 per track.<ref name="Freakonomics_Canadian">[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060503/126211.shtml "Music Fans Not Actually Criminals, Willing To Pay For Music"], ''techdirt''; also [http://www.freakonomics.com/2006/05/03/how-is-a-canadian-art-pop-singer-like-a-bagel-salesman/ "How Is a Canadian Art-Pop Singer Like a Bagel Salesman?"], ''Freakonomics'' from Stephen J. Dubner, 05/03/2006. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

Composer and bandleader Maria Schneider won a jazz [[Grammy]] in 2005 with "Concert in the Garden," as did Billy Childs in 2006 and Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri in 2007 -- all on the ''ArtistShare'' label.

In this type of a project, customers are offered levels of participation in the entire process of creating a recording. The range of perks escalates as the price rises - ranging from a copy of the album up to invitations to recording sessions and more.

The association with ArtistShare has enabled Schneider to compose and record music for a 17-piece ensemble, find an involved audience that offers both enthusiasm and financial support, and -- as a little icing on the cake -- win a few Grammys. In addition to the personal gratification, Schneider's "Sky Blue" project has generated nearly $200,000 from the participants, with 15% going to the company, the balance (about $170,000) to her.<ref name="Heckman_fans">Don Heckman. [http://articles.latimes.com/2008/feb/10/entertainment/ca-schneider10 "Making fans a part of the inner circle"], ''Los Angeles Times'', February 10, 2008. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

According to artist Amanda Palmer, a disagreement with her label and a guilty fan's repayment for burning her CD from a friend led her to mount the largest crowd-funding music project to date, which brought in $1.2 million to record her most recent album, ''Theatre is Evil''.<ref name="Rolling_Amanda">[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/amanda-palmer-addresses-crowdfunding-criticism-in-ted-talk-20130302 "Amanda Palmer Addresses Crowdfunding Criticism in TED Talk"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMj_P_6H69g video], ''Rolling Stone'', March 2, 2013. Referenced 2013-03-03.</ref>

===Radiohead===
In 2007, [[Radiohead]], one of the world's most successful groups, released its new album, ''In Rainbows'', as a pay-what-you-will digital download. The gambit was a savvy business move. In the first month, about a million fans downloaded In Rainbows. Roughly 40 percent of them paid for it, at an average of $6 each, netting the band nearly $3 million. Plus, since it owns the master recording (a first for the band), Radiohead was also able to license the album for a record label to distribute the old-fashioned way. The band makes money principally from touring.<ref name="Byrne_Value">[http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_yorke?currentPage=all "David Byrne and Thom Yorke on the Real Value of Music"], ''Wired Magazine'', 12.18.07. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

===Rolling Stones===
The rise of illegal file sharing and the correspondingly steep worldwide decline in CD sales have made these tough times for record companies and recording artists alike. But the [[Rolling Stones]] are doing very nicely. Touring is now the most lucrative part of the band’s business. The Bigger Bang tour, from 2005 to 2007, was the highest-grossing tour of all time raking in $558 million. "The band has also been ahead of the curve in recruiting sponsors, selling song rights and flogging merchandise.

Mick Jagger, who's "beady oversight" of the band's financial affairs has helped make it one of the richest in rock ’n’ roll history, says: "There was a window in the 120 years of the record business where performers made loads and loads of money out of records. But it was a very small window — say, 15 years between 1975 and 1990."<ref name="Heller_Mick">Zoe Heller. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/t-magazine/5well-mick-dek.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=holiday-issue "Mick Without Moss"], ''New York Times'', December 3, 2010. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

===Grateful Dead===
A notorious example of working outside the traditional notions of copyright is the band [[Grateful Dead]]. The band not only encouraged concertgoers to record their live shows, they actually established "taper sections" where fans' equipment could be set up for the best sound quality. When nearly every other band said "no" the Grateful Dead created a huge network of people who traded tapes in pre-Internet days. The broad exposure led to millions of new fans and sold tickets to the live shows. They become one of the most successful bands of all time.<ref name="Scott_Marketing">David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan. [http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100716005061/en/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead "Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead"], ''Business Wire'', July 16, 2010. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref> The band has had 19 gold albums, 6 platinum albums, and 4 albums that have gone multiplatinum.<ref name="French_Secrets">Doug French. [http://mises.org/daily/4662 "Secrets of the Most Successful Touring Band of All Time"], ''Mises Daily'', August 24, 2010. Referenced 2011-10-18.</ref>

===Shared concert experience===
While touring with his rock band Fiction Plane in 2010, bass player and vocalist Joe Sumner discovered up one morning 450 videos on YouTube of the previous night’s show in Lithuania. Uploaded by fans with mobile phones, the footage was mostly of low quality. But it gave Sumner an idea: "What if we could link all of these videos and make a compelling movie?"

Vyclone, a company Sumner founded, attempts to realize this vision. Its free program lets two or more people in close proximity shoot video with their iPhones, upload the clips, and view a movie automatically spliced together from different angles. A simple-to-use video editor lets users play director, toggling from one angle to the next with the tap of a finger.

Its creators see the app as a tool for citizen journalists, allowing them to weave together a documentary of a live news event. They hope it will become a killer app for home movies: “I can film the kid blowing out the candles and I can have my buddy filming my wife, who’s sobbing, and I can have somebody else filming grandpa and grandma with their arms around each other enjoying the moment,” he says. “I get Vyclone to stitch that together in a multi-angle movie that tells the full story of the moment.”

While the app is free, Vyclone may begin charging for extras, such as longer movie times and higher resolution.<ref name="MacMillan_Crowdscourced">Douglas MacMillan. [http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-19/joe-sumner-synchronizing-crowdsourced-movies#r=nav "Joe Sumner: Synchronizing Crowdsourced Movies"], ''Business Week'', July 19, 2012. Referenced 2012-07-24.</ref> In this way, technology helps artists connect with fans and gives fans a reason to buy (concert tickets, merchandise, etc.). Concerts may have just gotten more interesting.<ref name="Geigner_Bootleg">Timothy Geigner. [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120720/06062819775/rocker-creates-app-to-better-bootleg-video-experience.shtml "Rocker Creates App To Better The Bootleg Video Experience"], ''techdirt'', July 23rd 2012. Referenced 2012-07-24.</ref>

===PSY===
When the South Korean singer/rapper PSY came out with his "Gangnam Style" video and song this fall, it went viral beyond anyone’s expectations. It was poised to become the first YouTube video to receive 1 billion views, and it has happened in a very short period of time.

PSY (Park Jae-sang) is an artist who had previously languished in obscurity for a decade. He knew the value of exposure. When his song began to be pirated, when restaurants opened with the name Gangnam Style, when T-shirts and products began to appear all over, he refused to enforce his intellectual property. He very cleverly saw that sharing can only be good for him.<ref name="Tucker_State">Jeffrey Tucker. [http://lfb.org/today/how-the-state-will-die/ "How the State Will Die"], ''Laissez Faire Club'', December 13, 2012. Referenced 2013-02-09.</ref> And sure enough, he is estimated to make $8.1 million in 2012 year from iTunes downloads, concert tickets, and advertising alone.<ref name="Youkyung_PSY">Youkyung Lee and Ryan Nakashima. [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cashing-gangnam-styles-youtube-fame "PSY's riches from 'Gangnam Style' not made at home"], ''AP'', December 5 2012. Referenced 2013-02-09.</ref> Thanks to his refusal to participate in the IP system, he has become of the world’s most famous musicians.<ref name="Tucker_State" />

==Fashion==
Advocates of intellectual property say, and conventional wisdom holds, that without IP protections, artists will be without the incentives necessary for them to create. Or at least they, the artists, will not be afforded the protection to profit from their work. This is because “pirates” could come along and copy their work and underbid the prices, or another designer could pass the work off as his or her own. Either way, they argue, [[free riding]] would stand in the way of artist profits. However, Kal Raustiala, of UCLA, and Christopher Jon Sprigman, of the University of Virginia, have found that regarding the fashion industry “copying may actually promote innovation and benefit originators.” This they call the “piracy paradox.”

In ''The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design'', Raustiala and Sprigman show that indeed it is copying that provides the incentives for designers to continuously innovate. For if one producer is able to copy another, and provide the same goods at a lower cost, then in order to compete, the first producer must constantly be introducing new items. The result of such an arrangement is that more, better goods are produced, and their prices tend to fall<ref>[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=878401 "The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design"], ''Virginia Law Review'', Vol. 92, p. 1687, 2006 UCLA School of Law Research Paper No. 06-04 Web. Accessed 09-21-2011</ref>. Jeffrey Tucker has made the same argument. He describes that the pace of innovation and creation in the industry occurs quite rapidly, and that because of emulation, consumers are continually being offered better goods at lower prices. He uses Talbot's and Walmart as an example, wherein the latter takes its cues from the former, and within a short period of time, consumers may purchase essentially the same garment at a lower price<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI7moMzwF8g "The Evils of Intellectual Property by Jeffrey Tucker"] (video). Accessed 09-22-2011</ref>. Copying forces designers to innovate.<ref name="Blakley_fashion">[http://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture.html "Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture"] (video), ''TED.com'', April 2010. There are also [http://www.learcenter.org/pdf/TEDxBlakley.pdf slides] (pdf) from the talk and more [http://www.learcenter.org/html/projects/?cm=ccc/fashion research] from the author. Referenced 2011-10-23.</ref>

In some cases, consumers appear to view the purchase of a counterfeit as a less risky trial or prelude to the purchase of the more expensive original.<ref name="Gentry_Lauren">James W. Gentry, Sanjay Putrevu, Clifford Shultz II and Suraj Commuri. [http://cbafiles.unl.edu/public/faculty/jgentry/acr2000.htm "How Now Ralph Lauren? The Separation of Brand and Product in a ''Counterfeit Culture''"], referenced 2012-08-26.</ref>

==Movies and television==
Movies could evolve into advertisements. Many already feature prominent [[product placement]].{{Fact}}

Or they could return to their roots and make going to the theater a treat. If they made the experience good enough, audiences might start to prefer it to watching pirated movies at home.<ref name="Graham_Publishing" />

Sponsorship doesn't need to involve advertisements or significant influence on the final product. Monty Python star Terry Gilliam made a short film that was wholly financed by an Italian pasta company. The film, which will be screened at the London Film Festival, follows another short he made in 2010, backed by a US drinks manufacturer. "It wasn't selling out," the 70-year-old film-maker told the BBC. "The only stipulations were the film had to be made in Naples and nobody gets killed in it. I did exactly what I wanted to do."

"Making a short is a lot easier than doing feature-length movies, where most of your time is spent raising the money," the director said. "This took no time to raise the money. All the time was spent making the movie."

According to Gilliam, such affiliations can be beneficial to both parties - provided the backer adopts a "hands off" approach that ensures the film-maker's creative freedom. "I think it might be happening more," he said. "The company gets its name up there [on screen], but the audience gets to see a real film."<ref name="Smith_Gilliam">Neil Smith. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15304280 "Terry Gilliam defends his pasta-sponsored short film"], ''BBC News'', 14 October 2011. Referenced 2011-10-15.</ref>

When director of the highly successful series ''Game of Thrones'' David Petrarca was told that it was the most pirated show of 2012, he shrugged and said the illegal downloads did not matter because such shows thrived on "cultural buzz" and capitalised on the social commentary they generated. "That's how they survive," he told the crowd gathered at the University of Western Australia.<ref name="Sydney_Downloads">[http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/downloads-dont-matter-20130226-2f36r.html#ixzz2LywE7AZ2 "Downloads don't matter"], ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', February 26, 2013. First noted [http://winteriscoming.net/2013/02/thrones-director-illegal-downloads-dont-matter/ here], see also a later [http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tv/game-of-thrones-piracy-comment-rejected-by-hbo/#/0 statement] issued by the channel producing the series. Referenced 2013-03-12.</ref>

===Blockbuster movies===
It is sometimes alleged that, without a copyright monopoly, multi-million dollar movie productions would never happen in case there wasn’t a guaranteed return on investment.

First, it’s a contradiction in terms. By definition, an [[investment]] is the acceptance of a [[risk]] for a possible return which is larger than the initial investment; there is no such thing as a right to profit off of any endeavor.

Second, culture has always been fluent in its forms of expression. A hundred years ago, folk songs and concerts with classical music were the two predominant expressions of culture. A hundred years before still, it was ballets and operettes in French and Italian. We should expect feature films to peak and fade, too: to give way for something else and better. Gaming and immersive culture, perhaps.

But let’s assume that everything could spread freely as soon as it was digitized, and that this would result in no more revenue for a certain blockbuster movie once it was shared in the wild (which is a completely false assumption, but one that the copyright monopoly maximalists argue, and so, let’s stick with it for the sake of argument).

This means that after the opening weekend of a blockbuster, it would yield no more revenue under this (false) assumption. As an example, the movie Return of the King cost 94 million US dollars to make. On opening weekend, it grossed 199 million.<ref name="Box_Return">[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=returnoftheking.htm "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"], ''Box Office Mojo''. $199 million is a sum of the "foreign" and "domestic" (US) total grosses for the opening weekend. Referenced 2012-02-01.</ref> That’s over a 100% return on investment before a digital copy could be fileshared in the wild.

The next wave of that argument is that all movies don’t reach the 100-percent level of return on investment during opening weekend. That is true, of course. Some reach more, some less, some go at a loss.

On [[Wall Street]], a ten-percent return over a year is a considered a good investment that easily attracts hundreds of millions of dollars (or euros). And frequently enough, those investments… just tank. Just like movies do. But you rarely, if ever see the hundred-percent return on investment on Wall Street financial derivatives that you can make on just opening weekend for a movie production.
<ref name="Box_Return">Rick Falkvinge. [http://falkvinge.net/2012/01/23/debunking-the-argument-that-no-blockbusters-would-be-made-without-the-copyright-monopoly/ "Debunking The Argument That No Blockbusters Would Be Made Without The Copyright Monopoly"], referenced 2012-02-01.</ref>

===The Star Trek franchise===
While many entertainment companies jealously protect their creations through copyright law, Paramount Pictures’ policy toward ''[[Star Trek]]'' has been somewhat different. Until recently, it has generally kept hands off, encouraging private individuals to write their own stories, start their own clubs—even make their own movies or write episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. It has spurred the initiative of individual fans, and that is largely the cause of Star Trek’s vast success.

Soon after the original series’ cancellation in 1969, fans began writing their own stories involving the crew members and publishing them in amateur magazines called "fanzines." The popularity of the fanzines helped to keep Star Trek alive and to bring about the first movie in 1979. Fanzines are probably the most important avenue of communication between fans.

Rather than cracking down on fanzines, Paramount took an almost laissez-faire attitude toward them. (Some fanzines even featured sexually explicit stories about the Enterprise crew. As one fan put it in the recent documentary film Trekkies, "We thought that either Gene [Roddenberry, the show's creator] or the studio would put a stop to it, but the studio never really seemed to care.") Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager are the only shows in Hollywood that accept unsolicited scripts from fans.

Star Trek’s fans are an often-lampooned bunch, ranging from politicians and professors to obsessive teenagers. One teen-aged fan featured in Trekkies, Gabriel Koemer, showed how his local club had written their own Star Trek-based movie, complete with costumes and spectacular special-effects sequences that Koerner rendered on his home computer. The private Star Trek entrepreneurs were also responsible for the now frequent Star Trek conventions. Paramount Pictures didn’t begin the conventions—but they haven’t discouraged them either. As William Shatner (Captain Kirk) writes, in the 1970s "Star Trek parties began springing up on college campuses, where whole groups of Trek-nuts got together to watch the show and celebrate their fascination with the series." Now conventions are monthly events, with thousands of participants and millions of dollars in sales.

Starfleet International, a club of about 4,000 Star Trek fans, with a vast Web site and its own newsletter, is another example of Star Trek activity. Like many other clubs, it’s not officially licensed by Paramount. In fact, the studio sponsors only one official fan club—and it’s not all that popular.<ref name="Sandefur_Starship">Timothy Sandefur. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-starship-private-enterprise/ "The Starship Private Enterprise"], ''The Freeman'', May 2000. Referenced 2012-12-18.</ref>

===Movies in Nigeria===
[[Nigeria]]n films are widespread in Africa. Public buses show them, as do many restaurants and hotels. Nollywood, as the business is known, churns out about 50 full-length features a week, making it the world’s second most prolific film industry after India’s [[Bollywood]]. The Nigerian business capital, Lagos, is said by locals to have produced more films than there are stars in the sky. The streets are flooded with camera crews shooting on location. Only the government employs more people.

Nigerian films are as popular abroad as they are at home. Ivorian rebels in the bush stop fighting when a shipment of DVDs arrives from Lagos. Zambian mothers say their children talk with accents learnt from Nigerian television. When the president of Sierra Leone asked Genevieve Nnaji, a Lagosian screen goddess, to join him on the campaign trail he attracted record crowds at rallies. Millions of Africans watch Nigerian films every day, many more than see American fare.

The market traders control Nollywood to this day. They make films for home consumption rather than for the cinema—a place few can afford, or reach easily. DVD discs sell for a dollar. Print runs can reach a million. Studios, both in the physical and the corporate sense of the term, are unknown. There are no lots, no sound stages and no trailers for the stars. All scenes are shot on location and with a shoestring budget of no more than $100,000.

As soon as a film is released, copyright thieves rip it off. It takes the pirates just two weeks to copy a new film and distribute it across Africa. The merchants must take their money during that fortnight, known as the "mating season", before their discs become commodities. As soon as the mating season is over they start thinking about the next film.

The merchants curse the pirates, but in a way they are a blessing. Pirate gangs were probably Nollywood’s first exporters. They knew how to cross tricky borders and distribute goods across a disparate continent where vast tracts of land are inaccessible. Sometimes they filled empty bags with films when returning from an arms delivery. Often they used films to bribe bored guards at remote borders. The pirates created the pan-African market the filmmakers now feed.

Other African countries made films long before Nollywood. Senegal in particular produced many movies featuring traditional songs and dances. Critics referred to such products as "embassy films" after their mostly diplomatic financiers (notably the French foreign ministry). Many catered to the sensibilities of their European sponsors. Scenes were laboriously captured on celluloid, at great expense. By contrast, Nollywood is cheap and nimble. Films are shot on digital videocameras. Scripts are improvised. Camera work can be shoddy and editing slapdash. But the sheer volume of output—a response to the piracy problem—eventually overwhelmed the embassy films.<ref name="Economist_Nollywood">[http://www.economist.com/node/17723124 "Nollywood: Lights, camera, Africa"], ''The Economist'', Dec 16th 2010. Referenced 2011-10-26.</ref>

===Pornography===
While the pornography industry is nominally protected by copyright, it does not receive the type of social approval that other industries have, and as a result the industry has not focused on the use of the legal system to protect its intellectual monopoly.

Despite social disapprobation, in most relevant respects the pornography industry is similar to "legitimate" movies and recordings. Producing and distributing a pornographic movie or magazine is technically and economically no different from producing and distributing a "legitimate" movie or magazine.

All through the 1980s and then, at a much faster pace, the 1990s technologies such as videotapes and the Internet became available and were quickly adopted. Indeed it is arguable that the replication and distribution of pornographic materials was one of the reasons for the early explosive growth of the [[Internet]] during
the 1994-1999 period. The thousands of Internet sites distributing pornographic materials around the globe are, most of the time, imitators of the main initial producers, most often in violation of copyrights and licensing restrictions. Online pornographers are usually among the first to exploit new technologies — from videostreaming and fee-based subscriptions to pop-up ads and electronic billing. Their bold experimentation has helped make porn one of the most profitable online industries, and their ideas have spread to other "legitimate" companies and became the source of many successful and highly valuable imitations.

The consequence of the tremendous reduction in the cost of copying and redistributing visual materials, and the advent of peer-to-peer networks has not brought about any reduction in the quantity of new pornography
available to consumers – indeed it seems to have expanded considerably. When compared to its "legitimate" counterpart, the pornographic movie and entertainment industry is more innovative, creates new products and adopts new technologies more quickly, and the reduction in distribution cost has resulted in more output at lower prices, and a more diverse product.<ref name="Boldrin_Pornography">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 40-42.</ref>

==News industry==
Most major news agencies have a website where news stories may be viewed for, at most, the cost of a free registration. Far from discouraging the copying of news stories, most sites invite you to "email a copy of this story to a friend." In fact, news is available so freely over the Internet, it is possible to create an entire newspaper simply by linking to stories written by other people. An example of such a "newspaper" is the
site run by [[Drudge Report|Matt Drudge]], which consists almost entirely of links to stories on other sites. Yet the incentive to gather the news has not disappeared.

Especially noteworthy is the market for financial and most other valuable news. Here, highly impatient customers pay substantial fees to purchase from [[Bloomberg]], [[Moody]]s, or [[Reuters]] the real-time news and quotes. The news and quotes then trickle down from websites to cable TVs, to national newspapers, and so on until, often a whole day later, the [[NYSE]] quotes are published in most newspapers around the world.<ref name="Boldrin_News">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 29-31.</ref>

==Fine arts and advertising==
In the fine arts, while individual works can be protected by copyright, methods, techniques, styles, and "concepts" cannot be patented. There is enormous inventive activity in the modern figurative arts – and an equally rampant imitation – all in the complete absence of intellectual monopoly. The widespread experimentation and imitation – by a variety of artists – on the use of perspective is but one example.

Consider also the enormous growth of the contemporary "lesser brother" of the fine arts, advertising and marketing. Its economic impact is one or two orders of magnitude greater than that of the traditional fine arts sector (although the borders have been getting more and more blurred during the course of the last century) and, also in this sector, neither patents nor copyrights play a relevant role. Still, and almost by definition, if there is a sector of economic activity for which innovation and novelty are the key factors, advertising is certainly the prime candidate.<ref name="Boldrin_Monopoly">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 3, p. 66.</ref>

==Research==
A significant proportion of scientific research is done without any expectation on the part of the scientists concerned that they will earn the private market return accruing to any innovations that they may develop. In the G5 economies, higher education accounts for about one fifth of all R&D done, ranging from 16.8% in France to 23.6 in Japan. The figure for the UK is 18.5%. Scientists working in universities and related research institutions may be said to fall into this description, although increasingly research in universities is being informed by the priorities and prerogatives of external industrial concerns. Given the typically small monetary rewards available for pure research, what motivates these researchers?

Such researchers may be motivated by a love of knowledge, or the satisfaction gained from puzzle solving but economists have come to recognise that the most plausible explanation for such behaviour is that scientists are interested in establishing priority and the status and monetary rewards that flow from attaining priority. Scientists are concerned to be the first to communicate a significant new development in their field. Although the earning profile is rather flat in science, "A variety of extra-institutional awards await the successful scientist in the form of prize money and speaking and consulting fees."<ref name="Dixon_Review">Padraig Dixon and Christine Greenhalgh. [http://www.dklevine.com/archive/dixon-review.pdf "The Economics of Intellectual Property: A Review to Identify Themes for Future Research"] (pdf), November 2002, p. 31-32. Referenced 2011-10-06.</ref>

In April, 2012, [[Harvard University]] has encouraged its faculty members to make their research freely available through open access journals and to resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls.

The memo to the university's 2,100 teaching and research staff warned it could no longer afford the price hikes imposed by many large journal publishers, which bill the library around $3.5m a year. The memo said major publishers had created an "untenable situation" at the university by making scholarly interaction "fiscally unsustainable" and "academically restrictive", while drawing profits of 35% or more. Prices for online access to articles from two major publishers have increased 145% over the past six years, with some journals costing as much as $40,000, the memo said.<ref name="Sample_Harvard">Ian Sample. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/24/harvard-university-journal-publishers-prices "Harvard University says it can't afford journal publishers' prices"], ''The Guardian'', 24 April 2012, referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

Earlier in 2012, thousands of researchers started to call for open access publishing. David Prosser, executive director of Research Libraries UK said: "To be made effective, scholarly information has to be made as widely available as possible. We've seen an increasing amount of evidence that shows that, if we move to an open-access world, there are benefits not just to the scientific process itself but also wider economic benefits."

Even if a paper is made available on university repositories, though, often the copyright restrictions are so draconian that the research cannot be used in any subsequent scientific inquiry without prior permission. This has profound implications for the ability of scientists to use modern techniques to get the most out of published research, which grows at the rate of more than 1.5m new research articles every year.<ref name="Jha_angry">Alok Jha. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/09/frustrated-blogpost-boycott-scientific-journals "Academic spring: how an angry maths blog sparked a scientific revolution"], ''The Guardian'', 9 April 2012, referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

==IP in stand-up comedy==
Intellectual property doctrine does not provide effective protection to comedians against copyists. However, social norms can serve as an alternative or supplement to legal protection. The case for intellectual property law can no longer be made by comparison to a hypothetical [[market failure]]. Rather, the argument must explain why non-legal regulation is inadequate, and why market failure is therefore likely in the absence of formal legal regulation. Even when a particular creative practice initially exists under an open-access regime, changing social and economic pressures may result in the rise of non-legal norms, institutions, and practices that maintain a non-trivial level of incentives to create.

In most instances joke thieves faced significant social sanction. In particular, interviewees suggested that allegations of stealing—especially those that appeared to have merit—could impair or destroy a comic’s good reputation among his peers. Reputation in the community, comedians told, is an important asset that, if depleted, could harm a comedian’s chance of success. Comedians who are just starting vie for attention and recognition. Connections to more established comedians are often helpful in finding work, and a good name and goodwill among fellow comedians is also a source of job opportunities.

A second retaliation option, often employed as an adjunct to shunning and bad-mouthing, is for an aggrieved comedian (and sometimes that comedian’s friends and allies) to refuse to appear on the same bill with a known joke thief. This can be, for the accused jokestealer, a painful sanction. Finally, in a several instances, after failing to resolve a dispute amicably, aggrieved comedians reportedly retaliated against joke stealing either by employing or threatening violence.<ref name="Oliar_Laugh">Dotan Oliar and Christopher Jon Sprigman. [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1138376 "There's No Free Laugh (Anymore): The Emergence of Intellectual Property Norms and the Transformation of Stand-Up Comedy"] (abstract, [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1476359_code1293257.pdf?abstractid=1138376&mirid=1 pdf]), September 2009. Referenced 2011-10-09.</ref>

==French chefs==
According to a 2006 study, there is a "norms-based IP system" among accomplished French chefs. (Norms-based IP systems, as the authors define them, operate entirely upon the basis of implicit social norms that are held in common by members of a given community.) These chefs consider recipes they develop to be a very valuable form of intellectual property. After all, professional reputations and customer patronage at restaurants can be built around successful recipes. At the same time, recipes are not effectively covered by law-based intellectual property systems. The authors identify three strong implicit social norms related to the protection of recipe IP and find that accomplished chefs enforce these norms, and apply them in ways that enhance their private economic returns from their recipe-related IP.

First, a very strong norm exists that a chef must not copy another chef’s recipe innovation exactly. This is a functional effect analogous to patenting. The community acknowledges the right of a recipe inventor to exclude others from practicing his invention, even if all the information required to do so is publicly available. A second norm mandates that, if a chef reveals recipe-related secret information to a colleague, that chef must not pass the information on to others without permission. This norm gives a chef a property right similar to that attainable via a contract under trade secrecy law. That is, protected by this norm, a chef can selectively reveal his secret information to another without fearing that as a result, the information will become generally known. A third norm is that colleagues must credit developers of significant recipes as the authors of that information. This norm gives an additional property right to a chef. The chef may choose to selectively or publicly reveal information about his innovation without jeopardizing the valuable related property right of acknowledged authorship.

Accomplished chefs are significantly more likely to deny requested information to colleagues who they believe may violate the three social norms just described. This shows that the implicit norms that together offer functionality similar to that of law-based IP systems, are being enforced within the studied community. This leads the authors to conclude that information not afforded the protection of intellectual property law may nonetheless be controlled by an effective intellectual property regime based entirely on implicit norms.<ref name="Fauchart_Norms">Emmanuelle Fauchart* and Eric von Hippel. [http://web.mit.edu/people/evhippel/papers/French%20Chefs%20WP%201-12-07.pdf "Norms-based intellectual property systems: the case of French chefs"] (pdf), MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper 4576-06, January, 2006. Referenced 2013-02-24.</ref>

==Other ways to deal with a lack of IP==
===First-mover advantage===
Without any intellectual property protection brave inventors will try out expensive new things, while parasitic imitators will sit out, letting the experiments run their course, and then imitating only successful practices. In this way, as the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] reminds on their anti-piracy web site, "The thieves [...] go straight to the top and steal the gold" bringing the recording company to economic ruin.

However, picking only winners means waiting until it is clear who is a winner. Try ruining the poor pop star by pirating her tunes only once you are certain they are big hits! (Where "being a hit" means "having sold millions of copies.") Try competing in a real industry by imitating the winners only when they have already won and you have left them plenty of time to make huge profits, establish and consolidate their position – and probably not leaving much of a market for the sleek imitator.<ref name="Boldrin_First_Mover">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 32-33.</ref>

The primary advantage is simply that it takes time and money to reverse engineer a product. One can easily learn by looking at what American publishers did around 1870 – flooding the market with lots of cheap copies of the book, thereby making life for anyone but the cheapest of the cheap imitators impossible. Moreover, the expertise that comes with being the innovator, and having been in production for longer than competitors has substantial market value. The example of Boulton and Watt after the expiration of their patents is a case in point, but there are many others, such as the fact that patented drugs continue to command a substantial premium over their generic competitors, even long after the patent expires. In short – even without the benefit of legal protection, the innovator certainly will enjoy a short-term monopoly, and can depend on such forces as reputation and consumer loyalty working to his advantage.<ref name="Boldrin_First_advantages">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 6, p. 154-157, 159-161.</ref>

===Out-compete the competition===
Many products come to us every day that are not patented. Look at a Kleenex, that is, a facial tissue. Any paper manufacturer can make one. The Kleenex company was first to make the big time, and it has stayed on top through relentless innovation in design. So we have fancy boxes of every shape and size, tissues with oil in them, tissues with smells, and various colors and things. The company is still on top.

Boldrin and Levine give the example of TravelPro, the suitcase with wheels. Every company can replicate it. But TravelPro stays on top through new design and marketing.

Everyone has to marvel at how Arm and Hammer stays on top of the baking soda market. Talk about easy to replicate. And yet the company practically has a market monopoly, and has held it for many decades. The innovation here too is relentless: toothpaste, deodorant, cleaning products, you name it.

You can try this at home. Think of any company that has an open-source product that continues to make money and stay up top: Tupperware, Red Hat, Band Aid, Firefox, Tylenol, Bayer, Hershey. It is a long list, nearly infinite.

The competition is fierce. How do they deal with it? The model is always the same. Get there first. Stay on top through marketing. Count on brand loyalty. Innovate. Explain your superiority. Never rest on your laurels. Move forward and watch the competition carefully.<ref name="Tucker_failure">Jeffrey Tucker. [http://archive.mises.org/9414/ip-its-a-market-failure-argument/ "IP: It’s a market failure argument"], ''Mises Blog'', February 10, 2009. Referenced 2013-02-05.</ref>

===Complementary sales===
Another first-mover advantage, for creative works especially, is the well-documented and strong preference for
originals, signed copies and early versions that are in scarce supply, to more widely available versions. The preference for originals, signed or autographed copies and so forth, is just a special example of a more general phenomenon: the complementary sale. That is, a creation, while not terribly scarce in some markets, is often quite scarce in other markets, and the innovator can generally command a premium for his services in areas not directly related to his idea. Examples of this abound. In music, live performances will remain scarce, no matter what the price of electronic copies. Movies will be produced as long as first run theatrical profits are sufficient to cover production costs, and no matter how many copies are given away over the Internet for free. Substantial money is to be earned by authors or inventors by going on the talk-show circuit. Even t-shirts signed by a famous author may be enough to pay for the opportunity cost of his labor in producing his great literary work – amazingly enough, a number of small online comic strips have found it a profitable business model to give their strip away for free, and sell t-shirts.

The greatest complementary sale of all, is, of course, the sale of advertising. Those who doubt the possibility of making a profit from giving a product away for free would do well to look into the history of the radio and television industry. How many people became fabulously wealthy from an industry that for the first 40 years of its existence had no choice but to provide its product for free?<ref name="Boldrin_First_advantages" />

===Creating more===
If there is a [[first-mover advantage]] that lasts several months or years, irrespective of whether intellectual property exists, then a given author who chooses to adhere to the "traditional" publishing system could pursue the strategy of writing and publishing a new work every time the first-mover advantage of the previous work has been exhausted. An author could not expect to live off the royalties from a single work — even a widely popular work — forever but would need to keep creating in order to maintain his revenue stream.

This is not far off from the current situation; after all, most published books do not sell nearly well enough to assure the authors even a modest stream of lifetime earnings. Moreover, such a system would incentivize creation of further works.

Indeed, prior to the introduction of copyright, European classical composers found it necessary to continually create music, as their older and already-famous pieces were often performed internationally without any compensation given to them. Even so, some of these composers managed to be phenomenally prosperous as well as prolific.

The most famous composer of the early 18th century, and one of the most prosperous, was Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), who is thought by some to be the most prolific composer in human history, with over 3000 works to his name. Telemann's status is rivaled by Simon Sechter (1788–1867), who wrote over 8000 works, many of them short fugues, and who endeavored to create at least one short composition every day. Neither composer lived under a copyright regime.

Virtually all of the big names of classical music — Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Berlioz — composed without copyright and were not dismayed when their works were performed without their participation or consent. Composers through the Romantic era would often borrow passages from their peers and predecessors and develop creative orchestrations and variations thereof. This was not considered to be theft but rather the ultimate compliment.<ref name="Stolyarov_Writers" />

===Directly selling information===
People will pay for information they think they can make money from. That's why they paid for those stock tip newsletters, and why companies pay now for Bloomberg terminals and Economist Intelligence Unit reports. There have always been people in the business of selling information, but that has historically been a distinct business from publishing. And the business of selling information to consumers has always been a marginal one.<ref name="Graham_Publishing">Paul Graham. [http://www.paulgraham.com/publishing.html "Post-Medium Publishing"], September 2009. Referenced 2011-10-01.</ref>

===Finding the right customer===
Nicholas Lovell writes in a book about how authors and others can and must adapt to the digital generation to find ways to profit in the face of copying and file sharing. Between millions of potential customers in the world, most won’t pay anything for a product, but some (who he calls "superfans") will pay almost anything.

In many cases, businesses can win by sharing their product (or a version of their product) for free, allowing it to spread as widely as possible. Eventually, a huge number of freeloaders spread the word to the superfans who value that product the most. And a small number of superfans will love a product so much that they will spend substantial sums of money on it—given the chance. These high-value customers are enough to fuel a profitable business. For example:

* Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor gave away his album for free to find the 2,500 hardcore fans who wanted the $300 limited ultradeluxe edition.
* Bigpoint, an independent game developer, released three adventure games to 130 million users—and made 80 percent of its $80 million revenue from just 23,000 users, who spent money to upgrade their game-playing arsenal.
* King Arthur Flour shares useful recipes and tips on its Web site, enchanting a cult of devoted bakers, many of whom happily travel to its Vermont headquarters for expensive specialty baking classes.

According to Lovell, the potential for piracy will spread to industries that believed they were immune to such disruption, however, businesses have an opportunity to make money by offering variety, complexity, and flexibility at little to no extra cost.<ref name="Kinsella_Lovell_Curve">Stephan Kinsella. [http://c4sif.org/2013/10/the-curve-how-smart-companies-use-freeloaders-to-find-superfans/ "The Curve: How Smart Companies use Freeloaders to find Superfans"], ''Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom'', October 16, 2013. Refers to the book [http://www.amazon.com/The-Curve-Companies-High-Value-Customers/dp/1591846633 "The Curve: How Smart Companies Find High-Value Customers" (Amazon)] by Nicholas Lovell, ISBN 978-1591846635. Referenced 2013-10-03.</ref>

===Owning the channel===
What about iTunes? [[Apple]] controls the default path onto the iPod. They offer a convenient list of songs, and whenever you choose one they ding your credit card for a small amount, just below the threshold of attention. Basically, iTunes makes money by taxing people, not selling them stuff. You can only do that if you own the channel, and even then you don't make much from it, because a toll has to be ignorable to work. Once a toll becomes painful, people start to find ways around it, and that's pretty easy with digital content.

The situation is much the same with digital books. Whoever controls the device sets the terms. It's in their interest for content to be as cheap as possible, and since they own the channel, there's a lot they can do to drive prices down. Prices will fall even further once writers realize they don't need publishers. Getting a book printed and distributed is a daunting prospect for a writer, but most can upload a file.<ref name="Graham_Publishing" />

In a similar vein, encryption schemes are widely used for video game players. They require special software which resides only on consoles (produced and commercialized by the same company which manufactures the games) in order to be played. When you buy one such game you are aware that, without access to the specific additional tool, you will not be able to play it. The market for video games works well without any mandatory legislation. Those consumers that like video games enough to pay also for the console buy the latter, those that do not, do not.<ref name="Boldrin_Game">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 5, p. 131.</ref>

==Boycotting as an alternative to IP==
If there wouldn't be IP laws, how could one deal with certain activities that would be still highly undesirable? As [[Roderick Long]] points out: "Suppose I pirate your work, put my name on it, and market it as mine. Or suppose I revise your work without your permission, and market it as yours. Have I done nothing wrong?"

On the contrary, Long argues that is definitely a rights-violation - but not a violation of the author's rights, but those of the customers. By selling one person's work as though it were the work of another, he is defrauding those who purchase the work, as if he sold soy steaks as beef steaks or vice versa. All the author needs to do is buy a copy (so he can claim to be a customer) and then bring a class-action suit against the fraud.

There are other legal options available to the creators of intellectual products. For example, many software manufacturers can and do place copy-protection safeguards on their programs, or require purchasers to sign contracts agreeing not to resell the software. Likewise, pay-TV satellite broadcasters scramble their signal, and then sell descramblers.

None of these techniques is foolproof, of course. A sufficiently ingenious pirater can usually figure out how to get around copy protections or descramble a signal. And conditional-sale contracts place no restriction on third-party users who come by the software in some other way. Still, by making it more difficult to pirate their intellectual products, such companies do manage to decrease the total amount of piracy, and they do stay in business and make profits.

There are more organized and effective ways of securing voluntary compliance, however - like the strategy of [[boycott]]ing those who fail to respect the legitimate claims of the producers. Research conducted by libertarian scholar Tom Palmer has turned up numerous successful instances of such organized boycotts. In the 1930's, for example, the Guild of Fashion Originators managed to protect dress styles and the like from piracy by other designers, without any help from the coercive power of government.

Something more formal can easily be imagined. In the late Middle Ages a voluntary court system was created by merchants frustrated with the inadequacies of governmentally-provided commercial law. This system, known as the [[Law Merchant]] ("law" being the noun and "merchant" the adjective), enforced its decisions solely by means of boycott, and yet it was enormously effective. Suppose producers of intellectual products — authors, artists, inventors, software designers, etc. — were to set up an analogous court system for protecting copyrights and patent rights — or rather, copyclaims and patent claims (since the moral claims in question, though often legitimate, are not rights in the libertarian sense). Individuals and organizations accused of piracy would have a chance to plead their case at a voluntary court, but if found guilty they would be required to cease and desist, and to compensate the victims of their piracy, on pain of boycott.

As one example, the first edition of [[The Lord of the Rings]] to be published in the United States was a pirated edition from Ace Books. The author, Tolkien, could not take legal action against Ace. But when Ballantine came out with its own official author-approved American edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien started a campaign against the Ace edition. The Ballantine edition was released with a notice from Tolkien in a green box on the back cover stating that this was the only authorized edition, and urging any reader with respect for living authors to purchase no other. Moreover, every time he answered a fan letter from an American reader, Tolkien appended a footnote explaining the situation and requesting that the recipient spread the word among Tolkien fans that the Ace edition should be boycotted.

Although the Ace edition was cheaper than the Ballantine, it quickly lost readers and went out of print. The boycott was successful.<ref name="Long_Against">Roderick T. Long. [http://freenation.org/a/f31l1.html "The Libertarian Case Against Intellectual Property Rights"], ''Free Nation Foundation'', Autumn 1995 issue of ''Formulations''. Referenced 2011-10-09.</ref>

==Comparisons from history==
===Germany and the UK===
[[Germany]] experienced a rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century. As the German historian Eckhard Höffner argues, it was due to an absence of copyright law. The massive proliferation of books, and thus knowledge, laid the foundation for the country's industrial might.

German authors during this period wrote ceaselessly. Around 14,000 new publications appeared in a single year in 1843. Measured against population numbers at the time, this reaches nearly today's level. And although novels were published as well, the majority of the works were academic papers.

At the same time, only 1,000 new works appeared annually in [[England]] - 10 times fewer than in Germany - and this was not without consequences. Höffner believes it was the chronically weak book market that caused England, the colonial power, to fritter away its head start within the span of a century, while the underdeveloped agrarian state of Germany caught up rapidly, becoming an equally developed industrial nation by 1900.

Copyright law was established early in Great Britain, in 1710. Germany, on the other hand, didn't bother with the concept of copyright for a long time. Prussia, then by far Germany's biggest state, introduced a copyright law in 1837, but Germany's continued division into small states meant that it was hardly possible to enforce the law throughout the empire.

Authors are only motivated to write, runs the conventional belief, if they know their rights will be protected. Yet a historical comparison, at least, reaches a different conclusion. Publishers in England exploited their monopoly shamelessly. New discoveries were generally published in limited editions of at most 750 copies and sold at a price that often exceeded the weekly salary of an educated worker.

London's most prominent publishers made very good money with this system, some driving around the city in gilt carriages. Their customers were the wealthy and the nobility, and their books regarded as pure luxury goods. In the few libraries that did exist, the valuable volumes were chained to the shelves to protect them from potential thieves.

In Germany during the same period, publishers had plagiarizers - who could reprint each new publication and sell it cheaply without fear of punishment - breathing down their necks. Successful publishers were the ones who took a sophisticated approach in reaction to these copycats and devised a form of publication still common today, issuing fancy editions for their wealthy customers and low-priced paperbacks for the masses.

Bestsellers and academic works were introduced to the German public in large numbers and at extremely low prices. "So many thousands of people in the most hidden corners of Germany, who could not have thought of buying books due to the expensive prices, have put together, little by little, a small library of reprints." The prospect of a wide readership motivated scientists in particular to publish the results of their research.

The trade in technical literature was so strong that publishers constantly worried about having a large enough supply, and this situation gave even the less talented scientific authors a good bargaining position in relation to publishers. Many professors supplemented their salaries with substantial additional income from the publication of handbooks and informational brochures.

The German proliferation of knowledge created a curious situation that hardly anyone is likely to have noticed at the time. Sigismund Hermbstädt, for example, a chemistry and pharmacy professor in Berlin, who has long since disappeared into the oblivion of history, earned more royalties for his "Principles of Leather Tanning" published in 1806 than British author Mary Shelley did for her horror novel "Frankenstein," which is still famous today.

The market for scientific literature didn't collapse even as copyright law gradually became established in Germany in the 1840s. German publishers did, however, react to the new situation in a restrictive way reminiscent of their British colleagues, cranking up prices and doing away with the low-price market.<ref name="Thadeusz_Expansion">Frank Thadeusz. [http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,710976,00.html "No Copyright Law: The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion?"], ''Der Spiegel'', 08/18/2010. Article refers to Eckhard Höffner's book ''Geschichte und Wesen des Urheberrechts'' (German; "History and Nature of Copyright"), see a summary of some points by the author: [http://www.cippm.org.uk/downloads/Symposium%202009/Hoffner%20-%20vortrag_eng-10_min.pdf "Copyright and structure of authors’ earnings"] (pdf). See also "[http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/33/33092/1.html Wem nutzt das Urheberrecht?]", an interview with the author in German. Referenced 2011-10-24.</ref>

===USA and the UK===
During the nineteenth century in the United States, anyone was free to reprint a foreign publication. The American publishers found it profitable to make arrangements with British authors, and these authors sometimes received more from the sale of their books by American publishers, where they had no copyright, than from their royalties in Britain. (At the time, the US market was comparable in size to the UK market.)

The American publisher who bought the manuscript had every incentive to saturate the market for that particular novel as soon as possible, to avoid cheap imitators to come in soon after. This led to mass publication at fairly low prices.

This enabled the establishment and rapid growth of a large and successful publishing business in the United States; also, and more importantly, it increased literacy and benefited the cultural development of the American people by flooding the market with cheap copies of great books. As an example: Dickens’ ''A Christmas Carol'' sold for six cents in the US, while it was priced at roughly two dollars and fifty cents in the UK.<ref name="Boldrin_USA_UK">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 2, p. 25-26.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Links==
* [http://blog.mises.org/14823/funding-for-creation-and-innovation-in-an-ip-free-world/ Funding for Creation and Innovation in an IP-Free World] by Stephan Kinsella, December 2010
* [http://www.techdirt.com/skyisrising/ The Sky Is Rising!] by Michael Masnick and Michael Ho, January 2012 (about the solid growth of the entertainment industry in a decade of technological upheaval)
* [https://torrentfreak.com/artists-make-more-money-in-file-sharing-age-than-before-100914/ Artists Make More Money in File-Sharing Age Than Before It] by Ernesto, September 2010
* [http://c4sif.org/2012/04/writing-without-copyright/ Writing Without Copyright] by Christopher Gronland, April 2012
* [http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/5025/1/MPRA_paper_5025.pdf Innovation and Imitation With and Without Intellectual Property Rights] (pdf) by Rufus Pollock, July 2007
* [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2038772 Exchanging Information Without Intellectual Property] (abstract, [https://ecgi.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=787119070001116025010119026093071068125005068013093026075075119088100082100103123085029055063104039010060024125009011092000102019036075005000010106018025122077127091006035122107064119021027097009119096&EXT=pdf pdf]) by Michael J. Burstein, December 2012
* [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Law/IntellectualProperty/IntellectualProperty/?view=usa&ci=9780195399783 The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation] (summary, [http://books.google.de/books?id=nVQAgIRo06EC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books preview]) by Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman, Aug 2012
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khuuKIL5U8s Can Artists Make Money Without Copyrights?] (video) with Stephen Davies, March 2013
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njuo1puB1lg Michael Masnick The Trent Reznor case study] (video), February 2009
* [http://copycat-innovation.com/?p=82 In the real world, companies copy and succeed], ''Copycat Innovation'', May 2012
* [http://www.zdnet.com/new-zealand-bans-software-patents-7000019955/ New Zealand bans software patents] by Rob O’Neill, August 2013
* [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/02/03/editorial-why-games-should-enter-the-public-domain/ Editorial: Why Games Should Enter The Public Domain] by John Walker, February 2014

[[Category:Intellectual property]]
{{Stub}}

Louisiana

2014-02-04T22:16:32Z

Pestergaines: +res

'''Louisiana''' is a [[US state]] located in the Southern [[United States]]. It was the eighteenth state to join the United States, doing so on April 30, 1812. Its capital city is [[Baton Rouge]], and as of 2010, its population is 4,533,372.

==Links==
* [http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/05/louisiana_is_the_worlds_prison.html Louisiana is the world's prison capital] by Cindy Chang, Cindy Chang, May 2012
*[http://www.louisiana.gov Official state website]

[[Category:States of the United States]]

Minimum wage

2014-02-04T22:09:00Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

A '''minimum wage''' is a wage rate established by collective bargaining or by government regulation that specifies the lowest rate at which [[labour]] may be employed. The rate may be defined in terms of the amount, period (i.e., hourly, weekly, monthly, etc.), and scope of coverage. For example, employers may be allowed to count tips received by employees as credits toward the mandated minimum-wage level.<ref name="Britannica_minimum_wage">Encyclopædia Britannica. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384095/minimum-wage "minimum wage"], Encyclopædia Britannica Online, referenced 2010-06-24.</ref>

{{See also|Price controls}}

==Effects of the minimum wage==
A minimum wage law is compulsory [[unemployment]]. The law says: it is illegal, and therefore criminal, for anyone to hire anyone else below the level of X dollars an hour. This means, plainly and simply, that a large number of free and voluntary wage contracts are now outlawed and hence that there will be a large amount of unemployment. The minimum wage law provides no jobs; it only outlaws them; and outlawed jobs are the inevitable result.<ref name="Rothbard_minimum_wage">Murray Rothbard. [http://mises.org/econsense/ch36.asp Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More] from Making Economic Sense, Chapter 36. Referenced 2010-06-24.</ref>

A '''minimum wage''' leads to a reduction in the demand for labor and an increase in the supply of labor in the relevant market — usually, the market for low-skill workers. It removes the ability of some workers to compete by accepting lower wages and shuts them out of the labor force. As a result, it reduces job opportunities for these workers.

But there are additional, hidden costs of these interventions, which are more difficult to detect but perhaps more insidious. For example, one effect of a minimum wage is to reduce the availability of on-the-[[job training]], since more resources are required simply to hire and retain a workforce. And further interventions in the labor market (for example, safety regulations and payroll taxes) make it still more costly to employ labor. These burdens together reduce a firm's willingness to hire laborers and — in the long run — must reduce the number of opportunities for those laborers to acquire valuable job skills. Far from increasing opportunities for the working poor, a minimum wage actually restricts their mobility.

Firms faced with minimum wage laws often substitute skilled for unskilled labor. A report from the Show-Me Institute offers an illustrative example: Suppose that a job can be done by either three unskilled workers or two skilled workers. If the unskilled wage is $5 per hour and the skilled wage is $8 per hour, the firm will use unskilled labor and produce the output at a cost of $15. However, if we impose a minimum wage of $6 per hour, the firm will instead use two skilled workers and produce for $16 as opposed to the $18 cost of using unskilled workers. In the "official data" this shows up as a small job loss — in this case, only one job — but we see an increase in average wages to eight dollars per hour in spite of the fact that the least skilled workers are now unemployed.

There is also a hidden social cost in minimum wage policies. Debates over a minimum wage erode social fabric by placing workers and their employers in opposition to one another. While there have been many legitimate reasons for some tension to exist between firms and workers, minimum wage policies set them in unnecessary opposition to one another over employment contracts, which are by nature cooperative and mutually beneficial. Encouraging the view that employment is a raw deal has created needless acrimony. At the margin, this intimidates people and discourages some from becoming employers themselves.

The prohibition of certain kinds of labor contracts also discriminates against — paradoxically — the law-abiding. Just as legal prohibitions on the use and sale of drugs have lured the lawless into the drug trade, prohibitions on certain forms of labor ensure that only those lacking in scruples will be left on the demand side of the market for, say, child labor and the like.

If restrictions, regulations, and price floors create massive deadweight losses, they also create incentives for firms and individuals to evade those restrictions, regulations, and price floors. Those with a comparative advantage in evading (or violating) the law will be most successful; thus, labor market regulation gives implicit encouragement and support to the unscrupulous. Restriction and regulation reduces the relative price of dishonesty, which means we can expect greater levels of it in the marketplace.<ref name="Caden_minimum_wage">Art Carden. [http://mises.org/daily/3478 "The Hidden Costs of a Minimum Wage"], Mises Daily, July 2009, referenced 2010-06-24.</ref>

===Effects on minorities===
Minimum wage is especially harmful for [[Minority|minorities]]. According to a study of two labor economists, Professors William Even (Miami University of Ohio) and David Macpherson (Trinity University), each 10 percent increase in a federal or state minimum wage decreased [[employment]] of white males by 2.5 percent; for Hispanic males, the figure is 1.2 percent. But among black males in this group, each 10 percent increase in the minimum wage decreased employment by 6.5 percent. The effect is similar for hours worked: each 10 percent increase reduced hours worked by 3 percent among white males, 1.7 percent for Hispanic males, and by 6.6 percent for black males. The consequences of the minimum wage for the last subgroup were even more harmful than the consequences of the [[Great Recession|recession]].<ref name="Even_Unequal">William Even and David Macpherson. [http://epionline.org/study_detail.cfm?sid=137 "Unequal Harm: Racial Disparities in the Employment Consequences of Minimum Wage Increases"] (brief), [http://epionline.org/studies/even_5-2011.pdf full study] (pdf), ''Employment Policies Institute'', May 2011. Rferenced 2010-06-24.</ref>

Although outright [[racism]] has often been blamed as the sole cause of heavy minority teenage unemployment, it is clearly not the only factor. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, young blacks had a lower unemployment rate than did whites of the same age group. But after the minimum wage increased significantly, especially in 1961, the black youth unemployment rate has increased to the extent that in 1980s it was a multiple of the white youth unemployment rate.

To make the case that racism itself is the cause of the employment and unemployment disparity among blacks and whites, one would have to claim that America was more racially harmonious in the past than it is now. In fact, during the racially hostile times of the early 1900s 71 percent of blacks over nine years of age were employed, as compared with 51 percent for whites. The minimum wage means that employers are not free to decide among low-wage workers on the basis of price differentials; hence, they face fewer disincentives to deciding according to some other (possibly racial) criteria.

To see the racial implications of minimum wage legislation, it is helpful to look at proponents of the law in a country where racial hostility is very strong, as in 1980s [[South Africa]]. Since minimum wage laws share characteristics in common with [[equal pay law]]s, white racist unions in South Africa continually supported both minimum wage and equal-pay-for-equal-work laws for blacks.

The reason for restlessness of white trade unions in South Africa was a $1.52-per-hour wage differential between black and white construction workers. Although the owners of the construction firms were white, they could not afford to restrict employment to whites when blacks were willing to work for $1.52 per hour less. As minimum wages eliminated the wage differential, the cost to employers of hiring workers with the skin color they preferred was reduced. As the cost of discrimination falls, and with all else remaining the same, the law of demand would dictate that more discrimination in employment practices will occur.

Markets frequently respond where they can, even to the obstacles the minimum wage presents minority groups. In fact, during the [[National Recovery Administration|NRA]] blacks would frequently be advanced to the higher rank of "executives" in order to receive exemptions from the minimum wage. The free market demands that firms remain color-blind in the conduct of business: profit, not racial preference, is the primary concern of the profit-maximizing firm. Those firms who fail the profit test get driven out of business by those who put prejudice aside to maximize profits.

When markets are restricted by such laws as the minimum wage, the prospects for eliminating racial discrimination in hiring practices and the shocking rate of black teenage unemployment in American cities are bleak.<ref name="Rustici_Public" />

===Example from Puerto Rico===
In 1938, the federal government set the first U.S. minimum wage at 25 cents per hour. At the time, the average wage in the United States was 62.7 cents per hour, so most workers were unaffected. However, the law also applied to [[Puerto Rico]], which was poorer and underdeveloped relative to the United States. Many workers in Puerto Rico earned only 3 to 4 cents per hour at the time. The result of the minimum wage was massive business bankruptcy and high unemployment.<ref name="Powell_Minimum">Benjamin Powell. [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=3559 "Minimum Wage Merry Go Round"], ''The Independent Institute'', February 21, 2013, referenced 2013-02-28.</ref>

The Roosevelt administration created the federal minimum wage with passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The act was notably supported by labor unions, which faced its fiercest competition from nonunion garment factories in the southern United States and in Puerto Rico. Subject to the same national rate as workers on the mainland, Puerto Rican workers suffered much more hardship from the minimum wage law. "...the framers of the law apparently forgot about Puerto Rico, and very grave disturbances came in that island."

When the Congress established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour in 1938, the average hourly wage in the U.S. was 62.7 cents. It resulted in a mandatory increase for only some 300,000 workers out of a labor Force of more than 54 million. In Puerto Rico, in contrast, the new Federal minimum far exceeded the prevailing average hourly wage of the major portion of Puerto Rican workers.

Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate rose sharply due to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Tens of thousands lost their jobs in such industries as cigar and cigarette manufacturing, which all but disappeared. The needlework industry, which employed over 40,000 workers in 1935, stagnated after the new act took effect. The value of needle-trade exports fell from over $20 million before the act in 1937 to barely $5 million in 1940.

After two years of economic disruption in Puerto Rico, Congress amended the minimum wage provisions. The minimum wage was reduced to 12.5 cents per hour, but it was too late for many industries and for thousands of low-wage earners employed by them, who suddenly found unemployment the price they had to pay for the minimum wage. In sum, the tragedy of the minimum wage laws was not just textbook-theorizing by academic economists, but real-world disaster for the thousands who became the victims of the law. But these destructive effects have not caused the law to be repealed; to the contrary, it has been expanded in coverage and increased in amount.<ref name="Rustici_Public">Thomas Rustici. [http://www.cato.org/doc-download/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1985/5/cj5n1-6.pdf "A Public Choice View of the Minimum Wage"] (pdf), ''Cato Journal'', Vol.5, No. 1, Spring/Summer 1985. Referenced 2013-02-28.</ref>

The Congress passed a separate amendment that established committees in some forty industries to set separate industry and occupational minima. From 1940 until 1974, amendments to the FLSA expanded coverage on the island but maintained the industry-committee mode of setting minima. With the 1974 and 1977 Amendments to the FLSA, however, Congress introduced a new policy, increasing coverage and enacting automatic increases in Puerto Rican minima to bring them to the U.S. level. The 1977 Amendment required industries with minima at U.S. levels to follow the scheduled mainland increases and those whose minima were below U.S. levels to increase wages by $0.30 per year until they reached the federal minimum. By 1983, Puerto Rico had effectively reached the mainland minimum wage.

The imposition of the U.S.-level minimum wage to Puerto Rico distorted the Puerto Rican earnings distribution, substantially reduced employment on the island (estimated at 8-10 percent), reallocated labor across industries, and affected the characteristics of migrants to the United States. ("Migrants from Puerto Rico to the United States are drawn largely from persons jobless on the island, with characteristics that make them liable to have been disemployed by the minimum wage.")<ref name="Castillo_Minimum">Alida Castillo-Freeman and Richard B. Freeman. [http://www.nber.org/chapters/c6909.pdf "When the Minimum Wage Really Bites: The Effect of the U.S.-Level Minimum on Puerto Rico"] (pdf), a chapter from ''[http://www.nber.org/books/borj92-1 Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas]''. ''University of Chicago Press'', January 1992, ISBN: 0-226-06633-9. Referenced 2013-02-28.</ref>

==Empirical research==
For many years it has been a matter of conventional wisdom among economists that the minimum wage causes fewer jobs to exist than would be the case without it. This is simply a matter of price theory, taught in every economics textbook, requiring no elaborate analysis to justify. Were this not the case, there would be no logical reason why the minimum wage could not be set at $10, $100, or $1 million per hour.

Historically, defenders of the minimum wage have not disputed the disemployment effects of the minimum wage, but argued that on balance the working poor were better off. In other words, the higher incomes of those with jobs offset the lower incomes of those without jobs, as a result of the minimum wage

This notion was disputed by the work of three economists: [[David Card]] and [[Alan Krueger]] of Princeton, and [[Lawrence Katz]] of Harvard. Their studies of increases in the minimum wage in California, Texas and New Jersey found no loss of jobs among fast food restaurants that were surveyed before and after the increase. This led the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton Administration]] to advance the theory that modest increases in the minimum wage will have no impact on employment.

However, an extensive body of work demonstrates a different conclusion. [[Joint Economic Committee]] Republicans published a survey of virtually every empirical study on the minimum wage in February, 1995. It concluded that a 10% increase in the minimum wage reduced teenage employment by 1% to 3%.

It also indicated that the minimum wage has wide-ranging negative effects that go beyond [[unemployment]]. For example, higher minimum wages encourage employers to cut back on training, thus depriving low wage workers of an important means of long-term advancement, in return for a small increase in current income. For many workers this is a very bad trade-off.<ref name="Joint_Minimum">Joint Economic Committee Republicans. [http://www.house.gov/jec/cost-gov/regs/minimum/50years.htm 50 Years of Research on the Minimum Wage] ([http://www.jec.senate.gov/republicans/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=c876c468-ffca-47ed-9468-7193d734bde9 pdf]), February 15, 1995. Referenced 2011-08-18.</ref>

==Support for the minimum wage==
[[Union]]s are labor cartels that attempt to restrict the supply of workers entering given occupations. Since non-union labor is priced below the cartelized price of union labor, it is an attractive substitute for union workers. Because unionization of all potential competition to the cartel is impossible due to the high policing costs that would be involved, unions resort to the minimum wage. By artificially increasing the wage rate of lower-skilled workers — who could substitute for union workers — the minimum wage increases the demand for union workers and hence their wage rates. Thus, government enforcement of a minimum wage allows unions to (1) keep a stronger cartel, raising their income; (2) incur no policing costs; and (3) have the government force low-skilled, nonunion workers out of the labor market. Thus, unions everywhere support the minimum wage.

Trade unions are highly organized institutions, and they do not take lightly the benefits that accrue to them through minimum wage laws. At their disposal are large numbers of highly organized voting members, as well as considerable financial/political clout.

The greatest concentration of benefits would, a priori, be thought to accrue to unions in such occupations as apparel, textiles, and agriculture, where direct competition with nonunion workers is greatest. And indeed, these are the unions we actually see consistently lobbying for higher minimum wages. It is clear that unions have no intention of improving the lot of poorer workers through the minimum wage law.

It may seem strange that business would push for a higher minimum wage. On examination, however, it is found that some businesses have the same motives for supporting the minimum wage as have labor unions. The economic self-interest of businesses that pay above the minimum wage dictates that they try to eliminate lower-cost rivals that pay below the minimum by forcing them to pay higher wage rates. That this is the case can be seen as far back as the time of the [[NRA]] codes.

Businesses like the minimum wage for the same reason they like tariffs — to shut out lower-priced firms from free market competition. The minimum wage becomes a mechanism by which firms with high labor costs can force higher labor costs on their lower-cost competition. What makes it so seductive for businesses is that it can effectively close down their rivals, increase their incomes, and enable them to claim "social responsibility and business morality" in the process.

The tragedy of the minimum wage is not only the black teenage unemployment rates in American large cities, but that many drop out of the labor force altogether to become another poverty statistic or turn to criminal activity. If frustrated workers can end up as recipients of the generous welfare state, they may decide that receiving welfare is better than working productively. Minimum wages may therefore be a technique of lowering the costs of, establishing eligibility for the increasingly generous public welfare programs. Minimum wages induce welfare, not work.

In this case, the disemployed workers who receive welfare are not the only vested interests; social workers, and the entire "poverty industry" also benefit. If there are more poor because of the minimum wage, the demand for people to manage and take care of the poor also increases. There is little incentive for social workers or poverty rights activists to advocate the repeal of the law that keeps them employed.

Politicians who "champion" a large poverty class are beneficiaries of the minimum wage as well. Since the law cuts off the first necessary condition for upward mobility (first-time employment), a permanent supporting constituency is preserved. A powerful triangle then emerges among the "poverty politician," social workers, and welfare recipients. Politicians who claim to represent the working poor can raise the minimum wage, throwing low-wage earners out of work. The modern welfare state can pick them up and provide them with greater benefits than what they could receive by working. Welfare recipients reward the politicians by voting for them, and the social workers and welfare bureaucrats find the demandfor their services increased, entrenching their jobs. Each group in the political triangle of the minimum wage tends to benefit at the expense of the general taxpayer and the relatively low-skilled worker.<ref name="Rustici_Public" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
===Bibliography===
* {{cite encyclopedia
|last=Gorman|first=Linda|authorlink=
|editor-last=Henderson|editor-first=David R.|editor-link=Wikipedia:David R. Henderson
|title=Minimum Wages
|url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/MinimumWages.html
|encyclopedia=[[Wikipedia:The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics|The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics]]
|year=2007
|publisher=[[Wikipedia:Liberty Fund|Liberty Fund]]
|location=Indianapolis, Indiana
|isbn=978-0-86597-665-8
|pages=346-350
}}
* {{Cite journal
|last=Leonard|first=Thomas C.|authorlink=
|title=Retrospectives: Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era
|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives
|volume=19|issue=4
|year=2005
|pages=207-224
|doi=10.1257/089533005775196642
|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~tleonard/papers/retrospectives.pdf
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Rothbard|first=Murray N.|authorlink=Murray Rothbard
|title=Making Economic Sense
|edition=2nd
|publisher=[[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
|place=Auburn, Alabama
|year=2006
|url=http://mises.org/document/899/Making-Economic-Sense
|isbn=0-945466-46-3
|pages=133-136
|chapter=Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More
|chapterurl=http://mises.org/econsense/ch36.asp
}}
* {{Cite journal
|last=Rustici|first=Thomas|authorlink=
|title=A Public Choice View of the Minimum Wage
|journal=Cato Journal
|volume=5|issue=1
|year=1985
|pages=103-131
|url=http://www.cato.org/doc-download/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1985/5/cj5n1-6.pdf
}}
* {{cite web
|url=http://www.catallaxia.org/wiki/Pascal_Salin:Le_SMIC_:_machine_%C3%A0_exclure
|title=Le SMIC : machine à exclure
|last=Salin|first=Pascal|authorlink=Pascal Salin
|publisher=Catallaxia
|language=French
|accessdate=
}}

===Links===
* {{wplink}}
* {{md|2130|Mythology of the Minimum Wage|D.W. MacKenzie|Wednesday, May 03, 2006}}
* {{md|3261|The Minimum Wage, Discrimination, and Inequality|[[Art Carden]]|Monday, January 19, 2009}}
* {{md|3477|Paid and Unpaid Labor|[[Art Carden]]|Thursday, July 30, 2009}}
* {{md|5311|Do We Really Need a Minimum Wage?|Charlie Virgo|Tuesday, May 24, 2011}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DS0XXFdyfI Good Intentions 2of3 Minimum Wage, Licensing, and Labor Laws with Walter Williams] (video)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siW0YAAfX6I The Truth about the Minimum Wage] (video), ''Foundation for Economic Education''
* [http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=157 Minimum Wage, Minimum Tax] by Mark Thornton, November 1996
* [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/not-so-fast/teenage-unemployment/ Is Anyone Shocked by High Teenage Unemployment?] by William L. Anderson, August 2010
* [http://blog.mises.org/16949/the-minimum-wage-and-the-forgotten-man/ The Minimum Wage and The Forgotten Man] by Art Carden, May 2011
* [http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/ontario-sets-minimum-wage-then-subsidizes-it/ Ontario Sets Minimum Wage Then Subsidizes It] by Gregory Cummings, April 2012
* [http://www.jeffjacoby.com/11975/minimum-wage-laws-are-costly-for-the-unemployed Minimum-wage laws are costly for the unemployed] by Jeff Jacoby, July 2012
* [http://lfb.org/today/the-basement-beneath-the-wage-floor/ The Basement Beneath the Wage Floor] by Jeffrey Tucker, February 2013
* [http://www.cato.org/doc-download/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA701.pdf The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws] (pdf) by Mark Wilson, June 2012
* [http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-minimum-wage-harms-the-most-vulnerable/ The Minimum Wage Harms the Most Vulnerable] by Sheldon Richman, February 2013
* [http://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2013/07/30/would-a-higher-minimum-wage-help-mcdonalds-workers/ Would A Higher Minimum Wage Help McDonald's Workers?] by Art Carden, July 2013
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/the-minimum-wage-myth-that-wont-die/ The Minimum Wage Myth that Won’t Die] by Logan Albrigh, August 2013
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/minimum-wages-and-slavery-a-rebuttal/ Minimum Wages and Slavery: A Rebuttal] by Logan Albright, August 2013
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/freelance-job-sites-subvert-labor-regulations/ Freelance Job Sites Subvert Labor Regulations] by Logan Albright, September 2013
* [http://cafehayek.com/2013/12/some-additional-questions-for-minimum-wage-proponents.html Some Additional Questions for Minimum-Wage Proponents] by Don Boudreaux, December 2013
* [http://www.nber.org/papers/w12663.pdf Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence From the New Minimum Wage Research] (pdf) by David Neumark and William Wascher, November 2006
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/world/africa/27safrica.html?pagewanted=all Wage Laws Squeeze South Africa’s Poor] by Celia W. Dugger, September 2010
* [http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2014/01/30/almost-everything-you-have-been-told-about-the-minimum-wage-is-false/ Almost Everything You Have Been Told About The Minimum Wage Is False] by Jeffrey Dorfman, January 2014

[[Category:Interventions]]

Paul Krugman

2014-02-04T22:07:19Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

[[File:Paul Krugman.jpeg|thumb|right|Paul Krugman]]

'''Paul Krugman''' is an American economist and [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel laureate]]. He is also an op-ed columnist and blogger for the [[New York Times]]. Krugman is well known for following the theories of [[John Maynard Keynes]] and continually advocates for more inflation and government intervention in the economy. Krugman defines [[inflation]] as a measurement of prices and not the quantity of money<ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/inflation-delusions-2/] "Inflation delusions"</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/are-rising-commodity-prices-an-inflationary-signal/] "Are rising commodity prices an inflationary signal?"</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/generating-inflation-expectations/] "Generating inflation expectations"</ref> and argues that printing money can help an economy in a depression.<ref name="Krugman_Phantoms">Paul Krugman. [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/krugman-fighting-fiscal-phantoms.html "Fighting Fiscal Phantoms"], ''New York Times'', Published: November 25, 2012. Referenced 2012-11-26. See also the [http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2012/11/krugman-channels-his-inner-crank.html response] from William Anderson.</ref>

For these and other views is Krugman frequently criticized by Austrian economists.{{Fact}} A blog created by [[William L. Anderson|William L. Anderson]] is devoted to "Analysis and criticism of America's most prominent public intellectual and champion of Keynesian economics."<ref name="Anderson_Krugman">William L. Anderson. [http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/ "Krugman-in-Wonderland"], referenced 2010-11-16.</ref> In October 2010, Krugman was challenged to a [[Murphy-Krugman debate|debate]] over Austrian vs. Keynesian business cycle theory by economist [[Robert Murphy]].

==Broken window fallacy==
The [[broken-window fallacy]] was seen in a column by Princeton University professor Paul Krugman after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center:<ref name="Williams_lunacy">Walter. E. Williams. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/nov/22/20041122-095742-3613r/ "Economic lunacy"], November 22, 2004, Washington Times. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref> "Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack -- like the original day of infamy, which brought an end to the Great Depression -- could even do some economic good."<ref name="Krugman_Horror">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/opinion/reckonings-after-the-horror.html "Reckonings; After The Horror"], September 14, 2001, The New York Times. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref>

In 1998, Krugman said: "During phases of weak growth there are always those who say that lower interest rates will not help. They overlook the fact that low interest rates act through several channels. For instance, more housing is built, which expands the building sector. You must ask the opposite question: why in the world shouldn't you lower interest rates?" To the question "...because that would only promote inflation instead of growth?" he responded "There is no danger of that!"<ref name="Hanke_Zinsen">Thomas Hanke. [http://www.zeit.de/1998/51/Runter_mit_den_Zinsen_ "Runter mit den Zinsen!"] (in ''German'', "Down with the rates!"), ''Die Zeit'', 51/1998. [http://www.pkarchive.org/global/welt.html Translation by Peter Bartl]. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref>

In June, 2011, Paul Krugman declared that a new war would solve the nation’s looming economic problems: "If we suddenly had a threat of war and a military build up, you’d be amazed how fast the economy would recover."<ref name="Krugman_ABC">Paul Krugman. [http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/roundtable-jobs-13765518 "Roundtable: Where are the Jobs?"] (video, from ~4:56), ''ABC News'', 06/05/2011. 2011-06-09.</ref>

==Krugman on Austrian Economics==
In 1998, Krugman wrote that he regarded the "Austrian theory" of the [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycle]] "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".<ref name="Krugman_Hangover">Paul Krugman. [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 "The Hangover Theory"], ''Slate'', December 4, 1998. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref> In 2011, he conceded that (in his understanding of) the Austrian explanation both is theoretically possible and actually happens in the real world:<ref name="Krugman_Reply">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/4993 "My Reply to Krugman on Austrian Business-Cycle Theory"], ''Mises Daily'', January 24, 2011. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref>

<blockquote>So what is the essence of this Austrian story? Basically, it says that what we call an economic boom is actually something like [[China|China's]] disastrous [[Great Leap Forward]], which led to a temporary surge in consumption but only at the expense of degradation of the country's underlying productive capacity. And the unemployment that follows is a result of that degradation: there's simply nothing useful for the unemployed workers to do.

I like this story, and there are probably other cases besides China 1958–1961 to which it applies. But what reason do we have to think that it has anything to do with the business cycles we actually see in market economies?<ref name="Krugman_Leaps">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/great-leaps-backward/ "Great Leaps Backward"], ''The New York Times'', January 19, 2011. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref></blockquote>

==Krugman in Support of the 2000’s US Housing Bubble==

===Recommending the Federal Reserve lower interest rates to create a housing bubble:===
1998-12-10:<blockquote> “During phases of weak growth there are always those who say that lower interest rates will not help. They overlook the fact that low interest rates act through several channels. For instance, more housing is built, which expands the building sector. You must ask the opposite question: why in the world shouldn’t you lower interest rates?” <ref name="Housing Bubble undated">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/global/welt.html "DIE ZEIT"], ''DIE ZEIT- INTERVIEW WITH KRUGMAN - Translation by Peter Bartl''. Original article: [http://www.zeit.de/1998/51/Runter_mit_den_Zinsen_/seite-3 "Runter mit den Zinsen!"] ("Down with the interest rates!" in ''German'') from 10.12.1998. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-05-02:<blockquote> I've always favored the let-bygones-be-bygones view over the crime-and-punishment view. That is, I've always believed that a speculative bubble need not lead to a recession, as long as interest rates are cut quickly enough to stimulate alternative investments. But I had to face the fact that speculative bubbles usually are followed by recessions. My excuse has been that this was because the policy makers moved too slowly -- that central banks were typically too slow to cut interest rates in the face of a burst bubble, giving the downturn time to build up a lot of momentum. That was why I, like many others, was frustrated at the smallish cut at the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting: I was pretty sure that Alan Greenspan had the tools to prevent a disastrous recession, but worried that he might be getting behind the curve.
However, let's give credit where credit is due: Mr. Greenspan has cut rates since then. And while some of us may have been urging him to move even faster, the Fed's four interest-rate cuts since the slowdown became apparent represent an unusually aggressive response by historical standards. It's still not clear that Mr. Greenspan has caught up with the curve -- let's have at least one more rate cut, please -- but the interest-rate cuts do, cross your fingers, seem to be having an effect.
If we succeed in avoiding recession, this will mark a big win for let-bygones-be-bygones, and a big loss for crime-and-punishment. And that will be very good news not just for this business cycle, but for business cycles to come. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-05-02">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/02/opinion/reckonings-dodging-the-bullet.html "Reckonings; Dodging the Bullet"], ''The New York Times'', May 2, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-07-18:<blockquote> KRUGMAN: "I think frankly it’s got to be — business investment is not going to be the driving force in this recovery. It has to come from things like housing, things that have not been (UNINTELLIGIBLE)."

DOBBS: "We see, Paul, housing at near record levels, we see automobile purchases near record levels. The consumer is still very much in this economy. Can he or she — or I should say he and she, can they bring back this economy?"

KRUGMAN: "Well, as far as the arithmetic goes, yes, it is possible. Will the Fed cut interest rates enough? Will long-term rates fall enough to get the consumer, get the housing sector there in time? We don’t know" <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-07-18">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/ML071801.html "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE"], ''LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE, July 18, 2001: Interview with Paul Krugman''. Original transcript: [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/18/mlld.00.html "Lou Dobbs Moneyline"], July 18, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-08-14:<blockquote> Still, as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says, you don't have to refill a flat tire through the puncture. To reflate the economy, the Fed doesn't have to restore business investment; any kind of increase in demand will do. How might demand increase? Consumers, who already have low savings and high debt, probably can't contribute much. But housing, which is highly sensitive to interest rates, could help lead a recovery… But there has been a peculiar disconnect between Fed policy and the financial variables that affect housing and trade. Housing demand depends on long-term rather than short-term interest rates -- and though the Fed has cut short rates from 6.5 to 3.75 percent since the beginning of the year, the 10-year rate is slightly higher than it was on Jan. 1... Sooner or later, of course, investors will realize that 2001 isn't 1998. When they do, mortgage rates and the dollar will come way down, and the conditions for a recovery led by housing and exports will be in place. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-08-14">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/opinion/reckonings-delusions-of-prosperity.html “Reckonings; Delusions of Prosperity''] ''The New York Times'', August 14, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-08-22:<blockquote> KRUGMAN: "I’m a little depressed. You know, inventories, probably that’s over, the inventory slump. But you look at the things that could drive a recovery, business investment, nothing happening. Housing, long-term rates haven’t fallen enough to produce a boom there. The trade balance is going to get worst before it gets better because the dollar is still very strong. It’s not a happy picture." <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-08-22">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/ML082201.html “LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE"], ''LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE, August 22, 2001: Interview with Paul Krugman'', August 22, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-10-07:<blockquote> Post-terror nerves aside, what mainly ails the U.S. economy is too much of a good thing. During the bubble years businesses overspent on capital equipment; the resulting overhang of excess capacity is a drag on investment, and hence a drag on the economy as a whole.
In time this overhang will be worked off. Meanwhile, economic policy should encourage other spending to offset the temporary slump in business investment. Low interest rates, which promote spending on housing and other durable goods, are the main answer. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-10-07">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/opinion/reckonings-fuzzy-math-returns.html “Reckonings; Fuzzy Math Returns"], ''The New York Times'', October 7, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-12-28:<blockquote> The good news about the U.S. economy is that it fell into recession, but it didn't fall off a cliff. Most of the credit probably goes to the dogged optimism of American consumers, but the Fed's dramatic interest rate cuts helped keep housing strong even as business investment plunged. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-12-28">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/28/opinion/could-ve-been-worse.html “Could've Been Worse"], ''The New York Times'', December 28, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2002-08-02:<blockquote> The basic point is that the recession of 2001 wasn't a typical postwar slump, brought on when an inflation-fighting Fed raises interest rates and easily ended by a snapback in housing and consumer spending when the Fed brings rates back down again. This was a prewar-style recession, a morning after brought on by irrational exuberance. To fight this recession the Fed needs more than a snapback; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. And to do that, as Paul McCulley of Pimco put it, Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2002-08-02">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/opinion/dubya-s-double-dip.html “Dubya's Double Dip?"], ''The New York Times'', August 2, 2002. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Opposing the Federal Reserve raising interest rates:===
2008-03-03:<blockquote>One argument I’ve been hearing a lot lately runs as follows: “Low interest rates got us into this mess, so it’s crazy to think that low interest rates are the solution.”
Now, I don’t actually buy the first premise: I blame Greenspan for ignoring warnings about subprime and housing, but I still think keeping the Fed funds rate at 1% for a long time was justified by the economy’s weakness, which lasted until late 2003 or even beyond. But it’s true that we had an orgy of over-borrowing in the housing market. So the question remains: does an effort to encourage even more borrowing make sense?
Yes. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2008-03-03">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/hair-of-the-dog "Hair of the dog"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', March 3, 2008. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2004-08-10:<blockquote>Oh, and on a nonpolitical note: even before Friday's grim report on jobs, I was puzzled by Mr. Greenspan's eagerness to start raising interest rates. Now I don't understand his policy at all.<ref name="Housing Bubble 2004-08-10">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/10/opinion/spin-the-payrolls.html "Spin The Payrolls"], ''The New York Times'', August 10, 2004. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Crediting the housing bubble for the mid-2000’s economic recovery:===
2008-02-19:<blockquote>In fact, I’d say that the sources of the economy’s expansion from 2003 to 2007 were, in order, the housing bubble, the war, and — very much in third place — tax cuts. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2008-02-19">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/bush-is-right-about-something "Bush is right about something"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', February 19, 2008. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2008-01-24:<blockquote>What finally created a convincing recovery was the housing boom. But that turned into a bubble, which has burst big time. <ref name="Why worry">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/why-worry-about-a-poor-stimulus-plan/ "Why Worry About a Poor Stimulus Plan"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', January 24, 2008. Referenced 2011-08-11.</ref></blockquote>

2006-10-30:<blockquote>'''Neeraj Mehra, Amritsar, India''': Mr. Greenspan has done a disservice to the nation by creating the housing boom. As a layman-observer, that’s the lingering thought I’ve had. Your article reaffirms it.
The question I have is this: Did he do the right thing — acting morally by engineering a housing boom, more as a bridge loan, until something else showed up at the horizon to shore up the economy — because he didn’t have a choice, or did he undertake a path of mere political expediency? And, that’s a question that’s nagging me for a while.
Would appreciate it if you could shed some light.

'''Paul Krugman''': As Paul McCulley of PIMCO remarked when the tech boom crashed, Greenspan needed to create a housing bubble to replace the technology bubble. So within limits he may have done the right thing. But by late 2004 he should have seen the danger signs and warned against what was happening; such a warning could have taken the place of rising interest rates. He didn’t, and he left a terrible mess for Ben Bernanke.<ref name="Credit where credit is due">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/credit-where-credit-is-due/ "Credit Where Credit is Due"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', October 30, 2006. Referenced 2011-08-11.</ref></blockquote>

2005-05-27:<blockquote>As Mr. McCulley predicted, interest rate cuts led to soaring home prices, which led in turn not just to a construction boom but to high consumer spending, because homeowners used mortgage refinancing to go deeper into debt. All of this created jobs to make up for those lost when the stock bubble burst.
Now the question is what can replace the housing bubble.<ref name="Housing Bubble 2005-05-27">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27krugman.html "Running Out of Bubbles"], ''The New York Times'', May 5, 2007. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Denials:===
2012-07-03:<blockquote>Give me a break... If you actually read that [August 2, 2002] article, actually read it... I was joking. I was saying that, I was talking about, the difficulty of responding purely with monetary policy to the kind of slump that we were then experiencing. And it's a measure, I might say, of the intellectual bankruptcy of a large part of this debate, that the best they can do is keep on claiming that I was actually advocating the creation of a housing bubble. I obviously wasn't doing that.<ref name="Krugman_Housing_joke">Paul Krugman. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX55BH97quk&feature=player_embedded Paul Krugman: "¡Acabad ya con esta crisis!"] (video). Parts of the video are in Spanish; question starts at 1:40:00; Krugman's answer from 1:41:30. Discussion of the book "End This Depression Now!", held on July 3, 2012 at the ''Fundación Rafael del Pino''. Referenced 2012-07-11.</ref><ref name="Diego Sanchez">Diego Sánchez de la Cruz. [http://diego-sanchez-de-la-cruz.libremercado.com/2012/07/04/958/3 "Krugman el bromista"], ''LibreMercado'', July 4, 2012. Referenced 2012-07-13.</ref></blockquote>

2009-06-17:<blockquote>One of the funny aspects of being a somewhat, um, forceful writer is that I’m regularly accused of all sorts of villainy. I was personally responsible for the demise of Enron; my nonexistent son worked for Hillary; etc.. The latest seems to be that I called for the creation of a housing bubble — in fact, the bubble is my fault! The claim seems to be based on this piece.
Guys, read it again. It wasn’t a piece of policy advocacy, it was just economic analysis. What I said was that the only way the Fed could get traction would be if it could inflate a housing bubble. And that’s just what happened.<ref name="Grassy Knoll">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/and-i-was-on-the-grassy-knoll-too/ "And I was on the grassy knoll, too"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', June 17, 2009. Referenced 2012-07-13.</ref></blockquote>

==Criticism==
===Partisanism===

''[[The Economist]]'' cites critics of Krugman stating that "his relentless partisanship is getting in the way of his argument". In addition, a website (titled "Lying in Ponds") that tracks [[Partisan (political)|partisanship]] among public intellectuals rated Krugman second in the overall partisan slant of his columns, behind only [[Ann Coulter]].<ref name=economist/> As [[Richard Posner]] and economist [[Mark J. Perry]] note, the site, which uses careful statistical analysis to make assessments political partisanship, has ranked Paul Krugman the number 1 or number 2 most biased every single year from 2002-2008.<ref name=posner/><ref>{{Cite web | last = Perry | first = Mark J. | authorlink = Mark J. Perry | title = Paul Krugman: #1 Most Partisan Columnist in U.S. | date = 2008-10-14 | year = 2008 | url = http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/10/paul-krugman-1-most-partisan-columnist.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

''The Economist'' magazine supported the finding, noting the vast majority of Krugman's columns feature attacks on [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and almost none criticize [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], making him "a sort of ivory-tower folk-hero of the American [[Left-wing politics|left]]—a thinking person's [[Michael Moore]]" and that "a glance through his past columns reveals a growing tendency to attribute all the world's ills to [[George W. Bush|George Bush]]."<ref name=economist>{{Citation | title = The one-handed economist | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | pages = | year = 2003 | date = 2003-11-13 | url = http://www.economist.com/node/2208841 | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> And speaking on Krugman's recent "prophecy of doom" regarding the [[United States elections, 2010|2010 election]], the magazine calls it a "baseless partisan freakout".<ref>{{Citation | title = Krugman's prophecy of doom | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-10-29 | url = http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/10/another_partisan_freakout | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

A study published in the [[peer-reviewed]] ''[[Econ Journal Watch]]'' examined statements from 17 economists from 1981 through 2009, and gauged the consistency of their stances on deficit spending and reduction during Republican and Democratic administrations. According to the study, Krugman was the only economist of the 17 to "significantly" change his stance on the federal budget deficit for partisan reasons.<ref>{{Citation | last = Barkley | first = Brett | title = When the White House Changes Party, Do Economists Change Their Tune on Budget Deficits? | journal = [[Econ Journal Watch]] | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 119-156 | date = 2010-05 | year = 2010 | month = May | url = http://econjwatch.org/articles/when-the-white-house-changes-party-do-economists-change-their-tune-on-budget-deficits | jstor = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}</ref>

This finding of inconsistency was supported when ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (WSJ) showed that Krugman contradicted his own findings in order to criticize Republican policy. When Republican [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Jon Kyl]] stated that unemployment relief doesn't create new jobs and in fact is a disincentive for unemployed individuals to seek new work, Krugman called it a "bizarre point of view" and stated that "What Democrats believe is what textbook economics says [...] But that's not how Republicans see it". [[James Taranto]] of the WSJ reproduced a passage from a textbook called ''Macroeconomics'' which states: "The drawback to [unemployment benefits] is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job." The authors of the textbook are Paul Krugman and [[Robin Wells Krugman|his wife]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Taranto | first = James | author-link = James Taranto | title = Mirror, Mirror | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-03-05 | url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703915204575103720332317434.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> This led [[John H. Hinderaker|John Hinderaker]] of the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[Claremont Institute]] to proclaim: "only the existence of [[Frank Rich]] prevents Krugman from being the world’s worst columnist."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Hinderaker
| first = John | authorlink = John H. Hinderaker | title = Krugman Vs. Krugman | publisher = [[Power Line]] | date = 2010-03-06 | url = http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025752.php | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2008, economist [[Peter Boettke]] noted: "[Over the years] Krugman's work devolved from science to [[ideology]] and finally to political partisanship" and that Krugman "has used his platform as an economist and as a columnist for the New York Times for his Democratic partisanship purposes."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boettke | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Boettke | title = Political Economist | publisher = [[Forbes]] | date = 2008-10-13 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20081016034623/http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_pb_1013boettke.html | archivedate = 2008-10-16 | url = http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_pb_1013boettke.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Author and [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|federal appeals court judge]] [[Richard Posner]] called Krugman "an unabashed Democratic partisan who often goes overboard in his hatred of the Republians." [sic]<ref name=posner>{{Citation | last = Posner | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Posner | title = The Good Paul Krugman and the Bad Paul Krugman | newspaper = [[The Atlantic]] | year = 2009 | date = 2009-06-03 | url = http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/06/the-good-paul-krugman-and-the-bad-paul-krugman/18718/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist [[Donald J. Boudreaux|Donald Boudreaux]] has stated that Krugman does "a disservice to non-'liberal' scholars as well as to scholarship generally" by asserting that serious thinking is done only by Krugman himself and other liberals.<ref>{{Citation | last = Boudreaux | first = Don | author-link = Donald J. Boudreaux | title = Open Letter to Paul Krugman | date = 2011-06-19 | year = 2011 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2011/06/open-letter-to-paul-krugman-2.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Liberal journalists also openly point out Krugman's obvious political bias: ''[[New York Magazine]]'' called Krugman "the leading exponent of a kind of liberal purism" that he is "not altogether comfortable with, but it is [a role] he has sought."<ref name=nymag>{{Citation | last = Wallace-Wells | first = Benjamin | author-link = | title = What’s Left of the Left | newspaper = [[New York Magazine]] | pages = | year = 2011 | date = 2011-04-24 | url = http://nymag.com/news/politics/paul-krugman-2011-5/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[American liberalism|Liberal]] journalist and author [[Michael Tomasky]] in ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' stated "Many liberals would name Paul Krugman of The New York Times as perhaps the most consistent and courageous—and unapologetic—liberal partisan in American journalism."<ref>{{Citation | last = Tomasky | first = Michael | author-link = Michael Tomasky | title = The Partisan | newspaper = [[The New York Review of Books]] | year = 2007 | date = 2007-11-22 | url = http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/nov/22/the-partisan/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Liberal historian [[Michael Kazin]] has stated Krugman’s account of the [[Right-wing politics|right]] succumbed to the [[Marxist]] flaw of false consciousness: "Unlike what Krugman says, conservatism is not some kind of smoke screen for another agenda."<ref name=nymag/>

===Contradictions===
Krugman has garnered a reputation for contradicting himself on many occasions. When documenting such inconsistencies several writers have made references to such an occurrence being commonplace: "It's not newsworthy when Paul Krugman contradicts himself."<ref name=states/> "Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan..."<ref name=entitlement/> "This just in: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a raging hypocrite. You'll be shocked to find out, I'm sure."<ref>{{Citation | last = Markay | first = Lachlan | author-link = | title = Paul Krugman Favored Raising Retirement Age Until GOP Proposed It | newspaper = [[NewsBusters]] | date = 2011-04-26 | url = http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2011/04/26/paul-krugman-favored-raising-retirement-age-until-gop-proposed-it | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In addition to the instance reported in the WSJ ([[Paul Krugman#Partisanism|see above]]), a single article published in the conservative online magazine ''[[The American Thinker]]'' documents Krugman making contradictory statements in a wide variety of topics. He is documented as stating that when [[deficit]]s are high [[interest rate]]s are low, and when governments run up a deficit, interest rates rise. He argued that higher [[national debt]] and spending were bad for people early in their careers, as they would have to pay for it later in life, and nearly twenty-five years later, he argues that the national debt is not a problem, as it never needs to be paid off. Krugman argued it is not the debt that matters, but rather the [[debt-to-GDP ratio]]. But in an open letter to [[Alan Greenspan]] he asserted, "...you obviously realize that the ratio of debt to G.D.P. is a highly misleading number." He has argued that [[Social Security]] is sustainable and unsustainable, opposed government-run health care before supporting government-run health care, and opposed the bailout of [[Fannie Mae]] before congratulating the government for the bailout of Fannie Mae.<ref name=contradiction/>

Krugman has stated [[labor unions]] and higher wages cause [[unemployment]], as well as stating labor unions create a stable [[middle class]], and lower wages have a [[Recession|contractionary]] effect on the economy (which is characterized in part by unemployment). He has argued that governments do not cause recessions and are not responsible for [[business cycle]]s, but he also blames the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] for the current [[recession]]. Krugman claimed that nothing the government has done has had an impact on the economy, and states that government actions are like using a water pistol to shoot an elephant -- but he also claims that "big government" saved the economy. He declared that workers' fears of losing jobs to workers in China and India due to [[globalization]] aren't irrational, when he earlier stated that those who blamed the global economy for the loss of jobs were "silly."<ref name=contradiction>{{Citation | last = Kumar | first = Arvind | title = Paul Krugman, the Self-Contradicting Economist | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-06-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/paul_krugman_the_selfcontradic.html | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/60M5qaItY | archivedate = 2011-07-21 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

[[Conservatism in the United States|Conservative]] blogger and political commentator [[Michelle Malkin]] noted that in April 2011, Krugman assailed [[entitlement]] reform advocates, lamenting that "the fervor with which Washington types call for raising eligibility ages is a ‘tell’: it shows how disconnected they are from the way the other half lives (and dies)" and called life expectancy "more and more a class-related issue." But in 1996 he called similar proposals (such as raising the age of eligibility for federal entitlements) "sensible".<ref name=entitlement>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it | date = 2011-04-26 | year = 2011 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/26/paul-krugman-for-entitlement-reform-before-he-was-against-it/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2007, Krugman berated then-Senator [[Barack Obama]] for worrying about the future of Social Security, stating Obama had been misled by "decades of scare-mongering about Social Security’s future from conservative [[ideologue]]s." Economist and former Chairman of the [[Council of Economic Advisors]] [[N. Gregory Mankiw|Greg Mankiw]] responded by stating that "Paul's interpretation seems to be based on either a faulty memory or an especially inclusive definition of what constitutes a conservative ideologue", pointing out that not only did [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] President [[Bill Clinton]] voice similar concerns, but that he was under advisement of well-known economist and non-conservative [[Edward Gramlich]], whom Krugman had in the past praised as being particularly prescient.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Mankiw | first = Greg | authorlink = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = In Search of Ideologues | date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/11/in-search-of-ideologues.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> In addition, less than a month prior, Mankiw had previously pointed out Krugman's contradiction on Social Security when he quoted from an interview in which Krugman stated it is "one of the best" federal government programs in terms of funding, and that it's not for certain the program has a problem. However, as Mankiw shows, Krugman himself stated ten years earlier that crisis loomed ahead when the baby boomers would start to retire around year 2010.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Mankiw | first = Greg | authorlink = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = Krugman vs Obama | date = 2007-10-28 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/10/krugman-vs-obama.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In an open letter to ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[Donald J. Boudreaux|Donald Boudreaux]] pointed out that Krugman suggested trade with low-wage countries poses real problems for high-wage America, despite years earlier penning a paper stating that wages are determined by worker productivity.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boudreaux | first = Donald J. | authorlink = Donald J. Boudreaux | title = Strange Case of Dr. K and Mr. K | date = 2008-01-05 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2008/01/strange-case-of.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Columnist Tom Bevan asked in 2009 how Krugman reconciles a call for [[economic stimulus]] while at the same time arguing that additional environmental regulations and taxes are needed to avert the "utter catastrophe", outlining that stricter environmental policies such as carbon taxes, capping emissions, and additional regulations come at a cost to the economy.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bevan | first = Tom | author-link = | title = Krugman's Contradiction | newspaper = [[RealClearPolitics]] | date = 2009-07-13 | url = http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/07/13/krugmans_contradiction_97433.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> While Krugman normally dismisses claims that debt reduces growth, he criticized the Bush tax cuts in 2005 for increasing the deficit.[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/the-bush-tax-cuts-and-the-deficit/]

Economist [[Robert P. Murphy|Robert Murphy]] has documented so many contradictions made by Krugman that he has coined the term "Krugman Kontradiction" or "Klassic Krugman".<ref name=states>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Caught: Krugman's Shifting Arguments
| work =
| publisher = [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
| date = 2011-03-03
| url = http://mises.org/daily/5086
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=austerity>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = A Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2010-06-10
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/06/a-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=QEcontra>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Yet Another Krugman Kontradiction
| date = 2010-11-23
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/11/yet-another-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=PIGS>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Yet Another Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2011-03-30
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2011/03/yet-another-krugman-kontradiction-2.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=stimulus>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Klassic Krugman Kontradiction
| date = 2011-05-19
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2011/05/klassic-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=WW2>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Another Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2010-07-07
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/07/another-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=hangover>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Krugman In Support of the Hangover Theory?
| date = 2010-12-30
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/12/krugman-hangover-theory.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=hangover>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Krugman Has Booted the Hackers From His Blog Account
| date = 2010-06-11
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/06/krugman-has-booted-the-hackers-from-his-blog-account.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

===False claims===
Columnist Richard Baehr has written several pieces documenting false and contradictory statements by Krugman. In August 2005, Baehr published a series of articles detailing Krugman's continuous misrepresentation of facts surrounding the [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000 Presidential election]] and votes cast in Florida.<ref name=biglie>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = Krugman's Big Lie | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-20 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/krugmans_big_lie.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = More baloney from Krugman | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/more_baloney_from_krugman.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> (A gaffe that was also noted by [[Michelle Malkin]]<ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = The Krugman Correction | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/08/26/the-krugman-correction/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Krugman's Correction | date = 2005-09-15 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/09/15/krugmans-correction/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Yet Another Krugman Korrection | date = 2005-10-02 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/10/02/yet-another-krugman-korrection/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, [[Donald Luskin]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Luskin | first = Donald | author-link = Donald Luskin | title = It’s the Truth that Counts | newspaper = [[National Review]] | date = 2005-08-24 | url = http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/luskin200508240848.asp | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Luskin | first = Donald | authorlink = Donald Luskin | title = Krugman Officially Corrects His Florida 2000 Lies | newspaper = | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://www.poorandstupid.com/2005_08_21_chronArchive.asp#112503484243947813 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Luskin | first = Donald | author-link = Donald Luskin | title = Third Time’s Not a Charm | newspaper = [[National Review]] | date = 2005-09-13 | url = http://old.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/luskin200509130821.asp | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Luskin | first = Donald | authorlink = Donald Luskin | title = Hell Freezes Over at The New York Times | newspaper = | date = 2005-10-01 | url = http://www.poorandstupid.com/2005_09_25_chronArchive.asp#112822299822124760 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, [[Mickey Kaus]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Kaus | first = Mickey | author-link = Mickey Kaus | title = The "Two Atta" Theory | newspaper = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | date = 2005-08-21 | url = http://www.slate.com/?id=2124546&%2523overfisk | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, and Patterico<ref>{{Cite web | last = Patterico | first = | title = Paul Krugman Just Can’t Get It Right | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://patterico.com/2005/08/26/paul-krugman-just-cant-get-it-right/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Patterico | first = | title = Paul Krugman Prettifies His Own History of Misstatements | date = 2005-09-16 | url = http://patterico.com/2005/09/16/paul-krugman-prettifies-his-own-history-of-misstatements/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, among others.) Baehr closed the series stating: "The continuous rise of the internet has enabled critics to hyperlink source material proving Krugman's lack of integrity. Krugman simply could not get away with his lies if he were required to post hyperlinks [...] Why is the New York Times still employing a serial liar in its op ed pages?"<ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = More Krugman lies: the Great Unraveling continues | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/more_krugman_lies_the_great_un.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2010 Baehr detailed Krugman's August 23 column on extending the Bush tax cuts as being "not merely misleading; it is an outright and deliberate fabrication."<ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = Paul Krugman Is a Liar: Does the New York Times Care? | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2010-08-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/paul_krugman_is_a_liar_does_th.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2003 Krugman falsely accused conservatives of embracing the [[lump of labour fallacy]], when the paper he cited did not commit the error.<ref name=economist/>

James D. Agresti documented Krugman claiming total government spending had fallen under the Obama administration, then changing his claim to say it had remained flat, both of which were shown to be false according to the data published by the federal [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Agresti | first = James D. | author-link = | title = Paul Krugman's Jihad | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2010-10-27 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/paul_krugmans_jihad_1.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> This led economist [[Robert P. Murphy|Robert Murphy]] to ask: "Is Krugman just lying now?"<ref>{{Cite web | last = Murphy | first = Robert P. | authorlink = Robert P. Murphy | title = Is Krugman Just Lying Now? | date = 2010-10-11 | url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/10/is-krugman-just-lying-now.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist [[Robert Higgs]] noted that in a telephone news conference Krugman commented the [[Late-2000s recession]] "in fact" resembles the [[Great Depression]]. Higgs mentions various measures, including the [[unemployment rate]], [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] decline, commercial bank failures, and others, all which empirically contradict Krugman's claim.<ref name=depression/>

===Economics===

''[[The Economist]]'' notes that in addition to his obvious partisanism, "even [Krugman's] economics is sometimes stretched." He used [[game theory]] to argue that [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] was probably encouraging [[North Korea]] to become a more dangerous nuclear power. The magazine notes that while "this probably did not convince most game theorists", it still in effect gives lay readers "the illusion that Mr Krugman's perfectly respectable personal political beliefs can somehow be derived empirically from economic theory." Krugman is also said to have embraced the concept of the [[There ain't no such thing as a free lunch|free lunch]]—"even though as an economist he should know better."<ref name=economist/>

Economist and former [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Lawrence Summers|Larry Summers]] has stated Krugman has a tendency to favor more extreme policy recommendations because "it’s much more interesting than agreement when you’re involved in commenting on rather than making policy."<ref name=nymag/>

Krugman's contradictions and alleged poor economic reasoning have led to much attention, particularly in the [[blogosphere]] and the economics community. "[Krugman] has made a habit of distortion [...] Several website [sic] have sprung up to deconstruct each Krugman column,and others respond to specific errors, which are routine."<ref name=biglie/> Economist [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] maintains a website dedicated solely to documenting Krugman's errors and inconsistencies, called "Krugman-in-Wonderland".<ref>{{Cite web | last = Anderson | first = William L. | authorlink = William L. Anderson | title = Welcome to Krugman-in-Wonderland! | date = 2010-01-20 | url = http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-to-krugman-in-wonderland.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012|U.S. House Republican candidate]] Jeff Semon founded a similar website titled "KrugmanIsWrong.com" to document Krugman's inaccuracies.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Semon | first = Jeff | authorlink = | title = About | work = | publisher = KrugmanIsWrong.com | url = http://www.krugmaniswrong.com/about/ | format = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Calling him a "doctor of (bad) economics", [[Sheldon Richman]] has pointed out inconsistencies and conflicting notions in Krugman's prescription for [[international trade]] and domestic [[social safety net]]s.<ref>{{Citation | last = Richman | first = Sheldon | author-link = Sheldon Richman | title = Paul Krugman, Doctor of (Bad) Economics | newspaper = [[The Freeman]] | date = 2008-01-04 | url = http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/tgif/the-goal-is-freedom-paul-krugman-doctor-of-bad-economics/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2002 [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] documented Krugman's notion that health care is the only industry in which improvements in knowledge and the development and acquisition of capital drive ''up'' costs, not reduce them, as laws of economics dictate. Anderson says Krugman's assessment "provides ample proof that one can be called an 'economist,' yet not know much about economics."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Anderson | first = William L. | authorlink = William L. Anderson | title = "Bad Medicine" or Bad Economics? | publisher = [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] | date = 2002-03-20 | url = http://mises.org/daily/917 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist and former Chairman of the [[Council of Economic Advisors]] [[N. Gregory Mankiw|Greg Mankiw]] stated he was left scratching his head when Krugman claimed a [[Tobin tax]] on foreign exchange trades is possible because "modern trading is a highly centralized affair", with a majority of transactions settled at a single London-based institution. Mankiw points out that if taxes made transacting in London even slightly more expensive, companies could easily move elsewhere, thus making the tax useless, and Krugman's claim null.<ref>{{Citation | last = Mankiw
| first = Greg | author-link = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = Is a Tobin Tax feasible? | date = 2009-11-27 | year = 2009 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-tobin-tax-feasible_27.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Investor and businessman [[Jim Rogers]] said of Krugman "He doesn't know anything about economics. He's an idiot."<ref>{{Cite video | people = [[Jim Rogers]] | title = Freedom Watch | medium = Television production | format = [[Flash video]] | publisher = [[Fox Business Network]] | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWe3jyqRo-4 | location = [[New York City]] | date = 2010-10-16 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

===Nobel Prize===
Upon Krugman's award of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]], many in the economic community voiced disapproval. [[Peter Boettke]] stated "the Swedes just made perhaps the worst decision in the history of the prize today in naming Paul Krugman the 2008 award winner [...] today I would say is a sad day for economics, not a day to be celebrated."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boettke | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Boettke | title = You Cannot Be Serious! Paul Krugman's Nobel Prize | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://austrianeconomists.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/you-cannot-be-s.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> Economist [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] deemed the announcement indicative "that outright political partisanship is not a deterrent to winning."<ref>{{Citation | last = Anderson | first = William L. | author-link = William L. Anderson | title = A Socialist Laureate | newspaper = [[Forbes]] | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_wla_1013anderson.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[Russell Roberts (economist)|Russell Roberts]] of [[George Mason University]] called it "just another reminder that those of us who believe in liberty are in for a long time in the intellectual wilderness."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Roberts | first = Russell | authorlink = Russell Roberts (economist) | title = Krugman's prize | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2008/10/krugmans-prize.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[Robert Higgs]] stated Krugman’s selection made a travesty of the prize and constitutes "an insult to the few excellent economists [...] who have received the prize in the past." Higgs wrote: "For economists who would like the Nobel Prize to mean something, today is a very sad day."<ref name=depression>{{Cite web | last = Higgs | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert Higgs | title = Krugman’s Bizarre Comparison | publisher = [[The Independent Institute]] | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://blog.independent.org/2008/10/13/krugmans-bizarre-comparison/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In a 2010 [[video blog]], [[investment broker]] and financial-economic commentator [[Peter Schiff]] stated "if they ever took away Nobel Prizes for something that shows a complete lack of understanding of economics, certainly Paul Krugman would be the first candidate where the commission asked for their Nobel Prize back."<ref>{{cite video |people = [[Peter Schiff]] |date = 2010-03-16 |title = Dollar, Paul Krugman |url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11WlFlO_mDg |format = [[Flash video]] |publisher = Schiff Report |medium = [[Video Blog]] |location = [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] |archiveurl =|archivedate= |accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

==Praised by Austrians==
While noting the many differences with Paul Krugman, James Miller has pointed out that many bloggers who promote the Austrian point of view commend Krugman's older, lesser-known book, ''Pop Internationalism''. The book is a collection of 13 essays highlighting the benefits of free trade and showing the fallacies of protectionism. After all, Krugman won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to "new trade theory," not for his continuing calls for massive stimulus spending and raising taxes on the rich, nor for accusing conservatives of being monsters bent on impoverishing the whole country.

Krugman's basic premise throughout the book is that free and globalized trade is not something a wealthy country such as the United States should fear, but rather something it should embrace. Protectionist fears of free trade such as "massive unemployment" and "trade deficits" are unjustified according to Krugman, because:

{{cquote|what drives trade is comparative rather than absolute advantage. Maintaining productivity growth and technological progress is extremely important; but it is important for its own sake, not because it is necessary to keep up with international competition.}}

Krugman points out that the idea of a country adopting an industrial policy to help certain "high-value" industries to be competitive in the world economy is superfluous. "Why," Krugman asks, "weren't private markets already doing their job?" He goes on to state that "the productivity of the average American worker is determined by a complex array of factors, most of them unreachable by any government policy."

To top off his embrace of market efficiency over government policy, he even goes on to acknowledge that government intervention to improve competitiveness can ultimately lead to "misallocations of resources." That is not a far cry from the inflation-induced "[[malinvestment]]s" that the likes of Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard have warned about for the past century.

Throughout Pop Internationalism, Paul Krugman makes a great case for how free trade and the global economy raise the living standards of both wealthy and impoverished nations. Despite the book's flaws, writes Miller, Krugman does a great job at dismissing unfounded fears about free trade.<ref name="Miller_5296">James E. Miller. [https://mises.org/daily/5296/The-Good-Krugman "The Good Krugman"], ''Mises Daily''. Referenced 2012-11-18.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Links==
* [http://mises.org/daily/3194 Consumers Don't Cause Recessions] by Robert P. Murphy, November 2008, about 'demand-side' economics
* [http://mises.org/daily/5086/Caught-Krugmans-Shifting-Arguments Caught: Krugman's Shifting Arguments] by Robert P. Murphy, March 2011
* {{md|6055|Charting Fun with Krugman|Robert P. Murphy|May 2012}}
* [http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2013/02/paul-krugmans-eyes-are-smiling.html Paul Krugman’s Eyes Are Smiling] by Robert P. Murphy, February 2013
* {{md|105|Epstein Responds|Gene Epstein|December 1998}}
* [http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae6_4_2.pdf Apoplithorismosphobia] (pdf) by Mark Thornton, 2003
* [http://mises.org/daily/4121 Krugman Fails to "Get It" on Japan] by William L. Anderson, March 2010
* [http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ricardo.htm Ricardo's Difficult Idea] by Paul Krugman, March 1996
* {{cb|2012/04/paul-vs-paul-the-video/|Paul vs. Paul: the Video|Daniel J. Sanchez|April 2012}}
* [http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/06/paul-krugman-versus-kenneth-rogoff-on-europe/ Paul Krugman versus Kenneth Rogoff on Europe] by Jacob Wolinsky, June 2012
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX55BH97quk&feature=player_embedded Paul Krugman: "¡Acabad ya con esta crisis!"] (video, partially in Spanish; esp. watch from 35:20 economist Pedro Schwartz; from 48:20 Krugman's reply)
* {{md|6372|Krugman's Call for a Housing Bubble|Daniel J. Sanchez|February 2013}}
* [http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/02/krugman_and_a_c.html Krugman and a Critic on the Minimum Wage] by David Henderson, February 2013
* [http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_science/1997/03/in_praise_of_cheap_labor.single.html In Praise of Cheap Labor] by Paul Krugman, March 1997
* [http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/08/23/denying-feds-role-in-housing-bubble-paul-krugman-exposes-his-intellectual-dishonesty/ Denying Fed’s Role in Housing Bubble, Paul Krugman Exposes His Intellectual Dishonesty] by Jeremy R. Hammond, August 2013
* [http://cafehayek.com/2014/01/i-dont-know-what-to-call-this-post.html I don’t know what to call this post] by Russ Roberts, January 2014
* {{md|6651|Krugman Claims Mises Couldn’t Explain the Great Depression|Joseph T. Salerno|January 2014}}
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/paulkrugman/index.html Paul Krugman Columnist Page - The New York Times]
* [http://pkarchive.org/ pkarchive - The Unofficial Paul Krugman Archive]
* [[Wikipedia:Paul Krugman|Paul Krugman]] on Wikipedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krugman, Paul}}
[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Nobel Prize in Economics]]

Austrian Economics Wiki:Commons

2014-02-02T15:24:02Z

Pestergaines: /* Recommended books */ Re

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[[Category:Mises Wiki|Commons]]
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For older discussions, enter the [[/Archives|archives]].

I see an issure with the money section of your ABCT page. What you're calling money i.e. the USD(FRN) and other fiat notes are not money it is a common mistake to call them that. What the FRN is, is a promissory note, or a money susbstitute. I don't know how you want to go about fixing it. Your call. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:39, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

So I made some changes to that section mentioned above feel free to change it back if you don't like them. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:52, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

: Hallo Diax! I have reverted the change after some consideration. The reason is that fiat notes ''are'' money (even if it's paper money). Check the definition of [[money]] for more details, but in short it is a commonly used [[medium of exchange]] - i.e. whatever is widely used for that purpose at the moment. But of course, the real question is whether fiat notes are a '''''good''''' form of money - and that's where we can put in some good arguments. :) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:18, 19 May 2013 (MSD)

Yes money is a medium of exchange but I'm also fairly sure that Mises talks about the promissary note being different from "pure" money in ''Human Action''. Of course it isn't a big deal. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:23, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
: I think he refers to a situation when there exists the 'pure' money (gold, silver, etc.) and there are also promissory notes. While only the first is 'actual' money, both can circulate side-by-side. Confusing the two can have dangerous consequences, as Mises shows.
: These days, the dominant form of money are fiat notes that are not backed by anything. No confusion there. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:44, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Red links ==

New issue for discussion...a user recently [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Austrian_School&curid=42&diff=11623&oldid=11614&rcid=11779 reverted an edit], removing an internal link, stating "Please add article then link. No point having dead internal links." Is this a policy we are going to agree on? No red links on the Mises Wiki?

I was under the impression that we were more or less going to follow along with a typical Wiki (no, not just Wikipedia, virtually all wikis do this) policy in which wiki-fying the article is encouraged, so long as common sense rationale is used, and only terms which will be created as pages soon or that should be created because they would be notable and verifiable and useful and in-line with the goal of the wiki, are linked. Obviously Wikipedia is the easiest place to go for [[Wikipedia:WP:RED|info and discussion]] on this, but that by no means means that that is the only place that has such a policy.

Of course, if this "add article then link/No point having dead internal links" is going to be the policy, a lot of pages are going to have to be revamped...including the [[Main Page]]. --[[User:John James|John James]] 18:05, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

:I would say that red links should be encouraged, within typical bounds (no links for common words, etc.). This has also been discussed in the email list and red links were supported by Jeff Tucker. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:56, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

::Yeah that's what I figured. That's virtually the policy of every wiki. And if you look at that page linked above it mentions how one study showed that red links helped Wikipedia grow. Let's have at least one more weigh-in and then I think we might go ahead write up a quick something for the guidelines. --[[User:John James|John James]] 01:12, 24 May 2011 (MSD)

:::I very much agree to encourage red links within reason. For the record, I think I can also understand the reversion - the 'Austrian School' is our showcase page of sorts, so it would look better if all links were blue. But that may take quite some more time. :)

:::Not sure if that needs to be in a guideline, but throwing it out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:59, 25 May 2011 (MSD)

First of all, the reason given for the reversion was not that it was a "showcase page", and should therefore be held in a special light where red links should be discouraged. It was made quite clear that there is "no point having dead internal links" [period]. So that defense doesn't hold much water. And second, I think it's actually ironic...We're going to encourage red links because they have been shown to help the project grow, yet we're going to discourage their inclusion on the very pages which are more likely to be seen by more people (and therefore are more likely to have red links actually ''turn'' blue, as well as being the pages where growth and development is most important)?

And third, call me crazy, but I was of the opinion that the [[Main Page]] is more of a "showcase page" than even the Austrian School page...did anyone bother to count the red links there??

In my opinion this "red links are encouraged, but 'showcase pages' should not have any" notion is a pretty poor defense, and an even worse guideline. I agree with virtually every other wiki project...that red links are a good thing, as they help the project grow, as well as encourage new users to get involved. A red link staring right in the face of someone knows something about it could be just the motivation a potential new user needs to throw his hat in the ring and try out some wiki-ing. I think that can be even more valuable than the particular instance of growth...because one new stub is one thing...but a new "Wikian" is something else all together. And it can make a world of difference not only for our Mises Wiki project here, but for virtually every other one in existence. I say that's a good thing. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 20:31, 25 May 2011 (MSD)}}

:It's worth remembering that while red links do encourage new contributors, they are not helpful to readers. It's reasonable to want to have a "showcase" article (like WP's featured articles) that represents what we'd like all our articles to look like in the future. Such an article would probably not have any red links: any red links that existed would be filled in by new articles.
:Eventually we might want to have no red links on the main page, but my goal there is to show new editors as many places as possible where they can jump in and start contributing. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:17, 2 June 2011 (MSD)

::Bingo. That's my whole point. That's what red links do, regardless of where they are located..."show new editors where they can jump in and start contributing." Yes, I understand the appeal of "featured articles"...but articles don't get that way because of some centralized regulation mandating that this article and that article be deemed "featured", and then every thing pertaining to those specific articles is treated in some special manner so as to "make" them featured simply by the fact that they are treated differently than other articles. It's quite the other way around. Articles get featured because they reach a certain level of quality, and are recognized to be good examples of the kind of product the project is working toward. Individuals making their own free choices about what articles to edit, what edits to make, and how much effort is put into each of those is what creates a wiki...not some central governing body telling everyone which articles will be "showcased" and which ones can be ignored.

::If editors of the Wiki wish for a certain article to be of a minimum level of quality, they can freely edit that article as much as they want to improve it to that point. (They can even form groups to organize and point out articles that need the most work and encourage others to help contribute to those. That's what [[wikipedia:WP:PJ|wikiprojects]] are all about.) And yes, part of what makes a quality wiki article is how well it connects to relevant and related articles. (This is why larger wikis like Wikipedia have some kind of "[[wikipedia:Template:Wikify|wikify]]" encouragement...because it improves the usefulness of the specific article, but also because it helps expand the wiki project.) And by the same token, that's why there is virtually no wiki that is in the practice of discouraging red links, let alone banning them...even if just on certain lionized pages.

::I really dislike the idea that articles need to be de-linked (i.e. weakened in their usefulness and diminished in their impact) because we want to showcase how great they are. That seems very contradictory in my view. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 23:47, 2 June 2011 (MSD)}}
:::This is a very interesting and important issue. There is sometimes a tension between what is good for the reader and what is good for the editor, but I think the reader quickly learns that redlinks don't go anywhere. By the way — another topic to consider is whether to allow non-logged-in editors to edit, since a lot of times the newbies just want to make a quick change (e.g. typo correction) to one article and never edit the wiki again.

:::With reference to the issue of redlinks, I have installed on my wikis (e.g. Libertapedia) [[mw:Extension:RPED|an extension I wrote]], which links to Wikipedia if the wikilinked page doesn't exist on the local wiki. I used to have it set up to actually detect the page existence on Wikipedia, as follows:

:::*IF the page exists on the local wiki, then bluelink to the page on the local wiki. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, but it exists on Wikipedia, then bluelink to Wikipedia. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, nor on Wikipedia, then redlink to the page on the local wiki.

:::Right now, the daemon I used to run to update the table of existing Wikipedia page titles is down, so I have simplified the extension to always bluelink to Wikipedia if the page doesn't exist on the local wiki. That extension needs some work before it's ready for prime time but you get the gist. It could be possible to make some other interesting and useful tweaks to it, to allow the reader to choose which wiki he wants to go to when he clicks on a redlink or bluelink. E.g., he might be notified that the page exists on both the local wiki AND Wikipedia, and given the option to choose. Or, in the event it exists on Wikipedia but not the local wiki, he could choose between visiting Wikipedia or creating the article on the local wiki. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:38, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

Keep the red links. I'm new here and I wouldn't even have bothered to join the project had it not had some obvious red links. I mean ya'll don't have a page on coercion I'm going to write it now. Anyway let me know what ya'll think about that. Peace be with you.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)Diax[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)

I expanded the Negative Rights and the Positive Rights articles. However I do not know how to add references. If someone could let me know I would appreciate it. Sorry for the inconvience. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:48, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: No problem! In short, check out other pages - see e.g. this [[Jay Cooke|recent one]]. Click on Edit and see what's in there - note the 'Reflist' section close to the end of the page, that's what will produce the whole references block. Then note the 'ref' sections that look like this:
::<nowiki><ref name="Britannica_Cooke">Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"], referenced 2013-05-21.</ref></nowiki>
: ([https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Footnotes Here's] the official documentation.)
: The 'name' part is only necessary if you reuse a reference. Often, you can get away with something like this:
::<nowiki><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"].</ref></nowiki>
: So it involves a little typing, but after you do it once or twice, references are easy. I've added them to the [[Negative right]] page. Check the changes I've made and try it for yourself - and let me know how it works out for you! (See also [[Essay:How to make good wiki pages|here]] for some more tips on how to make good pages.) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:32, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

So I saw that you said that the part about the founders pulling alot from John Locke needed to be cited (this is in the [[negative rights]] article). I'll agree that it would be nice if such a citiation existed but I'm not sure that it does. I put that in there because it's fairly obvious. "Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness" is essentially a direct quote from Locke; "life, liberty, and property". You know that's so obvious that someone has to have expressed it somewhere before... Just got to find it.[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:49, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Main page revamp ideas ==

As per [http://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/browse_thread/thread/f632e1305a0b4f4f# some discussion] on the group message board, I agree the main page could stand some new additions...

First off, I think it's pretty obvious if this [[MisesWiki:Bounty board|Bounty board]] incentive is going to be effective, we need to advertise. I think we should have either a section on the main page—perhaps replace one that is on there now, such as "this week in history"—or a prominent link to a full page that tells of all the projects going on, the articles that need creating and expanding, the promotions currently running, etc. And of course including all the useful links for that kind of thing (e.g. [[MisesWiki:2011 article improvement drive]], [[MisesWiki:Most wanted]], [[MisesWiki:Typos]], etc.)

I think it would be really nice to have a kind of quick overview of what's going on here and what specifically someone can do to help out. I think people would be more inclined to participate if they were aware of a requested article or some other project. Even aside from the prizes to be won, I think having a defined mission and objectives is really useful in helping someone feel like they're making a difference. Kind of like the "Operation Stub" drive. It's really motivating to see a request for a page that is currently a red link, and being able to see the instant result of having created a new stub and having the links go blue and seeing the article count increase...or seeing an article slowly but surely get more and more fleshed out as you collaborate with other editors and reach featured status. I think developing a sense of community would definitely entice editors to contribute as well as keep coming back, and a good way to do that is have a prominent display of what is currently being focused on.

Input? --[[User:John James|John James]] 16:26, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

:I very much agree. What about inserting a large "What can I do?" section into the middle of the main page, with links to the various projects and initiatives one can help out?

:And yes, we'll need to do a lot of advertising - at the latest when the 'improvement drive' is finalized. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:39, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

::I like the ideas, but I don't like removing the only part of the main page that ''is'' regularly updated. I'd prefer dropping "current events," perhaps incorporating it into the "this week in history" box.
::I think the Community Portal page should serve as the "full page" containing all the things going on. Go ahead and put together a box like [[Template:Current events]] (maybe call it [[Template:What can I do]] or [[Template:Get involved]]?) with a few of the important things you are talking about, along with a link to CP. The main page is very plug-and-chug, so you can just pull {{tl|Current events}} off the main page and substitute your new one. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 17:57, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

== Semantic wikis ==

Does anyone have experience with semantic wikis? I keep being recommended to introduce the feature to MisesWiki. I can see that it might be practical, but can't really tell what in the end the impact would be, besides a lot of work. Looking for some insight here. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 16:59, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

:I'll give an example of how this could be helpful. Let us say that we want a table that displays all countries by their indexes in the Infoboxes. In [[Template:Infobox Country]], you would find where they ask for each index, and put a property tag such as<nowiki>[[Economic Freedom Index::{{{row 10 info|}}}]]</nowiki> (that template needs to be more semanticly named). Then, you would use the following code (with templates from http://dnd-wiki.org/):

:<nowiki>{| style="text-align:left;" class="sortable"</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|-</nowiki>
:<nowiki>! Name !! Economic Freedom Index !! Corruption Perception Index !! Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>{{#ask: [[Category:Countries]]</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Economic Freedom Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Corruption Perception Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|format=template</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|template=Table Row</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|link=none</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|limit=9999</nowiki>
:<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|}</nowiki>

:And then the table would generate, and changing the facts on the individual pages would cause these tables to update (within 24 hours usually) automatically. It allows for Wikis to implement the policy of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). And as I've said a few times already, I've got quite a few templates for making SMW easier to deal with. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 23:05, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

::What would be the effort needed to migrate the wiki, and keep it updated? How much would our users need to learn about the syntax and what will it do to the readability of the page source code? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:17, 31 August 2011 (MSD)

:::The effort involved for migrating the wiki is as follows:
:::#Installation and configuration. I've never installed SMW (or any other Mediawiki extension), but I don't expect this to take very long. Configuration might need to be done for which namespaces it is enabled on. I cannot recall. One choice that has to be made is whether or not to show properties at the bottom of a page.
:::#Planning properties. This is where somebody (or a group of people) sit down and decide on the initial properties to have on the wiki. This can easily be streamlined by looking at the current category structure, and if there is the equivalent to a morpheme (for example, categories such as ''Books by Ludwig von Mises'', ''Books by Bastiat'', ect.) and turning those morphemes into properties (in this case, the property would be called Author).
:::#Implementing properties. This is where the above plan is realized. Using the example from planning, one would look at the book articles in general, and see if there is a template where the author is placed. If so, that template is edited so that it adds the property to it. If done correctly, a content editor won't have to deal with the properties themselves. Also, categories have to be renamed. ''Books by X'' would be renamed to ''Books''.
:::#Implement navigation. If you can think of a table that would help users find information, it takes all of five minutes to create generally. Some of the queries you can think of (the ones you want specific to a certain entity) can be templated.

:::For the syntax, just knowing how to set properties is enough. Taking [http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dungeons_and_Dragons_Wiki:Ask_Syntax the dnd-wiki help page] on it and modifying the examples at the bottom to fit this wiki should suffice. It doesn't go over tables, but copy & paste from a working table suffices for anybody who has needed to do so.

:::For the readability of the source code, it all looks like templates and links, and in many cases, is easier to read, since implementation details are hidden. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 17:35, 7 September 2011 (MSD)
Semantic MediaWiki has a number of advantages beyond making it easier for academics and others interesting in running queries to gather data. It can also be used for putting together dynamic tables within the wiki itself, creating more powerful templates, automating labor-intensive tasks, and more. I will offer the caveat, though, that as of a few years ago SMW had some troublesome bugs, and I'm not sure whether they have made a lot of progress since then.

A lot of sites that have SMW installed don't make much use of it. This may be partly because any templates imported from Wikipedia won't use it. To get the full benefit, you have to be willing to get creative in coming up with uses for it, and put in the work to implement those ideas.

The academic community is, of course, strongly in favor of SMW. I think it will do an important favor to the wikisphere and the world to be part of the effort to realize SMW's potential. That might have to include fixing some bugs. How much you want to focus on that, as opposed to more MisesWiki-specific concerns, is up to you. One last caveat — if you use caching, there may be some performance implications to consider.

Here are a couple examples of how I used SMW to make my life easier. On my wiki, we had a "Today's featured article" (TFA) page for each day. Perhaps you are familiar with how on the Wikipedia main page, the TFA blurb is followed by a list of three "Recently featured" articles — specifically, those from one, two, and three days ago.

It was a pain in the neck to enter those manually, and if I changed my mind and substituted a different featured article for a particular day, I had to edit three different featured article blurbs that referred to it as a recently featured article. To eliminate that chore, I put some sort of SMW code in each blurb — I think it was something along the lines of <code>featured::Libertarianism</code> if the article in question was [[libertarianism]] — and that associated that page with that featured article title. So then, all I had to do was use a bot to prepopulate a bunch of featured article blurbs with some SMW code telling it to grab the featured article title from the previous three days' blurbs. Specifically, <nowiki>Recently featured: {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 14, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 13, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 12, 2010]]|?featuring=}}</nowiki> I could do that for a year in advance if I wanted, and it would eliminate the need to edit the "Recently featured" wikitext later on for any reason.

Another example was when I had a bunch of articles on political prisoners, and wanted to enter various data (such as mailing address) just once per page. E.g., I could change the data in the infobox template and it would change it in the article text, or vice versa. Unfortunately, this didn't work. I sought support from the listserv and they said it was probably a bug in SMW. At that time, I didn't feel like familiarizing myself with the SMW code and hunting down and fixing that bug, so I abandoned that project. There is still enough functionality that works, though, for you to accomplish some useful tasks with it. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 03:27, 9 July 2012 (MSD)

== The Big One ==

It is coming... can you feel it? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 19:15, 30 January 2012 (MSK)
:You mean another Great Depression, or something even worse? I'm not sure if the conditions are ripe for that to happen. We have a lot of Keynesians in office, ready to worsen and prolong any economic slump that develops, but we don't have the equivalent of a Smoot-Hawley Tariff to destroy global trade. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

:: Sorry, didn't want to produce any panic. The Big One in question was the 1000th article on Mises Wiki. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 03:41, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

I had the misfortune to walk into the living room whilst the roomies were watching the news the other day and CBS was refering to the '08 bubble as the "Great Recession". I found that highly entertaining. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 20:11, 22 May 2013 (MSD)[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:51, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

==Sysop promotion request==
I request promotion to sysop so I can assist with maintenance of the MediaWiki namespace, vandalism cleanup, template importation, miscellaneous requests, etc.

We may want to consider being pretty liberal in giving out the sysop tools, since that is is accordance with the spirit of the "wiki way," which is to make mistakes easy to correct rather than hard to make. The more sysops you have, the faster vandalism gets deleted and so on. It tends to improve the quality of the wiki.

What makes sysops more of a detriment is when the rules of engagement are set up in ways that produce perverse incentives. E.g. if pages are allowed to be speedily deleted for questionable reasons, then the more sysops you have running around speedily deleting stuff, the more good content will tend to get deleted quickly. The sysops are similar to cops or security guards — if the laws (and overall system) are good, then these officers tend to be beneficial; but if the laws are bad, then the situation is similar to that described in the Declaration of Independence, of having "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." They can only harass and eat out the substance to the extent that the nature of the system allows and encourages that to happen. Here, our hierarchical system (ultimately reporting to the Mises Institute) and mistrust of mob rule prevents the kind of abuses we've seen on other wikis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

: Hallo Nathan,
: the Mises Wiki is a bit conservative with awarding the Administrator privileges. These days - *fingers crossed* - the wiki is actually quite stable and does not need much of an administrating effort. Most mistakes are easy to correct for most users, and even templates are easy to create (in case you want to make some more involved changes in this area, [[User:John James|John James]] is our template guru). We also don't tend to speedily delete pages, far from it! The biggest issue for admins has been the recent flood of spam, which was thankfully contained - in a large part also due to your help! I do not see a particular need to expand the ranks of Admins right now, I hope you understand.
: Best regards, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:38, 12 August 2012 (MSD)
::Yeah, on a wiki with the type of user behavior patterns (largely molded by the wiki's culture, which in turn is greatly affected by its rules, including the wiki mission) that are encountered here, the issues that require sysop intervention do indeed tend to be few and far between. That is assuming spam problems remain solved; those spammers are always innovating, making it necessary to find new countermeasures. It's a continual arms race. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

Do people seriously bother to create bots to put up nonsense pages? Seems a little ridiculous that someone would waste their time like that... Perhaps I'm just not cynical enough...[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:56, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: They do, but mostly it's just spam, where the motivation is cold hard cash. I assume most of the edits that are complete nonsense are simply the generation of 'plausible' traffic to cover up other spam. For some people this is clearly worth the effort. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

:: Then again, someone (or rather some''thing'') just posted a remarkably coherent and quite polished page about Essays. I have deleted the page, but actually hope that it ''was'' a spambot and not a misguided human (and that I just didn't fail the {{w|Turing test}}...).
:: So this may be the future of spamming - lots of crap with some well-written borderline cases that creep up on websites and sometimes slip through. Guess it's only gonna get worse. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:11, 29 May 2013 (MSD)
:::http://xkcd.com/810/ Wow, [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Essay&timestamp=20130528091338 that essay] on essays truly was a class act; it even used the word "learnt". I was very impressed at their subtlety. Also, it wasn't that long ago that an IP spammer hit the "undo" button on my revert of his spam. It made me take a second look at what was posted, because that's ordinarily behavior only humans have engaged in. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:03, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

==Wiki configuration issues==
Given our webmaster's other duties, does he have enough time to give wiki issues prompt service? I hope I'm not being too unreasonable by saying that and I apologize if I'm displaying lack of tact in how I'm addressing this. I just see certain issues, most notably the [[MisesWiki:Configuration#Asirra|CAPTCHA problem]] (which is of critical importance to the wiki), remain unresolved for long periods of time, despite reminders.

I don't know what level of priority the Mises Institute wants to give the wiki at this point. Being such a wiki enthusiast, my own sentiments toward waiting till other matters have been dealt with to resolve wiki configuration issues tends to be rather similar to [http://i.qkme.me/3q3j8b.jpg those expressed by Batman] concerning post-production fixes. But I realize the Mises Institute and those who seek to help it also have other matters on their plates besides the wiki. So I'm just going to throw that out there and leave it at that. I don't know whether it would be appropriate to lobby for more technical assistance resources, or how would be the best way to go about that. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

== Today in history ==

We could, if we wanted, have more than the a few entries available for each day's "Today in history". We could use [[mw:Extension:Random]] or a similar extension to select, say, two items out of a list for each day. That list could be hundreds long; the more the merrier, as long as they're high-quality, because that means more possibilities for users to see on different visits to the site. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 23:25, 5 October 2012 (MSD)

== Mass imports ==

A lot of wikis, in their early stages, have done mass imports of content. E.g., Wikipedia imported a bunch of Census data on various localities. I wonder if we might do well to import, say, the contents of ''[http://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier]'' as articles. Although they would be a bunch of stubs, it might be better than nothing. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:54, 20 October 2012 (MSD)

I actually signed up because I was couldn't work out what "catalactics" meant. It was only as I started trying to figure out how a wiki works that I found this reference to Mises Made Easier and found the answer there. Mises Made easier is more like a dictionary than an encyclopedia, but if it provides the stubs from which stuff branches out, mass importing it sounds like a great idea. [[User:Labcoat|Labcoat]] ([[User talk:Labcoat|talk]]) 02:49, 22 November 2013 (MSK)
:Someone will have to actually muster the initiative to actually implement this idea, though. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:06, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

:: For things like these I suggest to create a [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]]. Mises Made Easier was already considered at some point (see the [[MisesWiki talk:Call to Action|talk]] page) but other topics seemed more attractive at the time. @Labcoat - if you were equipped with tools that would make the import easier, would you be willing to work on it? (It would still involve going through all the topics manually and doing some editing, but the copying and pasting would be taken care of. That doesn't mean you have to ''do'' everything by yourself, the question is only if you are willing to do some of it.)

:: (And aside - if you've learned a bit about catalactics, feel free to create a page or at least a stub about it. ;) ) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:36, 24 November 2013 (MSK)
:::For the [[catallactics]] article, one could start by borrowing [[wikipedia:Catallactics|Wikipedia's content]]. I think an automated tool would be the best way to import ''Mises Made Easier''. We could program a bot to do it, or we could run a script on the server. It's probably better to use a bot; the code would then be more reusable for other purposes, because it's easy for bureaucrats to create bot accounts, but only a few people are going to have shell access to the server.

:::I see this as requiring a few steps: (1) convert the ''Mises Made Easy'' page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into [http://us3.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php an array] of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one. (2) Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.

:::(3) Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them. (4) Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names. (5) See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it. (6) Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

:::I mentioned below the possibility of switching to a new glossary system enabled by {{w|Semantic MediaWiki}} or [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]]. Prior to the importation of all those articles would be an excellent time to go that route, if we're going to do it. I've been pretty pleased with how it's been working out on my other wikis (PolyWiki.org, ChildWiki.net, and SuicideWiki.org) because it's such an efficient system for creating glossaries, quote lists, etc. and main page summaries simultaneously. However, those are all one-editor sites, and the extension was just created last month.

:::Also, I think we'd want to discuss what the templates should look like. E.g., should the parameters have names (like in [[:Template:Cite web]], which has parameters "url", "title", etc.) or should they be numbered (like in template [[:Template:Md]]? The latter is what I've been doing because it saves typing and is perhaps easier to read, but it makes it harder to change the parameters later, because you have to migrate all the transcluding pages over. One of MediaWiki's main weaknesses is that it doesn't have much metadata functionality; this is one way to solve that. The other alternative would be Semantic MediaWiki, which has a larger community of users.

:::[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=to+be+honest To be honest], if I were you, I'd go with SMW, because then you're not dependent on me for maintenance of the extension. MediaWiki upgrades are always breaking extensions, so that the developers have to write new versions. The idea BedellPenDragon embodies is a good and useful one, and there needs to be an extension with that functionality, but there are no other developers maintaining that extension, and I don't know how long I'm going to be around. Maybe for years, maybe not. Then again, we could say that about anyone.

:::I just noticed, some of this is going to need some manual intervention. E.g. [http://mises.org/easier/V.asp#4 Verstehen] should be a redirect to [[understanding]], not its own separate entry. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:29, 25 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: I was thinking of doing something smaller, since it will require some editing on every page (not just categories, but also linking to other pages, if no further editing is necessary). And if we have to pre-decide which article gets which category, it means we'll have to revisit each page at least two times anyway.

:::: That being said, having a universal import bot/script would be really neat, the significant time investment is my main concern here; I may not be able to help out with it much. Will we make use of it again?

:::: As for Semantic MediaWiki BedellPenDragon - the first is worrying as it is a one-way ticket that makes things more complex for new users (higher barriers to entry), the other is a indeed a new product with little support and no user base. I've been skeptical about these extensions for a while; then again, I'm mainly focused on (or to be honest, obsessed) with content and not as much with the presentation side of things.

:::: My general preference is to make things simple and easier to maintain. These days, I don't expect too much activity, more of steady slow growth with occasional bursts, which I'd like to accommodate. We'll see! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:37, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: And here's a link for the whole thing: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier]] [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:51, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:::::Yeah, it's easier (and in fact inevitable, to some extent) to follow Wikipedia's lead, as far as extensions are concerned. Then there's pretty much a guarantee that it will be well-supported and that it will be compatible with any content, templates, etc. we might import from Wikipedia.

:::::It is indeed a one-way ticket when we implement a metadata solution — theoretically. It could be undone and migrated to a different system using a sufficiently sophisticated bot. We don't have a lot of bot developers around here, though. I think once [[wikipedia:Wikidata|Wikidata]] comes fully online, we'll end up integrating with it (much as we already integrate with the [[wikipedia:Wikimedia Commons|Wikimedia Commons]]) and maybe setting up our own MisesData installation to supplement it. Unfortunately, it might be a long time before they get around to finishing the Wikidata implementation. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:10, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier|Updated]]. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:01, 10 December 2013 (MSK)

== MediaWiki 1.20 ==

MediaWiki 1.20 has been released. Here are the [https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/gitweb?p=mediawiki/core.git;a=blob;f=RELEASE-NOTES-1.20;hb=REL1_20 full release notes]. I didn't see anything major in there. MW 1.19 will continue to be supported for the next two years, so unless there is some capability v1.20 offers that we particularly need, it might be just as well to stick with what we have. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:20, 9 November 2012 (MSK)

== Asirra cracked ==

Word has it that the spammers are starting to crack Asirra. We seem to be getting a spam rate of about one a day. I forget what it was like before Asirra; wasn't it about five a day? Anyway, another option would be to use [[mw:Extension:QuestyCaptcha]]. We could ask [[Austrian school]]-related questions like "The Ludwig von Mises Institute motto is tu ne cede _____ (fill in the blank)" or "What was the first name of the wife of Ludwig von Mises?" People knowledgeable about the Austrian school would have the reward of not needing to google for the answers, and those who did have to look it up would learn something. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:44, 11 November 2012 (MSK)

You could always ask simple math problems but declare said equations as a string so that the bot won't be able to interpret the numbers.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 19:59, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
:I've seen that done. I forget which wiki it was. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:07, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

== WikiNode ==

Wikiindex has an interesting idea about wikinodes. See http://wikiindex.org/WikiProject:Wiki-Noding : "We think every wiki needs a page (called "WikiNode") that briefly describes the wiki and the top 7 or so closely related wikis." Here is [http://wikiindex.org/WikiIndex:WikiNode their wikinode]. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but apparently it never caught on. Maybe it should. But what would be the most closely related wikis to this one? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:33, 20 November 2012 (MSK)

== Voluntary Cooperation ==

I've created a new Call to Action: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]]. Let's see if anyone dares to join! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:10, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

: I hope to complete the project soon. There is now an index page called '''[[Privately supplied public goods]]''' - please check it out and let me know what you think. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:48, 25 February 2013 (MSK)

:: Moved project into the inactive ones, could certainly have more content but it is more or less complete. Anyone feel free to reopen it. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== Early spring cleaning ==

Having some time at hand, I started to make a long overdue cleanup of last year's pages. Some need to be overhauled completely, some polished, some moved into Essays. It is a lot of work, so help is invited, as always. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 18:57, 4 January 2013 (MSK)

I'd love to help ya mate just not sure how. I don't have any expierence working on wiki's etc... [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 23:35, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: The cleanup is basically finished. If you wanna help out with the messy bits, there is a whole [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]]. But if you want something more topical, check out the current project [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
: Learning how to use a wiki isn't hard - it's only matter of dilligence and finding the topics that really interest you and you want to learn about more. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

== Outreach ==

It is sometimes not easy to see what kind of impact these pages have. They may seem too obscure or not noticed by anyone. If that's the case, what's the point?

However, the Mises Wiki ''is'' being used as a resource, in arguments, debates and forum discussions all over the Internet. It could be certainly more, but it is out there. How can you find out? Google '''''"wiki.mises.org" -site:mises.org'''''. Then, with the search tools limit the results to last month or whatever criteria you prefer. Dig in.

The biggest hits can be surprising, like "Principle of non-aggression". :)

The wiki has also high Google rank on obscure keywords like [[regime uncertainty]] (#1!) and quite a few [[Financial crisis#History|19th century panics]]. Google ranks original content higher, and remixing of other content - instead of simply copying whatever is on Wikipedia or other articles. Diligent linking also pays off. Plus, for some articles - such as regime uncertainty or some of those panics, Wikipedia doesn't have anything or very little. It's not hard to be better than that.

So, don't get discouraged. This stuff is used by people out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:55, 2 February 2013 (MSK)

:As it turns out, Google is not the end-all resource to find out what links a page. There are websites better equipped for that - [https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer/backlinks-new/subdomains/wiki.mises.org/29-3-2013/all-all here's one] (allows only a few limited views a day though). Turns out there's way more sites using this wiki! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:33, 30 March 2013 (MSK)
::Just so you know, we have [[mw:Manual:$wgNoFollowLinks]] set to false on this wiki, so we are also giving a pagerank boost to the pages our articles link to. There was a debate about the wisdom of doing this throughout the wikisphere; virtually all developers said "hell no" when I [[bugzilla:42594|suggested]] changing the default for MediaWiki. However, I have always had that configuration settings switched off on all my other wikis, and have never had a spam problem. I suspect that Google may indirectly reward us for keeping it switched off; see [[mw:Manual:Costs and benefits of using nofollow]]. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 20:21, 24 January 2014 (EST)

== The Regression Theorem and Bitcoin ==

So I'm dong research for a paper and I can't seem to find a place which makes the arguments for why Bitcoin violates the regression therom etc... Was wondering if ya'll could direct me to where that argument is made? Also someone with more knowledge than I should probably add a "Critism" section to the Bitcoin page and talk about the regression therom there. Thanks for your time. Peace be with you all! - Diax

So what exactly is the argument about that Bitcoin violates the regression therom or some such? It would be nice to

: Don't know where that particular claim comes from, here's [http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/7761841-patrik-korda/1616371-bitcoin-bubble-2-0 one] article that comes close, and [https://smilingdavesblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/bitcoin-all-in-one-place/ this] list seems to be a good one to go by, but that's just two bloggers. [http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.de/2011/06/why-are-libertarians-against-bitcoin.html This] one links to many other articles where other critiques may be found.
: Otherwise, it seems like most articles speak about some anonymous 'Austrian economists' that keep doing that somewhere and fail to provide a link.
: If you find good articles about [[Bitcoin]], critiques or not, please add them to the page! (If they are not as good, but still contain valid points, throw them on the Talk page.) Someone may sort them out one day. Any Bitcoin experts out there? (Follow through with your research and may become one as well. :) ). Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

It's Mises that created the Regression Therom in [i] The Theory of Money and Credit[/i] (1912) It's him expanding on Menger's theory on the origin of moeny. The basic argument as far as I can tell is that in order to transition from a barter economy to a money economy it would be necessary for a commodity to have utility in trade beyond it's barter value and thus it becomes a medium of exchange.

I think the claim is that because bitcoin does not have a commodity backing it cannot be money (in the long run) and just like fiat is doomed to fail...[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 01:43, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

: The [[Regression theorem|concept]] is well-known (hmm, that page could also use some improvement...), the question is where the claim about Bitcoin violating it comes from. Need to do some more googling! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:20, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

:: As far as I can tell the claim that Bitcoin violates it comes from the idea that because the regression theorem says that money must be commodity backed and bitcoin violates this principle therefore Bitcoin is not money.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 21:58, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

::: As many of the articles about this topic explain, that is not what the regression theorem says. What I am wondering now though, seeing all that hoopla about it, is there any notable Austrian economist that claims this, or is it really just a few bloggers sniping at each other? One day we'll know it all. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 30 May 2013 (MSD)

== Where to contribute ==

The question has been asked repeatedly. Where should one add to or create more new pages?

The simplest answer is to find something you are really interested in, it's the most fun and you probably already know a lot about it. And if not, it's only natural to want to learn a bit more - and help others as well. But let's offer some inspiration:

* [[Special:WantedPages|Most wanted pages, by missing links]]: This list shows which nonexistent articles have the most links pointing to them (some are just obscure links from templates and the like).
* [[MisesWiki:Most wanted|Most wanted pages, by vote]].
* A long list of desired topics is [[Category talk:Economic concepts|here]].

* Check out the [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]] (and it's talk page) - it contains several projects and suggestions for more, and there's plenty of things that can be still added. [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]] is particularly wide. The current project is [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
* For those who don't mind to get their hands dirty, check out the [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]].

* If you are interested in a particular [[:Category:Countries|country or countries]], there is a good base to expand on. What is going on in that particular corner of the world anyway? How intrusive is the state? How's free is the life over there (and what's the quality of life)? What's of special interest to Austrians or libertarians?

* Are you more of a single-issue person, interested in a particular organization, person, or concept? Well, then see if a corresponding page already exists, how extensive is it, and what about all the related topics?

* Are you interested in a larger, overarching topic or a group of topics? See if there's a summary page and what subtopics can be created or brought up to the level.

* Are you into history? ([[Gilded Age]]? [[Great Depression]]? [[Financial crises]]? [[History of money and banking]]?) Writing a wiki page is a great way to learn about history.

* Are you more into the theoretical aspects of [[economics]] and [[praxeology]]? Create away whatever is still missing.

* Would you like to create good arguments for or against whatever discussion is currently raging on the Internet? There is [[Category:Argumentation|place for that]] as well!

And there's so much more...

(Anyone has more ideas? Add them here!) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:31, 3 June 2013 (MSD)
:People can also offer constructive criticism about what they would like to see changed or added to the site so that it will better serve their and others' needs. It's useful to get input even from those who don't edit the site on a regular basis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:00, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== 1400 pages ==

Rather quietly, the wiki has just reached 1400 pages with the [[‎Second Bank of the United States]]. Good news in what is otherwise a period of downtime. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:39, 10 July 2013 (MSD)

== Teaching Austrian Economics ==

Are there any Austrian School Textbooks that can be used to teach college leval Macro & Micro economics. Everything iv'e found teaches Keynesian Economics.

:I'd say if you start with [[Human Action]] and [[Man, Economy and State]] you should be well provided for a start (of an advanced education), but I've asked this question [http://libertyhq.freeforums.org/college-level-textbooks-t943.html elsewhere] to see if there's a better answer. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 15 July 2013 (MSD)

::Check out the link above, there are some good answers in the forum thread now. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:17, 17 July 2013 (MSD)

== Upgrade to MW 1.21 ==

If there is no objection, I will upgrade the site to [[mw:Release_notes/1.21#MediaWiki_1.21.2|MediaWiki 1.21]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:10, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:Upgrade complete. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 10:31, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== Debate -> Dialog, Fun -> Miscellany ==

I changed the namespace names from Debate: to Dialog: (see [[rationalwiki:Debate:Should_it_be_Dialogue]] for some thoughts on that) and from Fun: to Miscellany:. I figured Miscellany: would be a good repository for any off-topic or otherwise hard-to-classify stuff. Debate: and Fun: are still available as [[mw:Manual:$wgNamespaceAliases|namespace aliases]]. The main downside I can think of is that the name of the "Dialog talk:" namespace sounds slightly redundant. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:58, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:I'm going to retire the Dialog: namespace and move all the content to Miscellany: if there's no objection. Even RationalWiki: has found that the Debate: namespace is kinda pointless; [[rationalwiki:Help:Namespace|they write]], "For some reason this namespace is not very well used. The function is largely usurped by talk pages." [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 00:58, 29 December 2013 (MSK)

== Another libertarian wiki ==

For later study, found by chance: "[http://v.i4031.net/Home A Voluntaryist Wiki]", appears to be a rather private affair focused mainly on argumentation. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 23:44, 20 October 2013 (MSK)
:Added to the [[MisesWiki:Wikinode|wikinode]] (and to [[wikiindex:A Voluntaryist Wiki|wikiindex]]). [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:57, 21 October 2013 (MSK)

== [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]] ==

Hello, I've written [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]], which adds metadata, glossary, essay list, and quote list features to MediaWiki. Perhaps the best way to explain it is by example. All of these features you can see either displayed or available from the [http://polywiki.org/ PolyWiki main page].
*'''Articles:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FASummary Template:FASummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_articles Category:Featured articles], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_article Randomly featured article]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:Glossary Special:Glossary]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_articles Recently added articles]'''.
*'''Essays:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FESummary Template:FESummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_essays Category:Featured essays], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_essay Randomly featured essay]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:EssayList Special:EssayList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_essays Recently added essays]'''.
*'''Quotes:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FQSummary Template:FQSummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_quotes Category:Featured quotes], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_quote Randomly featured quote]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:QuoteList Special:QuoteList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_quotes Recently added quotes]'''.
Examples of how this is done:
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Values_within_polyamory&action=edit Article example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Essay:Friendship_as_the_foundation_of_romantic_relationships&action=edit Essay example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Quote:Security_comes_first_from_inside...&action=edit Quote example] (view source)
I was thinking this could be useful on Mises Wiki. Perhaps we could enhance the main page by showing new content as well as randomly selected content that's an unpredictable mix of the old and new. Also, this data could be queried by other parts of mises.org or even sites external to mises.org using [[mw:API:Properties#pageprops_.2F_pp|the API]]. Another advantage is that vandals and spammers almost certainly won't know to use the templates that will cause content to be seen on the main page. We could use this as a means of new page screening for the Mises Globe on the main mises.org page as well.

Also, we can create sidebars similar to RationalWiki's [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Template:Sex Template:Sex] that display a random list of x articles in a given category. So, for example, the article on [[fractional reserve banking]] could have a <nowiki>{{banking}}</nowiki> sidebar with a list of 12 randomly selected banking articles. This way, users who revisit the article will be exposed to new content each time.

There's other stuff that could be done with this extension too, such as creating "Did you know?" tidbits of information for display on the main page; we could then create another special page to display a master list of those items. It's not all that much different from what [[wikipedia:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]] was intended to do (except that SMW is more powerful); I just haven't had good experiences with SMW, or I would recommend using it, since it's the application that academicians tend to favor and to have more enthusiasm about. They've been fantasizing for a long time about what they could do if Wikipedia would switch to SMW.

To make BedellPenDragon be useful for us, we would need to (after installing the extension) start adding the featured summary and regular summary templates to pages we create. Since this would be a fairly significant change in how we do things, I wanted to see what your thoughts were and make sure there's a consensus before proceeding. Another option would be to use SMW; if we were to pick that option, I might switch my focus from improving BedellPenDragon to improving SMW, although I'm not sure how much success I would have getting that community to accept proposed changes. I have control over BedellPenDragon's development; I don't control SMW. I've often found than code review can be a bottleneck and that it can be quite hard for an outsider to get his changes approved due to inertia and lack of interested reviewers.

If we were to want to reverse this change later, it would not be too hard. We would just need to change the templates so that they either do nothing at all or so that they do nothing but display the text that is entered into them as parameters. Thanks, [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:27, 11 November 2013 (MSK)

== Script error on page ==

There is a script error [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Sweden#Links here] on what appear to be flags. Don't care much for the flags, but perhaps it can be fixed easily. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:Those red "script error" messages are clickable; that one informed me that we needed to import [[Module:Yesno]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:02, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== $wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges ==

Anyone care to be added to [[mw:Manual:$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges|$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges]]? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 03:17, 14 December 2013 (MSK)

: Is there anything in it that Recent Changes doesn't cover? Otherwise it seems like just getting more emails. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:11, 15 December 2013 (MSK)
::Nope, it's for people who want to get emailed everything that's in Recent Changes (except the changes they themselves make). But actually, at this point you can just use the preferences checkbox implemented by [[mw:Extension:EmailAllChanges]] if you want to be emailed all those notifications. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 14:15, 15 December 2013 (MSK)

== Happy New Year! ==

Haven't been much on recently but will come back for a spring cleaning. Meanwhile, enjoy Merry belated Christmas and especially a Happy New Year! Big thanks to everyone for holding the torch! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:45, 30 December 2013 (MSK)

== Linked discussion threads ==

Although I prefer central discussion areas for wiki communities, I have always found the single-page format rather cumbersome when multiple topics are covered. I am curious how users would respond to using a threaded style discussion forum on the Commons page. [[User:GMedich|GMedich]] ([[User talk:GMedich|talk]]) 18:12, 7 January 2014 (EST)
:Are you thinking about subpages or something like [[mw:Extension:Flow]] (the successor to [[mw:Extension:LiquidThreads]])? The Dialog: namespace was created basically for the purpose of holding discussion threads, but on most wikis it ends up not being used very much. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 18:14, 7 January 2014 (EST)
::Improving the visual order of the central discussion portal is my main point, I suppose. I think keeping the actual discussion pages in a dedicated namespace is a good idea, and can help finding older, archived threads when needed. Obviously, there is not much conversational traffic at present, but this would probably help keep track of the few separate topics we have underway at any given time.
::A fairly simple example can be found on [http://www.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Forum:Index Shout Wiki] and on [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Index Fallout Wiki]. They both use the same basic, template-generated forum which you might have seen elsewhere. ''Shout Wiki'' uses a simple version while ''Fallout Wiki'' has chosen to dress it up a bit. [[User:GMedich|GMedich]] ([[User talk:GMedich|talk]]) 11:36, 8 January 2014 (EST)
:::I guess I'm pretty indifferent to the matter. If no one objects, then you can probably implement your idea. I hope that it can be done in a way that doesn't add additional steps to the process of adding new threads, though. (e.g. creating the thread and then adding it to the central portal is a two-step process) [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 11:51, 8 January 2014 (EST)

== Video captions and transcripts ==

I notice that it's easier to transcribe videos when you turn on the captions, even though the auto-captions tend not to be very accurate. There are a couple articles on this, [https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en Add captions] and [https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734799?hl=en Transcripts]. I think that we (i.e. the Mises community) should seek to create captions and transcripts for the more important Austrian school-related videos out there, e.g. of Murray Rothbard, or of people discussing Mises Wiki. Unfortunately, I think only the owner of a video is allowed to do it. What shall we do about this? Or perhaps I should say, What can be done about this? [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 11:48, 18 January 2014 (EST)

== Redmine ==

It turns out there is a {{w|Redmine}} installation at http://projects.mises.org/redmine that mises.org developers use internally. I have asked Jordan and Chad to make it publicly available as an issue tracker. There was [https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/misesdev/bugzilla/misesdev/y9AJbj6TDBA/YhSDe5QYuJoJ a discussion] about this earlier. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 21:29, 25 January 2014 (EST)
:Okay, it looks like this will never happen, until we migrate over to [[Liberty.me]]. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 00:06, 31 January 2014 (EST)

==Recommended books==
I was wondering, does anyone have advice for what books to give to different kinds of people you're trying to convert to libertarianism? See [[:Miscellany:Books to give to different kinds of people]]. I sent [[Jeremy Hammond]] ''FANL'' and ''The Market for Liberty'' and was told that might not be the best choice; I guess leftists tend to view Rothbard as right-libertarian, for some reason. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 00:06, 31 January 2014 (EST)

: Good idea! I've added Economics in One Lesson to the list, it's still hard to beat as an introduction to free-market economics. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 09:57, 1 February 2014 (EST)
::I thought about sending that one. Of course, it might come across as telling the person "You don't know squat about economics; read this" but the truth hurts sometimes, I guess. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 10:07, 1 February 2014 (EST)

::: It can be good for people who don't have much of a background or interest in the more advanced economics; it can be also an easy sell if someone wants a summary of 'what is all this free-market stuff about'. Last but not least, it can be used for the exact reason you have mentioned, if put politely enough. The person in question will probably underestimate it and might just be shaken by the force of the argument. Then again, it might not. But that's always a risk. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:24, 2 February 2014 (EST)

Austrian Economics Wiki:Commons

2014-02-01T14:57:23Z

Pestergaines: /* Recommended books */ +1

Orphan works

2014-01-27T06:55:26Z

Pestergaines: /* Effects */ +Permanent loss of information section

The term '''orphan works''' is used to describe the situation where the owner of a [[copyright]]ed work cannot be identified and located by
someone who wishes to make use of the work in a manner that requires permission of the copyright owner.

Even where the user has made a reasonably diligent effort to find the owner, the user faces uncertainty – because there is always a possibility, however remote, that a copyright owner could bring an infringement action after that use has begun. In such a situation, a productive and beneficial use of the work is forestalled – not because the copyright owner has asserted his exclusive rights in the work, or because the user and owner cannot agree on the terms of a license – but merely because the user cannot locate the owner.<ref name="Register_Orphan">[http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/orphan-report-full.pdf "Report on Orphan Works"] (pdf), ''The Register of Copyrights of the United States of America'', January 2006. Referenced 2012-06-07.</ref>

{{See also|Costs of Intellectual Property}}

==Reasons for existence of orphan works==
* The rights holder is unknown or cannot be traced.
* The work has no, or insufficient, information identifying the copyright owner and/or creator associated with it, which may be due to a number of reasons, such as format shifting.
* The original owner of copyright can no longer be located at the original address and there are no records of any new address.
* The copyright owner does not realize that they benefit from copyright ownership.
* The copyright ownership has been assigned to a new owner, and there is insufficient information available about the new owner’s name and/or location.
* The copyright owner has died and information about what happened to rights on his death is impossible to find.
* Where the copyright owner is a business, the business ceased to exist and it is impossible to find out what happened to the copyright which was one of the business assets.
* User generated content, works by amateur or local artists and works by artists using aliases were also mentioned as at risk of being Orphan Works.<ref name="Korn_Orphan">Naomi Korn. [http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/wp/files/2009/06/sca_colltrust_orphan_works_v1-final.pdf "In from the Cold"] (pdf), "An assessment of the scope of ‘Orphan Works’ and its impact on the delivery of services to the public", ''JISC'', April 2009. Referenced 2012-06-07.</ref>
* Even if the copyright holder is located and responds, potential users can still encounter problems. Some publishers have no record of having published older works.
* Furthermore, publishers are not always certain what rights they have. Some operate under the assumption that if a right is not explicitly granted to them in their contract with the author(s), then they do not have that right, for example, the right to make a digital version of the work. Other publishers operate under the opposite assumption that if a right is not explicitly denied, then they do have that right.<ref name="Covey_Orphan">Denise Troll Covey. [http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/comments/OW0537-CarnegieMellon.pdf "Re: Response to Notice of Inquiry about Orphan Works"] (pdf), Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, March 22, 2005. Referenced 2012-06-07.</ref>

==The extent of orphan works==
In a 2009 survey in the United Kingdom, the average proportion of orphan works in collections across the UK’s public sector was measured at 5% to 10%, whilst in certain sectors (archives) this proportion was higher. The mid-range estimates from the survey put the total number of orphan works at a total of in excess of 13 million. Extrapolated across UK museums and galleries, the number of orphan works was conservatively estimated at 25 million, although the figure was likely to be much higher. (Responses from non-UK based respondents broadly corroborated the findings.)

Organizations spent on average less than half of one day tracing rights for each orphan work. Therefore it would take in the region of 6 million days effort to trace the rights holders for the 13 million works represented in the survey. In certain high profile projects, some organizations had spent large resources of time on chasing rights holders. However time and additional resources are also being used to educate the public and students and train (and remind) colleagues about the specifications of working with orphan works. At least 35% of organizations across all sectors, regardless of the size of their collections, do not have any specific resources in place to help deal with orphan works.<ref name="Korn_Orphan" />

Carnegie Mellon University Libraries conducted a study in 1999-2001 to determine the feasibility of acquiring copyright permission to digitize and provide Web access to books in their collection. Overall, publishers of almost a fourth (22%) of the books could not be found. In general, the older the book, the more difficult it was to find the publisher. In addition, the older the book, the more likely it was that the book was out of print — neither generating revenue for the copyright owner nor easily accessible to potential readers.

Sometimes copyright to a book is owned by many people, for example, the introduction, translation, photographs and figures could each be owned by a different person. If a potential creator or user wants to use the entire book, copyright ownership of each part or item must be traced through time. In the feasibility study, 11 percent of the books in the initial sample were eliminated from the study as too complicated to pursue because of third-party copyright ownership. Over a third (36%) of the publishers that were successfully located did not respond to multiple letters of inquiry. Most (79%) of the books about which they did not respond were out of print.<ref name="Covey_Orphan" />

A 2010 study in Europe reported the following:
* A conservative estimate of the number of orphan books as a percentage of in-copyright books across Europe puts the number at 3 million orphan books (13 % of the total number of in-copyright books). The older the books the higher the percentage of orphan works.
* Approximately 225 000 film works were categorized as orphan and could therefore not be used.
* A digitization project in the UK found that 95 % of newspapers from before 1912 are orphan. Also, a survey amongst museums in the UK found that the rights holders of 17 million photographs (that is 90% of the total collections of photographs of the museums) could not be traced.<ref name="Vuopala_Orphan">Anna Vuopala. [http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/digital_libraries/doc/reports_orphan/anna_report.pdf Assessment of the Orphan works issue and Costs for Rights Clearance] (pdf), ''European Commission'', May 2010. Referenced 2012-06-07.</ref>

[[File:New_Books_from_Amazon_Warehouse_by_Decade.png|thumb|right|New Books from Amazon Warehouse by Decade]]

In 2012, Paul Heald did a random sampling of 2500 new books sold by Amazon (not used books, or books sold by Amazon associates - only books directly in Amazon's warehouses). The biggest number of books is from the decade 2000-2010. That is to be expected; they're more recent, more popular. The numbers drop off really quickly for books in the 1990s, 1980s... to 1930s - where books start falling in the [[public domain]]. Then the numbers go up and up. There's as many books that Amazon is selling brand new from the 1900s to 1910 as from the 2000s to 2010. There's twice as many books from the 1850s being sold on Amazon as the 1950s.<ref name="Heald_Bad">Paul Heald. Summary at: [http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/copyright-stagnation.html "Copyright stagnation"], see the presentation: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DpfZcftI00 "Do Bad Things Happen When Works Fall into the Public Domain: The Market for Audiobooks"] (video), March 16, 2012 at the Econ Dept University of Canterbury. Referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

==Costs associated with orphan works==
* In a study seeking permission to digitize and provide Web access to 278 fine and rare books, conducted by Carnegie Mellon University Libraries in 2003, the '''transaction cost''' was $78 per title for which permission was granted, as a very conservative estimate. (Not including the cost of consultations with university legal counsel, creating the database to track the work, managing the project, or intermittent labor costs invested in locating and finalizing negotiations with some authors and estates.)
* In addition to the transaction cost of seeking copyright permission, there could be '''permission fees''' levied by the copyright holder. The potential user has no way of knowing if a fee will be levied or, if so, what that fee might be. Many publishers who granted permission charged no fee, but some did.
* The fees were often accompanied by a '''limited license''', meaning that access can be provided to the digitized book for a limited length of time (from two to seven years), after which it must be removed from the Web. Furthermore, over half of the publishers that granted permission in the two studies restricted access to their digitized books to members of the Carnegie Mellon community. Given that almost all of these books were out of print, this restriction seems in most cases to be a senseless hurtle to access to information.
* A project conducted by Carnegie Mellon’s Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics in 1987-1989 sought permission to incorporate images of art works into educational software they were developing on art forgery. The project manager encountered great disparity in permission fees for use of the images, from no charge to $150 per image. Overall, the permission fees to use thirty images totaled $2,142 (converted to currency rates of 2002).
* In a study conducted by Wayne State University in 2000, the transaction cost of seeking permission to digitize 1000 articles for electronic reserves was $24,500. The total cost of acquiring copyright, including permission fees was $50,500 or $505 per article.
* The '''time''' it takes to identify, locate, and receive a response from copyright holders can be substantial. In the feasibility study, more than 60 percent of the publishers located did not respond to the first letter of inquiry, so a second or sometimes a third letter was sent. The average length of time to receive a response from a publisher was 101 days from the date of the initial letter for a response of "permission granted," and 124 days for a response of "permission denied." Three to four months is often too long for scholarly or educational purposes.<ref name="Covey_Orphan" />
* While efforts to find the copyright holder are useful to show that any subsequent use of the work has been made in good faith, could aid defense if challenged and may occasionally yield contact details, they hold no '''legal certainty''' and present risk. Due diligence is also time consuming, resource intensive and may not be realistically practical for large-scale digitization activities.<ref name="Korn_Orphan" />

Even if potential users absorb the transaction cost and the copyright holder grants permission, potential users might not be able to afford the permission fee, which means the effort they expended was fruitless and their valuable time wasted.<ref name="Covey_Orphan" />

==Effects==
Because copyright terms are so long, in many cases extending well over a century, much of twentieth-century culture is still under copyright and unavailable. Much of this, in other words, is lost culture. No one is reprinting the books, screening the films, or playing the songs. In fact, it may not even be known who holds the copyright. Companies have gone out of business. Records are incomplete or absent. A film, for example, might have one copyright over the sound track, another over the movie footage, and another over the script. Not only are these works unavailable commercially, there is simply no way to find and contact the person who could agree to give permission to digitize the work or make it available in a new form.<ref name="Boyle_public">James Boyle. [http://www.google.com/books?id=Imn6yQjcfZIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false "The public domain: enclosing the commons of the mind"], 2008. p. 9. Referenced 2011-10-11.</ref>

Some works have a known owner, but they are still not interested re-issuing them. There are tens of thousands of books, movies and music pieces, which had a discrete success at the time, faded away from the top-seller list, and are now out of print and impossible to purchase. Many of these products are valuable artistic pieces that have a discrete but small demand, too small to be "profitable" for media giants. They may be an attractive product for small publishers or music companies, they may be valuable inputs for new artists and creators that could find in them inspiration for additional works, but they are not worth the effort or re-issuing for the likes of the Disney corporation. Worse, re-issuing a substantial portion of these titles would "crowd out" current products that the same media giants are heavily marketing. Monopolists maximize profits by restricting supply, elementary economics teaches us, and a simple way of restricting supply of artistic work is to make sure that not too many "equivalent" western movies, adventure novels, comic novels, symphonic pieces, and so on, are available for purchase at any given point in time.<ref name="Boldrin_unpublished">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 5, p. 117.</ref>

What is rarely noted, orphan status may be most common for materials generated on the margins of society — by people whose names and presence were never recorded, sometimes because of persecution; or by informal or transient organizations, groups, and movements that never had an opportunity to create their own legacy. For this content — which includes some of the most important artifacts that a society is likely to produce, documenting both its struggles and those who speak without a recorded voice — formal interventions are unlikely to make a meaningful difference because there is so little ownership data to work with.

In an April, 2012 conference in the UC Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, the overall consensus, most succinctly aired by Brewster Kahle of the Internet Archive, is that the the problem is so pervasive and the barriers to a comprehensive resolution so high — while networked communications make sharing ever more straightforward — that institutions are increasingly prone to adopt a “Damn the torpedoes” approach. For these panelists, the prospect of new legislation attempting to facilitate use of material with dim rights status is often scarier than the status quo given political deadlock; further, uncertainty over the use of these materials is endemic but the risk is fairly low, in part because libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) are respectful and conservative. At the same time, the cultural value is often tremendous.<ref name="Brantley_Orphan">Peter Brantley. [http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2012/04/14/serving-a-public-that-knows-how-to-copy-orphan-works-and-mass-digitization/ "Serving a public that knows how to copy: orphan works and mass digitization"], ''Publishers Weekly'', April 14th, 2012. Referenced 2012-11-16. See also the [http://www.law.berkeley.edu/11731.htm conference page].</ref>

===Permanent loss of information===
Some media deteriorates or is destroyed because copyrights prevent it from being copied onto other media and distributed. There are substantial costs involved in preserving information in its original medium until the copyright expires, and the devices used to retrieve the information may no longer exist by that time. An example would be wax {{w|phonograph cylinder}}s from the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323826704578356282705139450|title=Copyright Protection That Serves to Destroy|author=Teachout, Terry|date=14 March 2013|publisher=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

In another example, the preservation of deteriorating piano rolls (made out of paper, used in the player piano, an old automated musical instrument popular in the US in the early 20th century) is hampered by copyright laws.<ref name="Hall_CopyWrong">Jon maddog Hall. [http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Paw-Prints-Writings-of-the-maddog/CopyWrong "CopyWrong!"], Jul 12, 2010. Also see the commentary: [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100712/18325210185.shtml "Copyright Finally Getting Around To Destroying Player Piano Music... One Century Late"]. Referenced 2011-10-23.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/50872 "Orphan" works: informal deal done between MEPs and Council], ''The Information Daily'', June 2012
* [http://www.loc.gov/film/study.html Film Preservation 1993: A Study of the Current State of American Film Preservation] Report of the Librarian of Congress, June 1993
* [https://chronicle.com/article/Out-of-Fear-Institutions-Lock/127701/ Out of Fear, Colleges Lock Books and Images Away From Scholars] by Marc Parry, May 2011
* [http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/orphanworks.html Orphan Works], ''Center for the Study of the Public Domain''
* [http://www.clir.org/pubs/ruminations/01wilkin/wilkin.html Bibliographic Indeterminacy and the Scale of Problems and Opportunities of "Rights" in Digital Collection Building] by John P. Wilkin, February 2011
* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Intellectual property]]
{{Stub}}

Costs of intellectual property

2014-01-27T06:53:16Z

Pestergaines: Moved section to Orphan works

{{TOC right}}
This page attempts to list the '''[[cost]]s''' and detrimental effects of '''[[Intellectual property]]'''.

{{See also|Without Intellectual Property}}

==Legal costs==
Companies pay patent attorney salaries, patent filing and maintenance fees, and significant litigation costs (it can easily cost over a million dollars to defend from a patent infringement lawsuit, even if you win), as well as higher insurance premiums due to the risk of being involved in patent infringement litigation. Some patents that should not have been granted, and others whose coverage is ambiguous, plus the unknown existence of some hidden patent lurking in the thousands granted to date, pose significant uncertainty to companies, especially high-tech [[Startup company|start-up companies]] who cannot afford to risk a patent infringement lawsuit from a more established company. They might not even be able to afford to pay the patent attorneys to examine and issue an opinion regarding every potential patent issue that arises. So the company either forges ahead, risking a lawsuit, or decides to avoid making the product out of fear of litigation.<ref name="Kinsella_Free">Stephan Kinsella. [http://mises.org/daily/1763 "There's No Such Thing As a Free Patent"], ''Mises Daily'', March 07, 2005. Referenced 2011-09-17.</ref>

In a December, 2010 article, Forbes summarized the significant costs of IP:

* '''$10''' million Cost to defend a high-stakes patent suit
* '''$3.8''' million Median damages awarded in patent infringement cases from 2001-07
* '''482,871''' Patent applications filed in 2009
* '''191,927''' Patents issued in 2009
* '''2,700''' Average number of patent-infringement lawsuits filed per year
* '''$1,000''' Hourly rate charged by top patent litigators
* '''100''' Average number of patent cases that go to trial each year
* '''57%''' Percentage of trials won by patent holders
* '''34.6''' Average number of months to secure a patent<ref name="Langreth_Toe">Robert Langreth. [http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1206/entrepreneurs-diabetes-nova-biomedical-patent-standing-up_3.html "Going Toe To Toe With Medical Device Giants"], ''Forbes Magazine'', December 06, 2010. Sources as described in the article: USPTO website; General Patent Corp.; Stanford IP Database; Ropes & Gray; PricewaterhouseCoopers. Referenced 2011-10-26.</ref>

===Non-practicing entities and patent trolls===
There are companies that make no products and whose only business is to acquire patents in order to enforce them against large industry segments.<ref name="Kinsella_Free" /> [[Non-practicing entities]] (NPEs) can, in principle, perform the socially valuable function of facilitating markets for technology. Some inventors lack the resources and expertise needed to successfully license their technologies or, if necessary, to enforce their patents. NPEs provide a way for these inventors to earn rents that they might not otherwise realize, thus providing them with greater incentives to innovate.

On the other hand, critics, including many technology firms, compare these NPEs to the mythical trolls who hide under bridges built by other people, unexpectedly popping up to demand payment of tolls. The critics call these NPEs "[[patent trolls]]," claiming that they buy up vaguely worded patents that can be construed to cover established technologies and use them opportunistically to extract licensing fees from the real innovators. To the extent that the recent NPEs opportunistically assert "fuzzy patents" against real technology firms, they can decrease the incentives for these firms to innovate.

A 2011 paper argues that defendants to lawsuits by NPEs have lost over half a trillion dollars in wealth from 1990 through 2010 — over $83 billion per year during recent years. While the lawsuits might increase incentives to acquire vague, over-reaching patents, they do not increase incentives for real innovation. The defendants in these lawsuits are firms that already invest a lot in innovation. Their losses make it more expensive for them to continue to do so and it also makes them less willing to license new technologies from small inventors. Meanwhile, independent inventors benefit very little from what the large companies lose.<ref name="Bessen_Trolls">James Bessen, Jennifer Ford, Michael J. Meurer. [http://www.bu.edu/law/faculty/scholarship/workingpapers/documents/BessenJFordJMeurerM091911.pdf The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls"] (pdf), Boston University School of Law Working Paper No. 11-45, September 19, 2011. Referenced 2011-10-13.</ref>

In July, 2011, The Guardian reported that app developers are withdrawing from the US market out of fear of patent lawsuits, which can be expensive for developers to defend even if they are successful. The growth of patent lawsuits over apps raises serious issues for all the emerging [[smartphone]] platforms, because none of the principal companies involved - Apple, Google or Microsoft - can guarantee to protect developers from them.<ref name="Arthur_App">Charles Arthur. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/jul/15/app-developers-withdraw-us-patents "App developers withdraw from US as patent fears reach 'tipping point'"], ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2011. Referenced 2011-10-23.</ref>

For a different example in the music industry, the so-called "sampling trolls" sue successful music artists for routine sampling, no matter how minimal or unnoticeable. Some music genres, like hip-hop and rap, heavily use sampling. Artists have sometimes combined and mixed thousands of sounds in a single album. That makes sense musically, but it is problematic legally. Thousands or even hundreds of samples would mean thousands of copyright clearances and licenses. If clearing rights would cost a fortune, music production would become that much more expensive, and innovative music that much riskier a bet.<ref name="Wu_Sample">Tim Wu. [http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2006/11/jayz_versus_the_sample_troll.single.html "Jay-Z Versus the Sample Troll"], "The shady one-man corporation that's destroying hip-hop.", ''The Slate'', November 16, 2006. Referenced 2012-08-26.</ref>

==Hostility to customers and innovations==
The music industry in particular and the broader copyright-dependent entertainment industries in general are in decline. Their profit margins are going down, and they don't like it. The consumers aren't as pleased with their products as they once were. The seemingly rational course of action for the industry is to look into why consumers aren't pleased with their products, see what they can do better, innovate, and drop their prices to increase demand.

That is not what the industries (like the members of the [[IFPI]] and [[MPA]]) do, however. In fact, not only are they unwilling to innovate, they have gone to the extreme of starting to sue their own potential and real customers. That doesn't seem to be a good way to gain favour with customers.

* The industries have always been afraid of new technology. The [[radio]], the player-piano, the phonograph, the VCR, cassette tapes etc. were seen as threats by the industry, which responded by attempting to restrict sales and ownership, unwilling to experiment and find new ways to fulfill customer demand. Apple practically had to force iTunes onto the market, the record labels weren't willing to go along with it at first. They weren't willing to only sell individual songs, they wanted whole albums sold.<ref name="Krehic_Protectionism">Vedad Krehic. [http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/krehic1.1.1.html "Modern Day Protectionism"], "How copyright has turned the record labels, software writers and film studios against their own customers", ''LewRockwell.com'', November 9, 2009. Referenced 2011-10-02.</ref>

* One glaring example of the entertainment industries' fear of technology was ex-MPAA president Jack Valenti's 1982 statement to a U.S. Congressional panel: "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."<ref name="Hearing_Recording">[http://cryptome.org/hrcw-hear.htm "Home Recording of Copyrighted Works"], Hearings before the Subcomittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and the Administration of Justice of the Committee on the Judiciary , House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, April 12, 1982. Referenced 2011-10-02.</ref> VCRs went on to become one of the biggest profit sources for Hollywood in history, and DVDs and Blu-Ray discs later filled the VCR's role.

* The attempts to shut down various file-sharing networks ended up to be free publicity for the movement. For example, [[ThePirateBay]], a Swedish [[BitTorrent]] (a popular file-sharing technology) tracker and search engine, was attempted to be shut down multiple times by various governments, as well as many national government attempting to ban Internet providers in their respective countries from allowing their users to access the site. Every single attempt has been met with ridicule, and ThePirateBay's user base grew exponentially as a result of the publicity.

All of these elements combine to form a highly unfavourable impression of the copyright industry in consumers' eyes. Technology is making traditional entertainment industry business models obsolete. Instead of innovating, the industries are using the hammer of government to force their customers to comply with 1970s business models – and now those customers are rebelling. As a result, the measures applied by governments to coerce them just keep getting more and more draconian.<ref name="Krehic_Protectionism" />

==Patents as a Hindrance to Technical Progress==
In practice, the patent system often hinders technical progress. In the automobile industry, for instance, [[Henry Ford]] did not own the patent over the automobile, and had to fight against the patent’s owners, who constituted a closed cartel and were not interested in mass production of inexpensive models.

Henry Ford was denied a license on the ground that he had not demonstrated his competence, and when Ford persisted in producing cars, the cartel immediately brought a lawsuit against him for infringement of the patent. The suit was ultimately decided in Ford’s favor in 1911 and the cartel disintegrated.

Another interesting case is the early history of aviation. [[Wright brothers|Orville and Wilbur Wright]] mimicked the wing twisting of gliding birds by constructing a mechanism that warped the horizontal plane of an airplane’s wings at either side in opposite directions. They patented this mechanism and claimed in their patent that their rights extended to any system that varied the "lateral margins" in opposite directions.

The Wright-Martin Company was threatening to sue those considered to be infringers— effectively any airplane manufacturer, and engaged in protracted litigation. With the formal entry of the United States into [[World War I]] imminent, however, the US government sought a solution to the patent litigation, since some firms were reluctant to take contracts because of the threat of patent infringement suits.

Inordinately broad patents are especially problematic. For nearly a quarter of a century, for example, [[James Watt]] was able to prevent other engineers from constructing new types of steam engine, even under license from himself. At least one historian argues that the [[Industrial Revolution]] did not really take off until 1785, the year Watt’s patent expired.<ref name="Cole_Benefits">Julio H. Cole. [http://mises.org/journals/jls/15_4/15_4_3.pdf "Patents and Copyrights: Do the Benefits Exceed the Costs?"] (pdf) ''Journal of Libertarian Studies'', Volume 15, no. 4 (Fall 2001), pp. 79–105. Referenced 2011-09-17.</ref>

During the period of Watt's patents the United Kingdom added about 750 horsepower of steam engines per year. In the thirty years following Watt's patents, additional horsepower was added at a rate of more than 4,000 per year. Moreover, the fuel efficiency of steam engines changed little during the period of Watt's patent; while between 1810 and 1835 it is estimated to have increased by a factor of five.

Many new improvements to the steam engine, such as those of William Bull, Richard Trevithick, and Arthur Woolf, became available by 1804: although developed earlier these innovations were kept idle until the Boulton and Watt patent expired.

Ironically, Watt's own efforts at developing a superior steam engine were hindered by the very same patent system he used to keep competitors at bay. When the patents expired, far from being driven out of business "Boulton and Watt for many years afterwards kept up their price and had increased orders."<ref>[[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Michele Boldrin and David Levine, p.1-5. Referenced 2011-09-18.</ref>

===Deadlock and patent pools===
A significant and widespread example of private companies voluntarily relinquishing intellectual property are the so-called "patent-pools." A [[patent pool]] is an agreement, generally by a number of businesses in the same industry, to share patents. Although it is sometimes the case that when the pool is set up, a company that has few patents will make a payment to a company that has many patents, once the pool is operating, there is no payment between companies for patents. Any patent by any company in the pool is freely available to any other company in the pool. In some cases patent pools take the form of cross-licensing agreements in which firms agree to automatically cross-license all patents falling into certain categories.

In the United States, in a number of industries, processes of "collective invention" were implemented by means of
patent pools. In some cases, patent pools were created after having experienced phases of slow innovation due to the existence of blocking patents. In the 1870s, producers of Bessemer steel decided to share information on design plants and performances through the Bessemer Association (a patent pool holding control of the essential patents in the production of Bessemer steel). The creation of this patent pool was stimulated by the unsatisfactory innovative performance of the industry under the "pure" patent system regime. In that phase, the control of essential patents by different firms had determined an almost indissoluble technological deadlock. Similar concerns over patent blockages led firms operating in the railway sector to adopt the same expedient of semi-automatic cross-licenses and knowledge sharing.

At the current time, patent pools are generally mandatory for participants in recognized standard setting organizations such as the International Telecommunications Union and American National Standards Institute. Large microprocessor corporations, such as IBM, Intel, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard engage in extensive cross licensing. Important computer technologies, including the MPEG2 movie standard and other elements of DVD
technology are part of a patent pool.

Given the widespread willingness of large corporations to voluntarily relinquish patent protection through cross-licensing and patent pools, you might wonder why eliminating patents would even be necessary. Unfortunately, while patent pools eliminate the ill effects of patents within the pool – they leave the outsiders, well, outside. So while patent pools may give a strong indication that patents are not a terribly good idea, and that competition has many benefits – they do not unfortunately undo some of the most important harm of government enforced monopoly – that of preventing entry into an industry.<ref name="Boldrin_Monopoly">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 3, p. 69-70.</ref>

===Ignoring patents===
As a consequence of of the significant legal costs, both researchers and companies in component industries simply ignore patents. Companies and lawyers tell engineers not to read patents in starting their research, lest their knowledge of the patent disadvantage the company
by making it a willful infringer. Patent lawyers commonly don’t conduct a search for prior patents before seeking their own protection in the [[Patent and Trademark Office]] (PTO). Nor do they conduct a search before launching their own product. Rather, they wait and see if any patent owner claims that the new product infringes their patent.

Even then, it is common in many industries characterized by a significant number of "[[patent troll]]s" to ignore the first cease-and-desist letter one receives from a patent owner, secure in the knowledge that patent litigation is expensive and uncertain and that some letter-writers will never follow up with a serious threat of suit. Finally, and most significantly, companies in component industries who in fact get sued for patent infringement never pull their product off the market pending the outcome of the suit. Rather, they decide to take their chances in court and hope that they can avoid infringement or invalidate the patent. Even if they embark upon a product redesign to avoid infringing the asserted patent, the redesign rarely replaces the original product unless and until the patent is held valid and infringed. This intentional ignorance of patent rights in the hands of others has led some to label major manufacturers in the IT industries "patent pirates."

Patents are supposed to confer information to scientists, but they can’t do that if scientists ignore patents. In this way, the patent system doesn’t achieve this disclosure goal.<ref name="Lemley_Ignoring">Mark A. Lemley. [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=999961 Ignoring Patents] (abstract; [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1134927_code32215.pdf?abstractid=999961&mirid=3 pdf]), Stanford Public Law Working Paper No. 999961
Michigan State Law Review, Vol. 2008, No. 19, 2008. Referenced 2012-03-04.</ref>

==Barriers to entry==
It is often argued that, especially in the biotechnology and software industries, patents are a good thing for small firms. Without patents, small firms would lack any bargaining power and could not even try to challenge the larger
incumbents. However, as Boldrin and Levine argue, dominant firms can prevent entry by holding patents on pretty much everything that is reasonably doable. For one small firm finding an empty niche in the patent forest, how many have been kept out by the fact that everything they wanted to use or produce was already patented but not licensed?

Second, because of the patent system, most small firms in these sectors are forced to set themselves up as one-idea companies, aiming only at being purchased by the big incumbent. In other words, the presence of a patent thicket creates an incentive not to compete with the monopolist, but to simply find something valuable to feed it, via a new patent, at the highest possible price, and then get out of the way. This may be quite advantageous to the few lucky entrepreneurs who manage to be bought out by the monopolist at a good price. However, it is not beneficial either to consumers, who keep living in a monopolized world paying high prices for bad products, or to the average potential entrepreneur who, plain and simple, cannot enter and compete.

According to a survey on why companies choose to patent, patents are not directed at innovation, but are primarily used as legal and bargaining tool. They are also instruments for preventing new firms from entering the industry. New firms, not having a portfolio of defensive patents, and not participating in the patent pool, find that they cannot legally compete with the existing oligopoly.<ref name="Boldrin_Barriers">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 4, p. 79-85.</ref>

==Freedom of Innovation==
As Lawrence Lessig has pointed out in his book ''The Future of Ideas'', innovation exploded in the [[Internet]] because it provided an innovation [[commons]], a neutral platform upon which the widest range of creators could experiment. But this structural design is changing–both legally and technically.

Another example is the movie industry, where the copyright costs can be unexpected. A song in the opening credits requires the rights of the artist performing the song. But even incidental art and creative works (like posters on a wall in a dorm room or an advertisement on a truck driving by in the background) need a permission.

Today, "if any piece of artwork is recognizable by anybody . . . then you have to clear the rights of that and pay" to use the work. "[A]lmost every piece of artwork, any piece of furniture, or sculpture, has to be cleared before you can use it." The lawyers thus decide what’s allowed in the film. They decide what can be in the story.

The film ''Twelve Monkeys'' was stopped by a court twenty-eight days after its release because an artist claimed a chair in the movie resembled a sketch of a piece of furniture that he had designed. The movie ''Batman Forever'' was threatened because the Batmobile drove through an allegedly copyrighted courtyard and the original architect demanded money before the film could be released. In 1998, a judge stopped the release of ''The Devil’s Advocate'' for two days because a sculptor claimed his art was used in the background. These events teach the lawyers that they must control the filmmakers. They convince studios that creative control is ultimately a legal matter.<ref name="Lessig_Future">Lawrence Lessig. [http://www.the-future-of-ideas.com/ "The Future of Ideas"] ([http://www.the-future-of-ideas.com/excerpts/index.shtml excerpts], [http://www.the-future-of-ideas.com/download/lessig_FOI.pdf pdf]), 2001, Random House. Referenced 2011-09-30.</ref>

==Freedom of speech==
Intellectual property rights provide the legal basis for copyright owners' stifling the creation of fan fiction featuring characters from stories, movies, or TV shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chillingeffects.org/fanfic/|title=Fan Fiction|publisher=Chilling Effects}}</ref> Some of these works are parodies that poke fun by portraying the characters or plots in a ridiculous light. By suppressing such works, as well as "sucks sites",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/08/38056|title=Legal Tips For Your 'Sucks' Site|date=14 August 2000|author=Cisneros, Oscar S.|publisher=Wired}}</ref> the copyright laws hinder free expression and criticism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chillingeffects.org/protest/|title=Protest, Parody and Criticism Sites|publisher=Chilling Effects}}</ref> Copyright laws can also be used to breach anonymity by forcing the disclosure of people's identities based on mere allegations of infringement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chillingeffects.org/johndoe/|title=John Doe Anonymity|publisher=Chilling Effects}}</ref> Some copyright holders are even issuing cease and desist notices to people who merely link to allegedly infringing content, or who link to the copyright holder's website in ways that haven't been approved by that copyright owner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chillingeffects.org/linking/|title=Linking|publisher=Chilling Effects}}</ref> According to Stephan Kinsella, [[censorship]] was one of the main original purposes of copyright laws.<ref>{{md|5029|Rethinking IP|Kinsella, Stephan|10 February 2011}}</ref> The King James Version of the Holy Bible is still under copyright in the [[United Kingdom]], largely for the purpose of protecting it from parody and other uses that might be deemed by the government to be disrespectful.

==Orphan and banned works==
{{Main|Orphan works}}

Because copyright terms are so long, in many cases extending well over a century, much of twentieth-century culture is still under copyright and unavailable. Much of this, in other words, is lost culture. No one is reprinting the books, screening the films, or playing the songs. In fact, it may not even be known who holds the copyright. Companies have gone out of business. Records are incomplete or absent. A film, for example, might have one copyright over the sound track, another over the movie footage, and another over the script. These works - which are commercially unavailable and have no identifiable copyright holder - are called "[[orphan works]]". Not only are these works unavailable commercially, there is simply no way to find and contact the person who could agree to give permission to digitize the work or make it available in a new form.<ref name="Boyle_public">James Boyle. [http://www.google.com/books?id=Imn6yQjcfZIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false "The public domain: enclosing the commons of the mind"], 2008. p. 9. Referenced 2011-10-11.</ref>

Some works have a known owner, but they are still not interested re-issuing them. There are tens of thousands of books, movies and music pieces, which had a discrete success at the time, faded away from the top-seller list, and are now out of print and impossible to purchase. Many of these products are valuable artistic pieces that have a discrete but small demand, too small to be "profitable" for media giants. They may be an attractive product for small publishers or music companies, they may be valuable inputs for new artists and creators that could find in them inspiration for additional works, but they are not worth the effort or re-issuing for the likes of the Disney corporation. Worse, re-issuing a substantial portion of these titles would "crowd out" current products that the same media giants are heavily marketing. Monopolists maximize profits by restricting supply, elementary economics teaches us, and a simple way of restricting supply of artistic work is to make sure that not too many "equivalent" western movies, adventure novels, comic novels, symphonic pieces, and so on, are available for purchase at any given point in time.<ref name="Boldrin_unpublished">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 5, p. 117.</ref>

In some cases, enforcement of copyright can lead to actual banning of books - like the attempted publishing of a "sequel" to J.D. Salinger's famous ''Catcher in the Rye''.<ref name="techdirt_Catcher">[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090702/0125045432.shtml "District Court Bans 'Catcher In The Rye' Sequel; Since When Did The US Ban Books?"], ''techdirt'', July 2nd 2010. Referenced 2011-10-11.</ref> In another case, an online library focusing on scholarly works was closed down.<ref name="Ernesto_Library">Ernesto. [http://torrentfreak.com/book-publishers-shut-down-library-nu-and-ifile-it-120215/ "Book Publishers ‘Shut Down’ Library.nu and iFile-it"], ''Techdirt'', February 15, 2012. Referenced 2012-03-04.</ref>

[[File:New_Books_from_Amazon_Warehouse_by_Decade.png|thumb|right|New Books from Amazon Warehouse by Decade]]

In 2012, Paul Heald did a random sampling of 2500 new books sold by Amazon (not used books, or books sold by Amazon associates - only books directly in Amazon's warehouses). The biggest number of books is from the decade 2000-2010. That is to be expected; they're more recent, more popular. The numbers drop off really quickly for books in the 1990s, 1980s... to 1930s - where books start falling in the [[public domain]]. Then the numbers go up and up. There's as many books that Amazon is selling brand new from the 1900s to 1910 as from the 2000s to 2010. There's twice as many books from the 1850s being sold on Amazon as the 1950s.<ref name="Heald_Bad">Paul Heald. Summary at: [http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/copyright-stagnation.html "Copyright stagnation"], see the presentation: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DpfZcftI00 "Do Bad Things Happen When Works Fall into the Public Domain: The Market for Audiobooks"] (video), March 16, 2012 at the Econ Dept University of Canterbury. Referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

===Permanent loss of information===
Some media deteriorates or is destroyed because copyrights prevent it from being copied onto other media and distributed. There are substantial costs involved in preserving information in its original medium until the copyright expires, and the devices used to retrieve the information may no longer exist by that time. An example would be wax {{w|phonograph cylinder}}s from the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323826704578356282705139450|title=Copyright Protection That Serves to Destroy|author=Teachout, Terry|date=14 March 2013|publisher=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

In another example, the preservation of deteriorating piano rolls (made out of paper, used in the player piano, an old automated musical instrument popular in the US in the early 20th century) is hampered by copyright laws.<ref name="Hall_CopyWrong">Jon maddog Hall. [http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Paw-Prints-Writings-of-the-maddog/CopyWrong "CopyWrong!"], Jul 12, 2010. Also see the commentary: [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100712/18325210185.shtml "Copyright Finally Getting Around To Destroying Player Piano Music... One Century Late"]. Referenced 2011-10-23.</ref>

==Product Differentiation==
The existence of patents also induces wasteful expenditure of resources by competitors trying to "invent around the patent," i.e., to develop competing products that are sufficiently differentiated so as not to infringe on an existing patent. There are incentives for a firm to duplicate the prevailing best technology patented by another firm in a way that does not infringe on patents. More generally, there are incentives for a firm to develop a technology even if it is worse than the current best one, if it is better than the one it has and the best is blocked by patents.

Thus, although these activities increase the level of research-and-development spending, from the social point of view they are not necessarily an efficient use of available resources.

Worse still, patent owners also have incentives to invent around their own patents to preclude potential competition. To the extent that the patent system itself induces these activities, resources devoted to them (as well as the associated legal expenses) are essentially wasted from the social point of view, and should be regarded as another cost of the system. For example, to protect its monopoly position in the market for plain-paper copiers, [[Xerox]] patented every conceivable aspect of its technology. [[IBM]] had spent millions to ‘invent around’ Xerox’s major patents—with 25 percent of the budget going for patent counsel, not R&D.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

==Availability of drugs==
Although it is sometimes argued that the "welfare triangle" (the net loss to society) from this policy is not large, in the case of innovation this is not always true. The example of AIDS drugs both illustrates the theory and the potential losses. AIDS drugs are relatively inexpensive to produce. They are so sufficiently inexpensive to produce that the benefits to Africa in lives saved exceed the costs of producing the drugs by orders of magnitude. But the large pharmaceutical companies charge such a large premium over the cost of producing the drugs – to reap profits from sales in Western countries where those drugs are affordable – that African nations and individuals cannot afford them. Through IP and international "free" trade agreements, they also prevent potential competitors (read: imitators) to enter the African or Latin American markets for such drugs.<ref name="Boldrin_AIDS">Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine. [[Against Intellectual Monopoly]], Chapter 4, p. 76. See also [http://www.avert.org/generic.htm AIDS, Drug Prices and Generic Drugs] for a more up-to-date information.</ref>

==Distortion of research==
Patents can be obtained only for "practical" applications of ideas, but not for more abstract or theoretical
ideas. This skews resources away from theoretical R&D. It is not clear that society is better off with relatively more practical invention and relatively less theoretical research and development. Resources are wasted and development slowed down because the workers are engaging not in the types of innovations they need for their product development but rather in things that satisfy the patent office.<ref name="Kinsella_Free" />

==Defensive patents==
Venture capitalists insist on a strong patent portfolio when evaluating whether to invest in a company. But this is because, in part, patent portfolios are necessary to defend against other companies' portfolios. If there were no patent system, one would not need to defensively spend money building up a mountain of patents to use in counterclaims or cross-licensing negotiations.<ref name="Kinsella_Free" />

==Orchestral music==
Any symphony orchestra that wants to play a piece of music has to obtain the sheet music, the actual physical pieces of paper to be placed on the music stands for all the members of the orchestra so that they can play the music, and of course there’s a score for the conductor who has all the parts. For any given piece of music, there are essentially two possibilities - the piece is available for purchase or it’s only available as a rental.

If an orchestra can buy the music, it will own it and can keep it in its library and perform it as frequently as it would like to without having to re-buy the music every time. The price varies but for a 10 to 15 minute piece the price might be $150, for a longer more substantial piece, an hour-long symphony maybe, the price would be up to $300 or so.

In addition, there’s also a question of all the performance markings that go into playing any piece of music. Before the orchestra musicians get the parts, the conductor and the librarian and the principle players have worked to create a series of markings that is transferred into all the parts - for example strings bowings. That is hours and hours and hours of preparation. During the rehearsal process more markings are put in - the conductor might say play that softer, play that louder, etc. The markings stay in the parts for the pieces that the orchestra was able to purchase. And it’s much easier and less time consuming to revisit them the next time the piece is played.

Some pieces can be only rented by the publisher. The average price to rent a symphony is around $600-700 to rent it to perform the piece one time. The orchestras are charged for each concert, although usually the second and third performances are at a reduced rate. And then there is the same process to create all the markings, which have to be erased afterwards and the sheets returned mark-clean to the publisher. If the orchestra wants to play the same piece again in a few years, the orchestra has to pay again - depending on the number of performances - and go through all the bowing and marking process. So it is much more advantageous to be able to purchase music and keep it in the library and just reuse it at will. That’s the general procedure.

There's also a licensing fee. But when something is rental only and under copyright, on top of the rent, a licensing fee has to be paid to the publisher every time the piece should be played. And that even goes for pieces purchased before that law came out.

The larger organizations -- like the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, or Chicago Symphony -- have very large budgets and although they’re not happy about it, they can afford to rent whatever pieces they need to rent. They also pay a blanket licensing fee every year that covers all their copyrighted music.

The smaller orchestras - professional orchestras in smaller towns or youth orchestras - also have a budget for renting and/or purchasing music but it’s obviously much, much smaller. In effect the law, because of the costs involved, prevents many, many smaller orchestras and educational institutions from physically performing these pieces. If they don’t have more they can’t play the piece. So they’re simply not playing them.

The law is supposed to protect the heirs of the composers. With the large orchestras, the heirs of these composers are getting a very small royalty check from the couple of orchestras that play these pieces. But by and large, the pieces are simply not being played.<ref name="Bailey_Golan">Rich Bailey. [http://questioncopyright.org/golan_on_golan_v_holder "Lawrence Golan Speaks about Golan v. Holder"], ''QuestionCopyright.org'', 2011-10-06. Referenced 2011-10-10.</ref>

==Persecution of opposition groups==
In Russia, where [[software piracy]] is rampant, security services have carried out dozens of raids against outspoken advocacy groups or opposition newspapers in recent years. Several investigations had been mishandled; it is also claimed that raids are rarely if ever carried out against advocacy groups or news organizations that back the government.<ref name="Levy_Russia">Clifford J. Levy. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/world/europe/12raids.html?pagewanted=all "Russia Uses Microsoft to Suppress Dissent"], ''The New York Times'', September 11, 2010. Referenced 2011-10-23.</ref>

==Car repairs==
As cars become vastly more complicated than models made just a few years ago, mechanics are often turning down jobs and referring customers to auto dealer shops. Many new vehicles come equipped with multiple computers controlling everything from the brakes to steering wheel, and automakers hold the key to diagnosing a vehicle's problem. In many instances, replacing a part requires reprogramming the computers ---- a difficult task without the software codes or diagrams of the vehicle's electrical wires.

Independent mechanics often do not have the thousands of dollars to purchase the online manuals and specialized tools needed to fix the computer-controlled machines. This has left customers with fewer options for repair work.

Automakers say they spend millions in research and development and aren't willing to give away their intellectual property. They say the auto parts and repair industry wants to get patented information to make its own parts and sell them for less.

Their opponents say automakers are trying to monopolize the parts and repair industry by only sharing crucial tools and data with their dealership shops.

Dealership shops may be reaping profits from the technological advancements. A study released in March, 2009, by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association found vehicle repairs cost an average of 34 percent more at new car dealerships than at independent repair shops, resulting in $11.7 billion in additional costs for consumers annually.<ref name="Nguyen_vehicles">Daisy Nguyen. [http://www.nctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_4ea03fd6-090d-5c2e-bd91-dfb5508495ef.html "High-tech vehicles pose trouble for some mechanics"], ''Associated Press'', December 26, 2009. Referenced 2011-10-17.</ref>

==Studies==
It seems reasonable to assume that patents must have ''some'' effect on technological [[innovation]], but the interesting question is the practical magnitude of this effect. The results of the few studies that have attempted to detect it empirically do not favor the pro-patents position.

* Edwin Mansfield directed two important studies on this topic in the 1980s. The first studied thirty-one patented innovations in four industries: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and machinery. One purpose of the study was to answer a simple question: what proportion of innovations would be delayed, or not introduced at all, if they could not be patented? According to the firms, about one-half of the patented innovations in the sample would not have been introduced without patent protection. The bulk of these innovations occurred in the drug industry. Excluding drug innovations, the lack of patent protection would have affected less than one-fourth of the patented innovations in our sample.

* The results of the second study were even more negative: According to detailed data obtained from a random sample of 100 firms from 12 manufacturing industries, patent protection was judged to be essential for the development or introduction of one-third or more of the inventions during 1981–83 in only 2 industries — pharmaceuticals and chemicals. On the other hand, in 7 industries (electrical equipment, office equipment, motor vehicles, instruments, primary metals, rubber, and textiles), patent protection was estimated to be essential for the development and introduction of less than 10 percent of their inventions. Indeed, in office equipment, motor vehicles, rubber, and textiles, the firms were unanimous in reporting that patent protection was not essential for the development or introduction of any of their inventions during this period.<ref name="Cole_Benefits" />

* A more recent paper approached this problem from a slightly different angle, but also failed to support the pro-patents position. If patents do indeed stimulate innovation, then presumably stronger patent protection should induce a higher rate of innovation. The authors addressed the question "Do Stronger Patents Induce More Innovation?" by studying the impact of a significant Japanese patent law reform implemented in 1988. Their main finding was that "the average response in terms of additional R&D effort and innovative output was quite modest." An econometric analysis using Japanese and U.S. patent data on 307 Japanese firms confirmed that the magnitude of the response was quite small.<ref name="Branstetter_Stronger">Lee G. Branstetter and Mariko Sakakibara. [http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=sds&sei-redir=1#search=%22Mariko%20Sakakibara%20Lee%20Branstetter%2C%20%E2%80%9CDo%20Stronger%20Patents%20Induce%20More%20Innovation%3F%20Evidence%20from%201988%20Japanese%20Patent%20Law%20Reforms%E2%80%9D%22 "Do Stronger Patents Induce More Innovation? Evidence from the 1988 Japanese Patent Law Reforms"] (pdf), ''Carnegie Mellon University'', ''College of Humanities and Social Sciences'', ''Department of Social and Decision Sciences'', 4-1-2001. Referenced 2011-09-17.</ref>

* A study published in ''The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review'' suggests that patents may harm new technology, economic activity, and societal wealth. The study was a multi-user interactive simulation of patent and non-patent systems.<ref name="Torrance_Regress">Andrew W. Torrance and Bill Tomlinson. [http://www.stlr.org/volumes/volume-x-2008-2009/torrance/ "Patents and the Regress of Useful Arts"] ([http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1411328 abstract], [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1411328_code857510.pdf?abstractid=1411328&mirid=1 pdf], [http://www.ics.uci.edu/community/news/press/view_press?id=89 press release]). ''Columbia Science and Technology Law Review'', Vol. 10, 2009. Referenced 2011-09-17.</ref>

* In an empirical study of the effects of patent law on innovation based on data from two 19th century world fairs, strong evidence was found that patent systems influenced the distribution of innovative activity across industries, but no evidence that patent laws increased levels of innovative activity. Countries without patent laws brought many important innovations to the fairs. Mid-nineteenth century Switzerland, for example, had the second highest number of exhibits per capita among all countries that visited the Crystal Palace Exhibition. Moreover, exhibits from countries without patent laws received disproportionate shares of medals for outstanding innovations. These countries shared a strong focus on innovations in scientific instruments and food processing (where secrecy was particularly effective at protecting innovations). On the other hand, patenting was essential to protect and motivate innovations in machinery, especially for large-scale manufacturing.<ref name="Moser_Influence">Petra Moser. [http://econ161.berkeley.edu/movable_type/refs/Safari_Scrapbook3/w9909.pdf "How Do Patent Laws Influence Innovation? Evidence from Nineteeth-Century World Fairs"] (pdf), ''NBER Working Paper'' No. 9909, August 2003, JEL No. N0, L0, O3. Referenced 2011-09-29.</ref> (However, scholars have argued that both [[Switzerland]] and the [[Netherlands]] benefited greatly from their unfettered ability to use and improve upon inventions patented in other countries.<ref name="Bifano_Influence">Larissa Bifano. [http://www.researchoninnovation.org/tiip/archive/2005_1e.html "How Do Patent Laws Influence Innovation? Evidence from Nineteenth Century World Fairs"], 2005. Referenced 2011-09-29.</ref>)

* An extensive review of many studies from Dixon and Greenhalgh (2002) speaks about a "limited evidence on IP as an incentive for innovation" and quotes Penrose (1951): "If national patent laws did not exist, it would be difficult to make a conclusive case for introducing them; but the fact that they do exist shifts the burden of proof and it is equally difficult to make a really conclusive case for abolishing them."<ref name="Dixon_Review">Padraig Dixon and Christine Greenhalgh. [http://www.dklevine.com/archive/dixon-review.pdf "The Economics of Intellectual Property: A Review to Identify Themes for Future Research"] (pdf), November 2002, p. 37-53. Referenced 2011-10-06.</ref>

* In a 1958 review of the patent system, [[Fritz Machlup]] concluded, that "No economist, on the basis of present knowledge, could possibly state with certainty that the patent system, as it now operates, confers a net benefit or a net loss upon society.<ref name="Machlup_Review">Fritz Machlup. [http://mises.org/etexts/patentsystem.pdf "An Economic Review of the Patent System"] (pdf), Study of The Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, 85th Cong., 2nd Session, 1958, Study No. 15; p. 79. Referenced 2011-10-07.</ref>

* In the September, 2011 "The Uneasy Case for Software Copyrights Revisited", Pamela Samuelson maintains that the economic case for copyright in the software industry was stronger up to the 1990s, but became "uneasier" afterwards. The author does not suggest that copyright protection for computer programs should be repealed concluding that, "Copyright protection has become so deeply entrenched in software protection law and in software industry’s expectations that it will stay for decades to come, regardless of whether it really is (or is not) economically necessary.<ref name="Samuelson_Uneasy">Pamela Samuelson. [http://groups.law.gwu.edu/lr/ArticlePDF/79-6-Samuelson.pdf "The Uneasy Case for Software Copyrights Revisited"] (pdf), ''The George Washington Law Review'', September 2011. Referenced 2011-10-10.</ref>

* An August, 2003, study "An Empirical Look at Software Patents" explored the economic effects of granting software patents in the U.S. during the 1990s. It found its results difficult to reconcile with the traditional incentive theory—that granting more patents will increase R&D investments. Instead, the study concludes, the result might well be less innovation. The shift in legal standards for patenting software was a potent incentive to increase expenditure in patents. This increase in the number of patents in the U.S. economy was not accompanied or followed by an equally visible increase in any economic measure of effective innovation and productivity. Software patents may have complemented R&D during the early 80s – when patenting standards were still relatively high – but they substituted for R&D during the 1990s. Regulatory changes increased the amount of patenting, but they were also associated with lower R&D. The naïve arguments that more patents, relaxed standards, or lower patenting costs lead to more R&D could be rejected.<ref name="Bessen_Empirical">James Bessen and Robert M. Hunt. [http://www.researchoninnovation.org/swpat.pdf "An Empirical Look at Software Patents"] (pdf), Working Paper No. 03-17/R, First Draft: August 2003, This Draft: March 2004. Referenced 2011-11-07.</ref>

* An August, 2005 study for the Library of Congress focused on the "reissue" of popular audio recordings commercially released in the United States between 1890 and 1964. The analysis suggests that a significant portion of historic recordings is not easily accessible to scholars, students, and the general public for noncommercial purposes. Besides technical reasons, copyright law allows only rights holders to make these recordings accessible in current technologies, yet the rights holders appear to have few real-world commercial incentives to reissue many of their most significant recordings. The law has severely reduced the possibility of such recordings entering into the public domain, at least until 2067. The study indicates that there is an active and hardy network of foreign and small domestic companies, associations, and individuals willing to make historic recordings available; indeed, some do this in spite of laws that force them underground or overseas.<ref name="Brooks_Reissues">Tim Brooks. [http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/reports/pub133 "Survey of Reissues of U.S. Recordings"] (abstract, see [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub133/reports/pub133/pub133.pdf pdf]), Commissioned for and sponsored by the National Recording Preservation Board, Library of Congress, August 2005. Referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

* A 2004 empirical study found that [[file sharing]] had no statistically significant effect on purchases of the average album in its sample. Noting that the movies, software, and video games industries have continued to grow since the advent of file sharing, it concludes that file sharing can explain only a tiny fraction of the decline in sales in the music industry. Alternative factors include poor macroeconomic conditions, a reduction in the number of album releases, growing competition from other forms of entertainment such as video games and DVDs, a reduction in music variety stemming from the large consolidation in radio along with the rise of independent promoter fees to gain airplay, and possibly a consumer backlash against record industry tactics.<ref name="Oberholzer_Sharing">Felix Oberholzer and Koleman Strumpf. [http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales - An Empirical Analysis"] (pdf), March 2004. Referenced 2012-08-26.</ref>

* A 2008 study by Paul Heald of bestsellers from 1913 to 1932 showed that public domain books were more available than the copyrighted books (were in print at a higher rate and had more editions available by more different publishers).<ref name="Heald_Sellers">Paul J. Heald. [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=955954 "Property Rights and the Efficient Exploitation of Copyrighted Works: An Empirical Analysis of Public Domain and Copyrighted Fiction Best Sellers"] (summary, see [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID955954_code227781.pdf?abstractid=955954&mirid=1 full pdf]), University of Illinois College of Law; Bournemouth University - Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM), January 9, 2007. Referenced 2012-04-25.</ref>

* Commissioned by the Dutch government, a recently published report concludes that file-sharing has a positive effect on the economy, both on the long and short term. The report estimates the positive effect on the Dutch economy to be around 100 million euros a year. While it is recognized that the entertainment industry suffers some losses, these are not said to outweigh the positive effects of file-sharing. The researchers further found that people who download music and movies are not buying less than people who don’t. In fact, downloaders are reported to be more frequent visitors of concerts, and game downloaders actually bought more games than those who didn’t. In the music industry, lesser-know bands profit most from file-sharing, the researchers report.<ref name="Torrentfreak_Profits">[http://torrentfreak.com/economy-profits-from-file-sharing-report-concludes-090119/ "Economy Profits From File-Sharing, Report Concludes"], ''Torrentfreak'', January 19, 2009. Referenced 2011-12-13.</ref>

* In November, 2011, the Swiss government has conducted a study about the impact downloading has on society. It concluded the law allowing downloading copyrighted material for personal use doesn't have to change. Noting that the Internet has indeed changed the market, the income spent for entertainment purposes did not change and is used more for visiting concerts and cinemas and merchandising. The cultural impact is therefore not negative.<ref name="Swiss_copyright">''Der Bundesrat''. [http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/ejpd/de/home/dokumentation/mi/2011/2011-11-30.html "Urheberrechtsverletzungen im Internet: Der bestehende rechtliche Rahmen genügt"] (''German'': Copyright breaches in Internet: The existing legal paradigm is sufficient), Swiss Confederation, 30.11.2011. (An English summary can be found [https://torrentfreak.com/swiss-govt-downloading-movies-and-music-will-stay-legal-111202/ here].) Referenced 2011-12-13.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Links==
* [http://reason.com/archives/2000/03/01/copy-catfight Copy Catfight] by Jesse Walker, March 2000
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_curtis_how_i_beat_a_patent_troll.html Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll] (video), April 2012
* [http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/5/3138705/richard-posner-apple-v-motorola-judge-patents In wake of Apple v. Motorola, Judge Posner speaks: 'it's not clear that we really need patents in most industries'] by Evan Rodgers, July 2012
* [http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/ How Newegg crushed the “shopping cart” patent and saved online retail] by Joe Mullin, January 2013
* [http://lfb.org/today/the-patent-bubble-and-its-end/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=linkedin The Patent Bubble and Its End] by Jeffrey Tucker, February 2013

[[Category:Intellectual property]]
{{Stub}}

Commoner

2014-01-26T22:04:45Z

Pestergaines: +stub

The '''common people''', commoners, or the masses are the people who are neither [[upper class|rich]] nor have an exceptionally strong [[intellectual|intellect]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Human Action|date=1949|author=Mises, Ludwig von|quote=Common man does not speculate about the great problems. With regard to them he relies upon other people's authority, he behaves as "every decent fellow must behave," he is like a sheep in the herd. It is precisely this intellectual inertia that characterizes a man as a common man. Yet the common man does choose. He chooses to adopt traditional patterns or patterns adopted by other people because he is convinced that this procedure is best fitted to achieve his own welfare. And he is ready to change his ideology and consequently his mode of action whenever he becomes convinced that this would better serve his own interests.|chapter=The Individual and Changing Features of Human Action|url=http://mises.org/humanaction/chap2sec6.asp}}</ref> [[Socialist]]s often describe themselves as champions of the common man,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality|author=Mises, Ludwig von|date=1956|chapter=Capitalism as it is and as it is Seen by the Common Man|url=http://mises.org/etexts/mises/anticap/section2.asp}}</ref> but [[libertarian]]s beg to differ.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mises.org/daily/6537/Who-Are-the-Champions-of-the-Common-Man|title=Who Are the Champions of the Common Man?|author=Rockwell, Llewellyn H.|date=21 September 2013|publisher=Mises Daily}}</ref> [[Art Carden]] notes, "Under [[capitalism]], the common man does not need an intellectual vanguard or a group of virtuous surrogates to make his decisions for him or to defend him against the rapacity of his fellows. He can do just fine without our help, thank you very much, and would be much obliged if we would go back to our ivory towers and leave him alone."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mises.org/daily/3529|title=Why Is Capitalism So Unpopular?|author=Carden, Art|date=7 September 2009|publisher=Mises Daily}}</ref>

According to [[Ludwig von Mises]], the common man's inferiority to the average businessman "manifests itself first of all in his limited ability to think, to work, and thereby to contribute more to the joint productive effort of mankind. Most people who satisfactorily operate in routine jobs would be found wanting in any performance requiring a modicum of initiative and reflection."<ref>{{cite web|author=Mises, Ludwig von|title=On Equality and Inequality|url=http://mises.org/daily/2179|date=Spring 1961}}</ref> For this reason, "a man of average intellectual abilities has no chance to rise to the rank of a captain of industry."<ref>{{cite book|title=Liberty and Property|url=http://mises.org/libprop/lpsec4.asp|author=Mises, Ludwig von|date=October 1958}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Concepts]]
{{Stub}}

Crimes in which the victim is also, ipso facto, an offender

2014-01-26T22:03:56Z

Pestergaines: Pestergaines moved page Crimes in which the victim is also, ipso facto, an offender to Crimes in which the victim is also an offender: Better title

#REDIRECT [[Crimes in which the victim is also an offender]]

Crimes in which the victim is also an offender

2014-01-26T22:03:55Z

Pestergaines: Pestergaines moved page Crimes in which the victim is also, ipso facto, an offender to Crimes in which the victim is also an offender: Better title

'''Crimes in which the victim is also, ipso facto, an offender''' typically involve consensual offenses or minors. For example, a drug dealer is deemed to victimize the purchaser, and can be held civilly liable for harm caused by the drugs, pursuant to possibly unconstitutional<ref>{{cite web|title=Drug Dealers Liability act probably unconstitutional. History of previous
drug dealer stamp tax|author=Kopel, Jerry|date=21 May 1999|url=http://www.jerrykopel.com/d/user.htm}}</ref> statutes such as the [[Model Drug Dealer Liability Act]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.modelddla.com/|title=Model Drug Dealer Liability Act}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationallawyersearch.com/criminal-law/drug-dealer-civil-liability/|title=Can a Drug Dealer Be Held Civilly Liable?|date=12 September 2013|publisher=National Lawyer Search|author=Admin}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Drug Dealer Liability|publisher=Office of Code Revision Indiana Legislative Services Agency|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title34/ar24/ch4.html}}</ref> However, the purchaser can also be punished criminally for [[illegal drug possession]].

Likewise, the [[Code of Virginia]] provides, "Any person 18 years of age or older, including the parent of any child, who (i) willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition which renders a child [[juvenile delinquent|delinquent]], in need of services, in need of supervision, or abused or neglected as defined in § 16.1-228, or (ii) engages in consensual sexual intercourse with a child 15 or older not his spouse, child, or grandchild, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-371|title=§ 18.2-371. Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.; penalty; abandoned infant.|publisher=Code of Virginia}}</ref> Notably, juveniles who engage in [[sexting]] can be deemed to be both victim and perpetrator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.herald-mail.com/2011-02-07/news/27107013_1_child-pornography-sexting-juvenile-justice-system|title=Sexting can haunt offenders for years to come|author=Aines, Don|date=7 February 2011|publisher=Herald-Mail}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Crime]]

Princess Navina

2014-01-26T21:52:31Z

Pestergaines: Citation needed

The '''Princess Navina''' series of novels by Jim Payne includes four titles, the first three depicting the modern [[welfare state]] and the fourth depicting a [[libertarian]] society. In ''Princess Navina Visits Malvolia'', the rulers seek "the greatest misery for the greatest number." The crowning achievement of the rulers is a "prosperity fine," a [[progressive tax]] levied as a punishment for productively serving consumers. In ''Princess Navina Visits Mandaat'', the princess visits a land where rulers have regulated everything in order to guarantee that no suffering or inconvenience ever occurs. Even the minor activities of life in Mandaat require a permit, which accomplishes the exact opposite of the system's stated goals.

In ''Princess Navina Visits Nueva Malvolia'', the princess travels to a colony of Malvolia that is governed according to similar principles as regular Malvolia except that Nueva Malvolia is a [[democracy]], and the leaders portray their policies as [[compassion]]ate programs to ensure [[fairness]], help workers, and [[protection of children|protect children]]. To control the populace, Malvolian rulers have developed an entertainment device known as the "occurama" that renders the populace inert. In ''Princess Navina Visits Voluntaria'', the princess and her party find a seemingly well-run society in Voluntaria, but are unable to locate the government. There are no taxes or coercive regulations, and services such as [[school]]s, [[social assistance]] and [[health and safety inspection]]s are provided by voluntary groups.{{Fact}}

[[Category:Novels]]

Bank run

2014-01-26T21:50:55Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

During a '''bank run''', depositors lose confidence in a [[bank]] and withdraw their deposits en masse.<ref name="Reinhart_Different">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p.144-145. Referenced 2011-07-12.</ref>

==Workings==
Banks keep only a small [[Fractional reserve banking|fraction]] of deposits on hand in cash; they lend out the majority of deposits to borrowers or use the funds to purchase other interest-bearing assets such as government securities. When a run comes, a bank must quickly increase its cash to meet depositors’ demands. It does so primarily by selling assets, often hastily and at fire-sale prices. As banks hold little capital and are highly [[leverage]]d, losses on these sales can drive a bank into [[insolvency]].

In the [[United States]], bank failures have been relatively infrequent. From the end of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] through 1920 (after the [[Federal Reserve]] was established in 1913 but before the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] was formed in 1933), the bank failure rate was lower, on average, than that of nonbanking firms. The failure rate increased sharply in the 1920s and again between 1929 and 1933, when nearly 40 percent of U.S. banks failed. Yet, from 1875 through 1933, losses from failures averaged only 0.2 percent of total deposits in the banking system annually. Losses to depositors at failed banks averaged only a fraction of the annual losses suffered by bondholders of failed nonbanking firms.

A survey of all failures of national banks from 1865 through 1936 by J. F. T. O’Connor, comptroller of the currency from 1933 through 1938, concluded that runs were a contributing cause in less than 15 percent of the three thousand failures. The fact that the number of runs on individual banks was far greater than this means that most runs did not lead to failures.<ref name="Kaufman_runs">George G. Kaufman. [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/BankRuns.html "Bank Runs"], ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics'', referenced 2011-07-12.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [http://mises.org/econsense/ch79.asp Anatomy Of The Bank Run] by Murray Rothbard, Chapter 79 of the book [http://mises.org/resources/899/Making-Economic-Sense Making Economic Sense]
* [http://mises.org/daily/3350 Bring Back the Bank Run!] by James Grant, March 2009
* {{cb|2013/06/yippee-more-bank-runs-in-our-future/|Yippee! More Bank Runs in Our Future|Joseph Salerno|June 2013}}
* [http://www2.gcc.edu/dept/econ/ASSC/Papers2013/ASSC2013-WilliamsSam.pdf The Return of The Bank Run] (pdf) by Williams, Samuel M., January 2013
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40E17FD3A5A15738DDDAE0A94D9405B888CF1D3 Bank of N. America Is To Liquidate], ''New York Times'', January 1908 (describes a bank run on the [[Bank of North America]])
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/a-quasi-bank-run-in-motion/ A “Quasi” Bank Run in Motion] by David Howden, January 2014

* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Economic concepts]]
{{Stub}}

Minimum wage

2014-01-22T07:17:41Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

Private school

2014-01-22T06:56:30Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

A '''private school''' is a [[school]] that is established, conducted, and primarily supported by a non[[government]]al agency.<ref name="Webster_private">Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20school "Private school"], referenced 2012-04-10.</ref>

{{See also|Public education}}
{{See also|Education: Free and Compulsory}}
{{See also|Home schooling}}

==Private education in history==
===England and Wales===
Contrary to popular belief, the supply of schooling in Britain between 1800 and 1840 was relatively substantial prior to any government intervention, although it depended almost completely on private funds. At this time, moreover, the largest contributors to education revenues were working parents and the second largest was the Church. Of course, there was less education per child than today, just as there was less of everything else, because the national income was so much smaller. An estimated 1 percent of the net national income was spent on day-schooling of children of all ages in England in 1833. By 1920, when schooling had become "free" and compulsory by special statute, the proportion had fallen to 0.7 percent.

Working parents were purchasing increasing amounts of education for their children as their incomes were rising from 1818 onwards, before education was "free" and compulsory by statute. Compulsion came in 1880, and state schooling did not become free until 1891.

The author of the famous [[Elementary Education Act 1870|1870 Act]], W. E. Forster, explained that the intention of introducing fee-based government-run establishments for the first time was not to replace the vast system of private schools but simply to "fill up the gaps" where they could be found. His officials, however, were overambitious in their reports of these needs, and after government schools were erected they were often found to have much surplus capacity. To reduce their embarrassment over half-empty schools, the education boards then resorted to lowering tuition fees and using tax revenues to fill the breach. The lower price naturally expanded the demand; but this was at the expense of the private schools, many of which could not survive such unfair competition.

After education was made compulsory by statute, the government-school advocates argued that it was wrong to compel the very poorest to do something they could not afford. But rather than propose a special financial dispensation or grants to these families, the advocates insisted that education should be made free for all: the rich and the middle class as well as the lower-income groups. Free education was legislated for the new government schools exclusively because it was argued that it would be inviting conflict to ask taxpayers to subsidize religious schools. Protestant taxpayers, for instance, would object to their taxes financing Catholics, and vice versa.

In this way the new "gap-filling" government schools were given a wide-open field with their zero-priced education. Since most of the subsequent growing population naturally chose the free alternative, the private schools’ share of the market declined and that of government schools skyrocketed.

In the late 1830s, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the working classes were estimated to be literate. There was an appreciable rate of growth in literacy. An examination of educational attainments of males in the Navy and Marines in 1865 showed that 99 percent of the boys could read compared with their seniors: seamen (89 percent), marines (80 percent), and petty officers (94 percent). In 1880, when national compulsion was enacted, it is estimated over 95 percent of fifteen-year-olds were literate. For comparison, over a century later 40 percent of 21-year-olds in the United Kingdom admit to difficulties with writing and spelling.<ref name="West_Spread">Edwin West. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-spread-of-education-before-compulsion-britain-and-america-in-the-nineteenth-century/ "The Spread of Education Before Compulsion: Britain and America in the Nineteenth Century"], ''The Freeman'', July 1996. Referenced 2012-12-13.</ref>

According to widespread opinion, public schools would offer an inferior education, as indicated by [[Adam Smith]] in 1776: "Those parts of education, it is to be observed, for the teaching of which there are no public institutions, are generally the best taught". There was hardly any public funding of primary and secondary schools in England before 1830, and most funding was private as late as 1870. Yet during this period, the [[Industrial Revolution]] occurred; England became the world’s leading economic power; and literacy expanded dramatically. For example, from 1818 to 1834, for the most part a period of no public support, school enrollments rose from 478,000 to 1,294,000. Literacy is estimated to have reached 80 percent by 1870, the end of the era before government-sponsored public schools operated on a regular basis in England. Private education, much of it for profit, made England a nation of literate persons.<ref name="Vedder_Profit">Richard K. Vedder and Joshua Hall. [http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_06_4_vedder.pdf "For-Profit Schools Are Making a Comeback"] (pdf), ''The Independent Review'', v.VI, n.4, Spring 2002. Referenced 2012-12-13.</ref>

Henry Broughamʹs Select Committee reported (in 1820) that in 1818 about one in 17 of the total population of England and Wales was being schooled and paid for largely by working parents. Broughamʹs Committee reported that the figures for 1818 were a considerable improvement in 18 years on 1800 when the earliest estimate was made. Ten years later, in 1828, Brougham in his private capacity followed up the report for 1818 with a 5% sample survey of his own, using the same sources (the parochial clergy) as before. His findings suggested that the number of children in schools had doubled.

Whereas the actual growth of income per head in the years 1801-71 was slightly over 1% per annum, the average annual growth rate of day scholars was well over 2%. The growth of schooling in England and Wales during this period came before it was made free, compulsory and supplied by government. The annual growth of scholars also exceeded the annual growth of population. During the compilation of the 1851 educational census, it was reported that the average duration of attendance at school of working-class children was nearly five years.

The Newcastle Commission reported that by 1858 (seven years later), it had risen to nearly six years. And the attainment of an education threshold for most people was reported in the 1861 Commissionʹs conclusion that 'almost everyone receives some amount of schooling at some period or another'. It is true that government subsidies to schools were introduced in 1833, but their aggregate value was very low (only £20,000 in 1833). By 1841, they were still so small that they were considerably less than the private school fee revenue collected from parents in the City of Bristol alone.

The major 19th-century legislation came in 1870 with the Forster Act. Yet by 1869 most people in England and Wales were literate, most children were receiving a schooling and most parents, working class included, were paying fees for it.<ref name="West_Without">E.G. West. [https://egwestcentre.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/education-without-the-state.pdf "Education Without the State"] (pdf), ''Economic Affairs'', October 1994. Referenced 2012-12-13.</ref>

===United States===
In the U.S. state five commissioners were authorized in 1811 to report on the extent of education in the state. They acknowledged that schooling was indeed already widespread:
"In populous cities, and the parts of the country thickly settled, schools are generally established by individual exertion. In these cases, the means of education are facilitated, as the expenses of schools are divided among a great many. It is in the remote and thinly populated parts of the State, where the inhabitants are scattered over a large extent, that education stands greatly in need of encouragement. The people here living far from each other, makes it difficult so to establish schools as to render them convenient or accessible to all. Every family therefore, must either educate its own children, or the children must forego the advantages of education."

Without discussing possible alternatives, the New York State commissioners recommended that the inconveniences could generally best be remedied "by the establishment of Common Schools, under the direction and patronage of the State." In place of discrimination in favor of the poor and thinly populated districts, a flat equality of treatment was decreed for all areas.

In the early legislation (of 1812 and 1814) there seems to have been no announced intention of making education free. Even with the addition of the revenues from town taxes there were far from sufficient monies to cover expenses. The substantial balance was presented in the form of rate bills (fees) to the parents, who were required to pay in proportion to the attendance of their children. For instance, in 1830 parental fees contributed $346,807 toward the total sum for teachers’ wages of $586,520.

The commissioners observed: "Morality and religion are the foundation of all that is truly great and good; and consequently, of primary importance." The Bible, in common schools, was to be treated as more than a literary work. The commissioners particularly recommended the practice of the New York Free Schools (the charitable establishments) in "presuming the religious regard which is due to the sacred writings."

Subsequently, the annual reports of the superintendents revealed a steady growth in the number of school districts organized. In some cases, entirely new schools were built; in others the personnel of existing private schools allowed themselves to become socialized, that is, to become common schools, in order to qualify for the public monies. In the report of 1821 it was stated that the whole number of children between the ages of five and 16 residing in the state was 380,000; and the total number, of all ages, taught during the year was 342,479. Thus, schooling in the early nineteenth century was already almost universal without being compulsory. Moreover, although it was subsidized, it was not free except to the very poor. The Superintendent’s Report of 1830 contained an account of a census of the schools of the city of New York for the year 1829. It showed that of the 24,952 children attending school in the city, the great majority, 18,945, were in private schools.

By this time the superintendents were expressing complete satisfaction with the provision of schooling. On the quantity of it the Report of 1836 asserted: "Under any view of the subject, it is reasonable to believe, that in the common schools, private schools and academies, the number of children actually receiving instruction is equal to the whole number between five and sixteen years of age."

The fact that education could continue to be universal without being free and compulsory seems to have been readily acknowledged. Where there were students who had poor parents, the trustees had authority to release them from the payment of fees entirely.<ref name="West_Spread" />

From 1650 to 1795, male literacy climbed from 60 to 90 percent; female literacy went from 30 to 45 percent. Between 1800 and 1840, literacy in the North rose from 75 percent to between 91 and 97 percent. And in the South during the same span, the rate grew from 50-60 percent to 81 percent. Indeed, Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office issued a paper not long ago stating that the literacy rate in Massachusetts has never been as high as it was before compulsory schooling was instituted. Before 1850, when Massachusetts became the first state in the United States to force children to go to school, literacy was at 98 percent. When Kennedy's office released the paper, it was 91 percent.<ref name="Richman_Separating">Sheldon Richman. ''Separating School and State: Liberating America’s Families'', The Future of Freedom Foundation, 1994, read [http://www.sntp.net/education/school_state_3.htm excerpts online]. Referenced 2012-12-13.</ref>

==Private schools for the poor==
According to a two-year in-depth study published in 2005 conducted in select low-income and [[slum]] areas in India, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, private schools were more numerous than government schools and offer a higher quality of education to the children, while still being affordable for poor parents.

In the areas officially designated as "slums" of three zones of Hyderabad’s Old City, the researchers found 918 schools, of which only 35 percent were government schools, fewer than the 37 percent of unrecognized private schools. In total, 65 percent of schoolchildren in those low-income areas attended private unaided school. In the Ga District of [[Ghana]] (the low-income suburban and rural area surrounding the capital city of Accra) they investigated 779 schools in the same way, finding that only 25 percent were government schools and that 64 percent of schoolchildren attended private school.

In the "poor" areas of three local government districts (one rural, two urban) of Lagos State, [[Nigeria]], were found 540 schools, of which 34 percent were government, and the largest proportion, 43 percent, were private unregistered. An estimated 75 percent of schoolchildren were enrolled in private schools. Including enrollment in private unregistered schools would reduce the percentage of out-of-school children in Lagos State from 50 to 26 percent.

Research was also conducted in the small shanty town of Makoko, in Mainland, Lagos State, and in the slum of Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya (reportedly the largest slum in sub-Saharan Africa). In both cases, the large majority of poor children attended private, not public, school.

The raw scores from student achievement tests showed considerably higher achievement in the private than in government schools. In [[Hyderabad]], for instance, mean scores in mathematics were about 22 percentage points and 23 percentage points higher in private unrecognized and recognized schools, respectively, than in government schools. The advantage was even more pronounced for English. In all cases, this achievement advantage was obtained at between half and a quarter of the teacher salary costs.

The research indicated that a great success story was taking place, usually beneath the government’s radar. The mushrooming private schools, if noticed at all by the authorities and development experts, were assumed to be educationally inadequate. The research shows that this assumption was false.<ref name="Tooley_Private"> James Tooley and Pauline Dixon. [http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/private-education-is-good-poor-study-private-schools-serving-poor-lowincome-countries "Private Education is Good for the Poor: A Study of Private Schools Serving the Poor in Low-Income Countries"] (summary, see full paper in [http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/13673373 HTML] or [http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/tooley.pdf PDF]), ''Cato Institute'', White Paper, December 7, 2005. Referenced 2012-04-24.</ref>

A detailed census was conducted in 2012 in one Indian city, Patna. Among its 1.8 million people were 350,000 school aged children. According to official statistics Patna had only 350 schools, however, the census found that that were 1,574 schools. The missing schools were mostly unrecognized schools, charging very low fees and catering to the poor and lower middle class. Despite the apparently insignificant official numbers, in fact, private unaided schools made up the vast majority of schools in Patna – 78%, compared to only 21% of government schools and 1% of private aided. Classifying private unaided schools into three categories, based on their monthly fee levels, the analysis showed that 69% of private unaided schools were low cost, 22% affordable, and only 9% higher cost. That is, the vast majority of private unaided schools found in Patna Urban were low cost, charging fees less than Rs. 300/- per month. It was suggested that fully 65% of schoolchildren in Patna attend private unaided schools, with just 34% attending government schools.

In a random sample survey of households, nearly 70% of those with children in government schools would prefer to send their children to private unaided schools if they could afford to do so. More than half the respondents did not think the government schools provided quality education. In fact, about a fifth seemed to have chosen a government school only for non-educational benefits such as the free midday meal and uniforms.
<ref name="Rangaraju_Patna">Baladevan Rangaraju, Professor James Tooley, Dr Pauline Dixon. [http://indiai.org/patna-urban-survey-report "The Private School Revolution in Bihar: Findings from a survey in Patna Urban"] (online version; [http://indiai.org/sites/default/files/the-private-school-revolution-in-bihar.pdf pdf]), ''India Institute'', E.G. West Centre, Newcastle University. 2012. Referenced 2012-06-02.</ref>

That private education can be supplied much more efficiently in the United States than state education is explained by [[Milton Friedman]], who cites the example of St John Chrysostom’s school in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in New York’s Bronx. This school was voluntarily funded by a charity, the Catholic Church and the parents. Most of the parents were poor. The cost per pupil was far less than in state schools, yet on average the children were two grades above their state school peers. Friedman also describes the example of Harlem Prep, set up in the 1960s as a "store-front" school with the voluntary funds of concerned parents and teachers. Harlem Prep had poor physical facilities and inadequately qualified teachers by state school certification standards. Many of the pupils were former misfits and dropouts yet they excelled at this school, with many of them going on to leading colleges.<ref name="Friedman_Choose">Quoted from [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/educn/educn008.pdf "Envisaging a Free Market in Education"] (pdf) by Kevin McFarlane, Educational Notes No. 8, 1991. Quote refers to the Chapter 6 of the book Free to Choose (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1980) by Milton Friedman. (Can be seen in video version [http://www.freetochoose.tv/ here].) Referenced 2012-12-19.</ref>

==Countries==
===Brazil===
In Brazil operate several chains of private schools and universities. The largest is Objetivo/UNIP, with headquarters in São Paulo. Objetivo emerged in the early 1960s, when Mr João Carlos Di Genio started a coaching class for university entrance with about twenty private students. Finding considerable demand for his teaching methods, he founded an intensive cramming course in 1965 with three friends, for students to get into university. In 1967, they utilized internal television broadcasting for their lesson. Three years later they added a school, from primary to Second Grade, extended in 1974 to offer courses up to a university entrance. In 1988 they were granted the title of University for their upper levels - after what they saw as a fourteen-year struggle to get such recognition. Since then they have continued to expand, as of 2005 they have approximately 500,000 students in centres and franchises across Brazil, with annual turnover approximately US$400 million.<ref name="Tooley_Reclaiming">James Tooley. [http://books.google.de/books?id=9VQXzdbKVc0C "Reclaiming Education"] (Google eBook), Continuum International Publishing Group, April 2005, p. 104-105. Referenced 2012-12-10.</ref>

==Picking only the best students==
Students in private schools routinely outperform those in public schools both in the United States and around the world. But do private schools make students better or do they simply attract better students? Most studies find that private schools do attract better students. The question then becomes whether this "cream skimming" effect fully or only partially explains private school performance. In most places in the world there are many more children in public school than in private school. As a result, the private schools have a very large population of students to select from and it is easy to imagine that in one way or another the private schools select the cream of the students from the public schools.

However, in many districts in India a majority of students are in private schools. As the private share of school enrollment increases simple cream skimming becomes less plausible as the explanation for a higher rate of achievement in private schools. According to a study by Alexander Tabarrok, there is evidence for cream skimming when the private share is low and the private schools have a large pool from which to attract the cream. The private effect on achievement, however, does not appear to diminish greatly even in districts where 70% of students are in private schools.<ref name="Tabarrok_Cream">Alexander Tabarrok. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1465-7287.2011.00286.x/pdf Private Education in India: A Novel Test of Cream Skimming] (pdf), ''Contemporary Economic Policy'', Volume 31, Issue 1, published 5 December 2011. See also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnjhV6v5YaI Testing for Cream Skimming in India] (video summary). Referenced 2013-02-18.</ref>

==Online education==
There is a growing number of purely online courses and academies, often available for free, such as:
* Coursera
* Khan Academy
* Udacity
* edX
* The Alison project
* The Kepler project<ref name="Coughlan_skill">Sean Coughlan. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24711245 "View to a skill: The next big education player?"], ''BBC News'', 30 October 2013. Referenced 2013-11-07.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Links==
* [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/education-in-colonial-america/ Education in Colonial America] by Robert A. Peterson, September 1983
* {{md|1425|"Free" Education and Literacy|Barry Dean Simpson|January 2004}}
* [http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v27n5/cpr-27n5.pdf Private Schools in the Poorest Countries] (pdf) by James Tooley, September/October 2005
* [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/features/backing-the-wrong-horse-how-private-schools-are-good-for-the-poor/ Backing the Wrong Horse: How Private Schools Are Good for the Poor] by James Tooley, May 2006
* [http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxGlasgow-Pauline-Dixon-How-P How Private Schools Are Serving the Poorest] (video) by Pauline Dixon, April 2012
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5J4FNEfS-4 School's Out] (video), ''BBC'' Newsnight, June 2005
* [http://egwestcentre.com/2009/05/08/the-beautiful-tree-by-james-tooley/ The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves] ([http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=O8DFUxKJSlcC complete book]) by James Tooley, 2009
* [http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/index.htm The Underground History of American Education] by John Taylor Gatto, 2003
* {{md|6095|Laissez-Faire Learning|David Greenwald|June 2012}}
* [http://egwestcentre.com/2000/07/24/education-and-the-state-by-e-g-west/ Education and the State by E.G. West] (a collection of writings about the topic)
* ''The Lost Elementary Schools of Victorian England: The People's Education'' ([http://books.google.de/books?id=UMsNAAAAQAAJ partial preview]) by Phil Gardner, 1984
* {{md|82|Academic Secession|John H. Moore|November 1998}}
* [http://www.adamsmith.org/sites/default/files/images/stories/lambert-3-02.pdf Access to Achievement: Opening up good schools for all] (pdf) by Chris Lambert, 2002
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/can-the-free-market-provide-public-education/ Can the Free Market Provide Public Education?] by Sheldon Richman, June 2000
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/competition-in-education-the-case-of-reading/ Competition in Education: The Case of Reading] by Daniel Hager, April 1997
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/educational-freedom/ Educational Freedom] by Scott W. Bixler, August 1975
* [http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/education-too-important-for-a-government-monopoly.htmlEducation: Too Important for a Government Monopoly] by John Stossel, 2010
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/freedom-of-education-will-solve-our-education-crisis/ Freedom of Education Will Solve Our Education Crisis] Jack D. Douglas, June 1992
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/a-free-market-university/ A Free-Market University] by William H. Peterson, April 1994
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZT4touOFM The Rise of Private Education in India] (video) with Alex Tabarrok
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/27/opinion/ted-prize-students-teach-themselves/index.html What if students learn faster without teachers?] by Richard Galant, March 2013
* [http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/free-thinkers/all/ How a Radical New Teaching Method Could Unleash a Generation of Geniuses] by Joshua Davis, October 2013
* [http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeleef/2014/01/16/small-new-university-does-something-radical-only-hires-professors-who-want-to-teach-and-only-admits-students-who-want-to-learn/ Small, New University Does Something Radical -- Only Hires Professors Who Want To Teach And Only Admits Students Who Want To Learn] George Leef, January 2014
* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Private alternatives to public goods]]
[[Category:Concepts]]

Paraguay

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{{Stub}}

{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = Asuncion
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Argentina]] 1,880 km, [[Bolivia]] 750 km, [[Brazil]] 1,365 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = constitutional republic
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 6,995,655 (July 2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_PY">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_pa.html "Paraguay"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth
|Row 5 info = 2.364% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_PY" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 75.77 years<ref name="CIA_PY" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 7.9% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_PY" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 81<ref name="Heritage_PY">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/Paraguay "Paraguay"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 154<ref name="Transparency_PY">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "Paraguay"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 124<ref name="Business_PY">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "Paraguay"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
}}

'''Paraguay''' achieved its independence from Spain in 1811. In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) - between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay - Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century. Following the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia, Paraguay gained a large part of the Chaco lowland region. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER ended in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, Paraguay has held relatively free and regular presidential elections since then.<ref name="CIA_PY" />

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Guaraní (ISO code: PYG)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': 20% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_PY" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 28.26% (31 December 2009)<ref name="CIA_PY" />
* '''Stock of money''' ([[Money supply#M1|M1]]): $2.062 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_PY" />
* '''Quasi money''' (with M1 makes [[Money supply#M2|M2]]): $1.599 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_PY" />

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: 1890, 1995-1999, 2002<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 377-378. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>
* Years in [[inflation]]: 11.1% (share of years 1811-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
* [[Public default]]: 1874-1885, 1892-1895, 1920-1924, 1932-1944, 1968-1969, 1986-1992, 2003-2004(external)<ref name="Reinhart_histories">Carmen M. Reinhart. [http://www.princeton.edu/economics/seminar-schedule-by-prog/macro-s10/papers/Reinhardt-Chartbook.pdf "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises"] (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 87. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_PY">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/py/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "Paraguay: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
| 7 292
| 7 071
| 6 446
| 5 046
| 5 552
| 6 950
| 7 473
| 9 275
| 12 222
| 15 977
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_PY">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/py/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Paraguay: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_PY">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/py/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Paraguay: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 20.838
| 21.327
| 20.345
| 21.336
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_PY">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/py/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Paraguay: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 17.642
| 17.903
| 16.776
| 16.660
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:Paraguay|Paraguay]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.bcp.gov.py Central bank] of Paraguay
* [http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/documents/EnterpriseSurveys/Reports/PARAGUAY.pdf Country profile] (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
* [http://countrystudies.us/paraguay/ Studies] from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1222081.stm country profile]
* [http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/argentina-cash-controls-and-weak-peso-bring-bargains-headaches/story-e6frfmd9-1226665997190 Argentina cash controls and weak peso bring bargains, headaches], ''news.com.au'', June 2013

[[Category:Countries]]

Argentina

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{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = Buenos Aires
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Bolivia]] 832 km, [[Brazil]] 1,261 km, [[Chile]] 5,308 km, [[Paraguay]] 1,880 km, [[Uruguay]] 580 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = republic
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 40,913,584 (July 2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_AR">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_ar.html "Argentina"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth %
|Row 5 info = 1.053 (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_AR" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 76.56 years<ref name="CIA_AR" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 8.7% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_AR" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 135<ref name="Heritage_AR">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/Argentina "Argentina"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 106<ref name="Transparency_AR">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "Argentina"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 118<ref name="Business_AR">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "Argentina"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
}}

In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from [[Spain]]. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became '''Argentina'''. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era of Peronist populism and direct and indirect military interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands by force, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents.<ref name="CIA_AR" />

{{See also|Latin American debt crisis}}

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Peso (ISO code: ARS)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': NA%<ref name="CIA_AR" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 19.47% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_AR" />
* '''Stock of money''' ([[Money supply#M1|M1]]): $32.57 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_AR" />
* '''Quasi money''' (with M1 makes [[Money supply#M2|M2]]): $46.18 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_AR" />

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: January 1885, 1890-1891, 1914, 1931, 1934, 1980-1982, May 1985, 1989-1990, 1995, March 2001<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 348-350. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.</ref>
* [[Hyperinflation]]: 1984-1985, 1989-1990
* Years in [[inflation]]: 24.7% (share of years 1816-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
* [[Public default]]: 1827-1857, 1890-1893, 1951, 1956-1965, 1982-1993, 1989, 2001-2005(external), 1890-1893, 1982, 1989-1990, 2001-2005, 2007-2009(domestic)<ref name="Reinhart_histories">Carmen M. Reinhart. [http://www.princeton.edu/economics/seminar-schedule-by-prog/macro-s10/papers/Reinhardt-Chartbook.pdf "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises"] (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 16. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.</ref>

===Inflation in Argentina===
Argentina was through most of the 19th century subject to a permanent paper money inflation. In 1881 were in circulation 882 million paper [[pesos]] in a country with a population of little over 3 million. 100 golden pesos were exchanged for 2405 paper pesos. The money was turned into a gold currency by exchanging at a rate of 25:1 and fixing it to gold. But this had to be given up in 1885 due to the growing government debt - and another round of inflation followed. The paper peso reached its low in 1891, with an [[agio]] of 287% to the golden peso. A reform was suggested by [[Ernesto Tornquist]] and in 1899 became law. The paper peso was fixed at 0.44 of the golden peso and each could be converted into the other at this rate by government sponsored cash-desks. Despite a permanent deficit in state finances, the backing of the currency by gold was upheld and Argentina could prosper.<ref name="Gaettens_Chile">Richard Gaettens. ''Geschichte der Inflationen Von Altertum bis zum Gegenwart'' (German: History of Inflations from Old Ages to the Present), ''Argentinien'', p. 230-236. ISBN: ISBN 3-87045-211-0. Referenced 2010-11-18.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_AR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ar/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "Argentina: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
| 283 523
| 284 204
| 268 697
| 102 040
| 129 597
| 153 129
| 183 193
| 214 066
| 262 421
| 328 465
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_AR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ar/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Argentina: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_AR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ar/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Argentina: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
| 14.056
| 17.200
| 18.136
|
|
|
|
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_AR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ar/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Argentina: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-28.</ref>
|
|
|
| 19.677
| 19.837
| 18.289
|
|
|
|
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:Argentina|Argentina]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.bcra.gov.ar Central bank] of Argentina
* [http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/documents/EnterpriseSurveys/Reports/ARGENTINA.pdf Country profile] (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1192478.stm country profile]
* [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703948504574648981639549484.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion#articleTabs%3Darticle Constitutional Showdown in Argentina] by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, January 2010
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/world/americas/03argentina.html?_r=2&oref=slogin For Argentina's Sizzling Economy, a Cap on Steak Prices] by Larry Rohter, April 2006
* [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-29/no-one-cries-for-argentina-embracing-25-inflation-as-fernandez-leads-boom.html No One Cries for Argentina Embracing 25% Inflation of Fernandez] by Eliana Raszewski, March 2011
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-international-debt-problem-the-case-of-argentina The International Debt Problem: The Case of Argentina] by Michael Adamson, December 1985
* [http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-04/argentina-freezes-supermarket-prices-halt-soaring-inflation-chaos-follow Argentina Freezes Supermarket Prices To Halt Soaring Inflation; Chaos To Follow] by Tyler Durden, February 2013
* {{md|6565|Economies are Not Destroyed in a Day|Nicolás Cachanosky|October 2013}}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24650590 Economy woes pile up for Latin America's leftists] by Robert Plummer, October 2013
* [http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/argentina-cash-controls-and-weak-peso-bring-bargains-headaches/story-e6frfmd9-1226665997190 Argentina cash controls and weak peso bring bargains, headaches], ''news.com.au'', June 2013

[[Category:Countries]]

Paul Krugman

2014-01-20T21:58:30Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

[[File:Paul Krugman.jpeg|thumb|right|Paul Krugman]]

'''Paul Krugman''' is an American economist and [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel laureate]]. He is also an op-ed columnist and blogger for the [[New York Times]]. Krugman is well known for following the theories of [[John Maynard Keynes]] and continually advocates for more inflation and government intervention in the economy. Krugman defines [[inflation]] as a measurement of prices and not the quantity of money<ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/inflation-delusions-2/] "Inflation delusions"</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/are-rising-commodity-prices-an-inflationary-signal/] "Are rising commodity prices an inflationary signal?"</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/generating-inflation-expectations/] "Generating inflation expectations"</ref> and argues that printing money can help an economy in a depression.<ref name="Krugman_Phantoms">Paul Krugman. [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/krugman-fighting-fiscal-phantoms.html "Fighting Fiscal Phantoms"], ''New York Times'', Published: November 25, 2012. Referenced 2012-11-26. See also the [http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2012/11/krugman-channels-his-inner-crank.html response] from William Anderson.</ref>

For these and other views is Krugman frequently criticized by Austrian economists.{{Fact}} A blog created by [[William L. Anderson|William L. Anderson]] is devoted to "Analysis and criticism of America's most prominent public intellectual and champion of Keynesian economics."<ref name="Anderson_Krugman">William L. Anderson. [http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/ "Krugman-in-Wonderland"], referenced 2010-11-16.</ref> In October 2010, Krugman was challenged to a [[Murphy-Krugman debate|debate]] over Austrian vs. Keynesian business cycle theory by economist [[Robert Murphy]].

==Broken window fallacy==
The [[broken-window fallacy]] was seen in a column by Princeton University professor Paul Krugman after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center:<ref name="Williams_lunacy">Walter. E. Williams. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/nov/22/20041122-095742-3613r/ "Economic lunacy"], November 22, 2004, Washington Times. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref> "Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack -- like the original day of infamy, which brought an end to the Great Depression -- could even do some economic good."<ref name="Krugman_Horror">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/opinion/reckonings-after-the-horror.html "Reckonings; After The Horror"], September 14, 2001, The New York Times. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref>

In 1998, Krugman said: "During phases of weak growth there are always those who say that lower interest rates will not help. They overlook the fact that low interest rates act through several channels. For instance, more housing is built, which expands the building sector. You must ask the opposite question: why in the world shouldn't you lower interest rates?" To the question "...because that would only promote inflation instead of growth?" he responded "There is no danger of that!"<ref name="Hanke_Zinsen">Thomas Hanke. [http://www.zeit.de/1998/51/Runter_mit_den_Zinsen_ "Runter mit den Zinsen!"] (in ''German'', "Down with the rates!"), ''Die Zeit'', 51/1998. [http://www.pkarchive.org/global/welt.html Translation by Peter Bartl]. Referenced 2011-01-05.</ref>

In June, 2011, Paul Krugman declared that a new war would solve the nation’s looming economic problems: "If we suddenly had a threat of war and a military build up, you’d be amazed how fast the economy would recover."<ref name="Krugman_ABC">Paul Krugman. [http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/roundtable-jobs-13765518 "Roundtable: Where are the Jobs?"] (video, from ~4:56), ''ABC News'', 06/05/2011. 2011-06-09.</ref>

==Krugman on Austrian Economics==
In 1998, Krugman wrote that he regarded the "Austrian theory" of the [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycle]] "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".<ref name="Krugman_Hangover">Paul Krugman. [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 "The Hangover Theory"], ''Slate'', December 4, 1998. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref> In 2011, he conceded that (in his understanding of) the Austrian explanation both is theoretically possible and actually happens in the real world:<ref name="Krugman_Reply">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/4993 "My Reply to Krugman on Austrian Business-Cycle Theory"], ''Mises Daily'', January 24, 2011. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref>

<blockquote>So what is the essence of this Austrian story? Basically, it says that what we call an economic boom is actually something like [[China|China's]] disastrous [[Great Leap Forward]], which led to a temporary surge in consumption but only at the expense of degradation of the country's underlying productive capacity. And the unemployment that follows is a result of that degradation: there's simply nothing useful for the unemployed workers to do.

I like this story, and there are probably other cases besides China 1958–1961 to which it applies. But what reason do we have to think that it has anything to do with the business cycles we actually see in market economies?<ref name="Krugman_Leaps">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/great-leaps-backward/ "Great Leaps Backward"], ''The New York Times'', January 19, 2011. Referenced 2011-01-25.</ref></blockquote>

==Krugman in Support of the 2000’s US Housing Bubble==

===Recommending the Federal Reserve lower interest rates to create a housing bubble:===
1998-12-10:<blockquote> “During phases of weak growth there are always those who say that lower interest rates will not help. They overlook the fact that low interest rates act through several channels. For instance, more housing is built, which expands the building sector. You must ask the opposite question: why in the world shouldn’t you lower interest rates?” <ref name="Housing Bubble undated">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/global/welt.html "DIE ZEIT"], ''DIE ZEIT- INTERVIEW WITH KRUGMAN - Translation by Peter Bartl''. Original article: [http://www.zeit.de/1998/51/Runter_mit_den_Zinsen_/seite-3 "Runter mit den Zinsen!"] ("Down with the interest rates!" in ''German'') from 10.12.1998. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-05-02:<blockquote> I've always favored the let-bygones-be-bygones view over the crime-and-punishment view. That is, I've always believed that a speculative bubble need not lead to a recession, as long as interest rates are cut quickly enough to stimulate alternative investments. But I had to face the fact that speculative bubbles usually are followed by recessions. My excuse has been that this was because the policy makers moved too slowly -- that central banks were typically too slow to cut interest rates in the face of a burst bubble, giving the downturn time to build up a lot of momentum. That was why I, like many others, was frustrated at the smallish cut at the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting: I was pretty sure that Alan Greenspan had the tools to prevent a disastrous recession, but worried that he might be getting behind the curve.
However, let's give credit where credit is due: Mr. Greenspan has cut rates since then. And while some of us may have been urging him to move even faster, the Fed's four interest-rate cuts since the slowdown became apparent represent an unusually aggressive response by historical standards. It's still not clear that Mr. Greenspan has caught up with the curve -- let's have at least one more rate cut, please -- but the interest-rate cuts do, cross your fingers, seem to be having an effect.
If we succeed in avoiding recession, this will mark a big win for let-bygones-be-bygones, and a big loss for crime-and-punishment. And that will be very good news not just for this business cycle, but for business cycles to come. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-05-02">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/02/opinion/reckonings-dodging-the-bullet.html "Reckonings; Dodging the Bullet"], ''The New York Times'', May 2, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-07-18:<blockquote> KRUGMAN: "I think frankly it’s got to be — business investment is not going to be the driving force in this recovery. It has to come from things like housing, things that have not been (UNINTELLIGIBLE)."

DOBBS: "We see, Paul, housing at near record levels, we see automobile purchases near record levels. The consumer is still very much in this economy. Can he or she — or I should say he and she, can they bring back this economy?"

KRUGMAN: "Well, as far as the arithmetic goes, yes, it is possible. Will the Fed cut interest rates enough? Will long-term rates fall enough to get the consumer, get the housing sector there in time? We don’t know" <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-07-18">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/ML071801.html "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE"], ''LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE, July 18, 2001: Interview with Paul Krugman''. Original transcript: [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/18/mlld.00.html "Lou Dobbs Moneyline"], July 18, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-08-14:<blockquote> Still, as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says, you don't have to refill a flat tire through the puncture. To reflate the economy, the Fed doesn't have to restore business investment; any kind of increase in demand will do. How might demand increase? Consumers, who already have low savings and high debt, probably can't contribute much. But housing, which is highly sensitive to interest rates, could help lead a recovery… But there has been a peculiar disconnect between Fed policy and the financial variables that affect housing and trade. Housing demand depends on long-term rather than short-term interest rates -- and though the Fed has cut short rates from 6.5 to 3.75 percent since the beginning of the year, the 10-year rate is slightly higher than it was on Jan. 1... Sooner or later, of course, investors will realize that 2001 isn't 1998. When they do, mortgage rates and the dollar will come way down, and the conditions for a recovery led by housing and exports will be in place. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-08-14">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/opinion/reckonings-delusions-of-prosperity.html “Reckonings; Delusions of Prosperity''] ''The New York Times'', August 14, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-08-22:<blockquote> KRUGMAN: "I’m a little depressed. You know, inventories, probably that’s over, the inventory slump. But you look at the things that could drive a recovery, business investment, nothing happening. Housing, long-term rates haven’t fallen enough to produce a boom there. The trade balance is going to get worst before it gets better because the dollar is still very strong. It’s not a happy picture." <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-08-22">Paul Krugman. [http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/ML082201.html “LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE"], ''LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE, August 22, 2001: Interview with Paul Krugman'', August 22, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-10-07:<blockquote> Post-terror nerves aside, what mainly ails the U.S. economy is too much of a good thing. During the bubble years businesses overspent on capital equipment; the resulting overhang of excess capacity is a drag on investment, and hence a drag on the economy as a whole.
In time this overhang will be worked off. Meanwhile, economic policy should encourage other spending to offset the temporary slump in business investment. Low interest rates, which promote spending on housing and other durable goods, are the main answer. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-10-07">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/opinion/reckonings-fuzzy-math-returns.html “Reckonings; Fuzzy Math Returns"], ''The New York Times'', October 7, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2001-12-28:<blockquote> The good news about the U.S. economy is that it fell into recession, but it didn't fall off a cliff. Most of the credit probably goes to the dogged optimism of American consumers, but the Fed's dramatic interest rate cuts helped keep housing strong even as business investment plunged. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2001-12-28">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/28/opinion/could-ve-been-worse.html “Could've Been Worse"], ''The New York Times'', December 28, 2001. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2002-08-02:<blockquote> The basic point is that the recession of 2001 wasn't a typical postwar slump, brought on when an inflation-fighting Fed raises interest rates and easily ended by a snapback in housing and consumer spending when the Fed brings rates back down again. This was a prewar-style recession, a morning after brought on by irrational exuberance. To fight this recession the Fed needs more than a snapback; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. And to do that, as Paul McCulley of Pimco put it, Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2002-08-02">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/opinion/dubya-s-double-dip.html “Dubya's Double Dip?"], ''The New York Times'', August 2, 2002. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Opposing the Federal Reserve raising interest rates:===
2008-03-03:<blockquote>One argument I’ve been hearing a lot lately runs as follows: “Low interest rates got us into this mess, so it’s crazy to think that low interest rates are the solution.”
Now, I don’t actually buy the first premise: I blame Greenspan for ignoring warnings about subprime and housing, but I still think keeping the Fed funds rate at 1% for a long time was justified by the economy’s weakness, which lasted until late 2003 or even beyond. But it’s true that we had an orgy of over-borrowing in the housing market. So the question remains: does an effort to encourage even more borrowing make sense?
Yes. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2008-03-03">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/hair-of-the-dog "Hair of the dog"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', March 3, 2008. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2004-08-10:<blockquote>Oh, and on a nonpolitical note: even before Friday's grim report on jobs, I was puzzled by Mr. Greenspan's eagerness to start raising interest rates. Now I don't understand his policy at all.<ref name="Housing Bubble 2004-08-10">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/10/opinion/spin-the-payrolls.html "Spin The Payrolls"], ''The New York Times'', August 10, 2004. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Crediting the housing bubble for the mid-2000’s economic recovery:===
2008-02-19:<blockquote>In fact, I’d say that the sources of the economy’s expansion from 2003 to 2007 were, in order, the housing bubble, the war, and — very much in third place — tax cuts. <ref name="Housing Bubble 2008-02-19">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/bush-is-right-about-something "Bush is right about something"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', February 19, 2008. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

2008-01-24:<blockquote>What finally created a convincing recovery was the housing boom. But that turned into a bubble, which has burst big time. <ref name="Why worry">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/why-worry-about-a-poor-stimulus-plan/ "Why Worry About a Poor Stimulus Plan"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', January 24, 2008. Referenced 2011-08-11.</ref></blockquote>

2006-10-30:<blockquote>'''Neeraj Mehra, Amritsar, India''': Mr. Greenspan has done a disservice to the nation by creating the housing boom. As a layman-observer, that’s the lingering thought I’ve had. Your article reaffirms it.
The question I have is this: Did he do the right thing — acting morally by engineering a housing boom, more as a bridge loan, until something else showed up at the horizon to shore up the economy — because he didn’t have a choice, or did he undertake a path of mere political expediency? And, that’s a question that’s nagging me for a while.
Would appreciate it if you could shed some light.

'''Paul Krugman''': As Paul McCulley of PIMCO remarked when the tech boom crashed, Greenspan needed to create a housing bubble to replace the technology bubble. So within limits he may have done the right thing. But by late 2004 he should have seen the danger signs and warned against what was happening; such a warning could have taken the place of rising interest rates. He didn’t, and he left a terrible mess for Ben Bernanke.<ref name="Credit where credit is due">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/credit-where-credit-is-due/ "Credit Where Credit is Due"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', October 30, 2006. Referenced 2011-08-11.</ref></blockquote>

2005-05-27:<blockquote>As Mr. McCulley predicted, interest rate cuts led to soaring home prices, which led in turn not just to a construction boom but to high consumer spending, because homeowners used mortgage refinancing to go deeper into debt. All of this created jobs to make up for those lost when the stock bubble burst.
Now the question is what can replace the housing bubble.<ref name="Housing Bubble 2005-05-27">Paul Krugman. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/opinion/27krugman.html "Running Out of Bubbles"], ''The New York Times'', May 5, 2007. Referenced 2011-01-26.</ref></blockquote>

===Denials:===
2012-07-03:<blockquote>Give me a break... If you actually read that [August 2, 2002] article, actually read it... I was joking. I was saying that, I was talking about, the difficulty of responding purely with monetary policy to the kind of slump that we were then experiencing. And it's a measure, I might say, of the intellectual bankruptcy of a large part of this debate, that the best they can do is keep on claiming that I was actually advocating the creation of a housing bubble. I obviously wasn't doing that.<ref name="Krugman_Housing_joke">Paul Krugman. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX55BH97quk&feature=player_embedded Paul Krugman: "¡Acabad ya con esta crisis!"] (video). Parts of the video are in Spanish; question starts at 1:40:00; Krugman's answer from 1:41:30. Discussion of the book "End This Depression Now!", held on July 3, 2012 at the ''Fundación Rafael del Pino''. Referenced 2012-07-11.</ref><ref name="Diego Sanchez">Diego Sánchez de la Cruz. [http://diego-sanchez-de-la-cruz.libremercado.com/2012/07/04/958/3 "Krugman el bromista"], ''LibreMercado'', July 4, 2012. Referenced 2012-07-13.</ref></blockquote>

2009-06-17:<blockquote>One of the funny aspects of being a somewhat, um, forceful writer is that I’m regularly accused of all sorts of villainy. I was personally responsible for the demise of Enron; my nonexistent son worked for Hillary; etc.. The latest seems to be that I called for the creation of a housing bubble — in fact, the bubble is my fault! The claim seems to be based on this piece.
Guys, read it again. It wasn’t a piece of policy advocacy, it was just economic analysis. What I said was that the only way the Fed could get traction would be if it could inflate a housing bubble. And that’s just what happened.<ref name="Grassy Knoll">Paul Krugman. [http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/and-i-was-on-the-grassy-knoll-too/ "And I was on the grassy knoll, too"], ''Conscience of a Liberal: New York Times Blog'', June 17, 2009. Referenced 2012-07-13.</ref></blockquote>

==Criticism==
===Partisanism===

''[[The Economist]]'' cites critics of Krugman stating that "his relentless partisanship is getting in the way of his argument". In addition, a website (titled "Lying in Ponds") that tracks [[Partisan (political)|partisanship]] among public intellectuals rated Krugman second in the overall partisan slant of his columns, behind only [[Ann Coulter]].<ref name=economist/> As [[Richard Posner]] and economist [[Mark J. Perry]] note, the site, which uses careful statistical analysis to make assessments political partisanship, has ranked Paul Krugman the number 1 or number 2 most biased every single year from 2002-2008.<ref name=posner/><ref>{{Cite web | last = Perry | first = Mark J. | authorlink = Mark J. Perry | title = Paul Krugman: #1 Most Partisan Columnist in U.S. | date = 2008-10-14 | year = 2008 | url = http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/10/paul-krugman-1-most-partisan-columnist.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

''The Economist'' magazine supported the finding, noting the vast majority of Krugman's columns feature attacks on [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and almost none criticize [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], making him "a sort of ivory-tower folk-hero of the American [[Left-wing politics|left]]—a thinking person's [[Michael Moore]]" and that "a glance through his past columns reveals a growing tendency to attribute all the world's ills to [[George W. Bush|George Bush]]."<ref name=economist>{{Citation | title = The one-handed economist | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | pages = | year = 2003 | date = 2003-11-13 | url = http://www.economist.com/node/2208841 | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> And speaking on Krugman's recent "prophecy of doom" regarding the [[United States elections, 2010|2010 election]], the magazine calls it a "baseless partisan freakout".<ref>{{Citation | title = Krugman's prophecy of doom | newspaper = [[The Economist]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-10-29 | url = http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/10/another_partisan_freakout | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

A study published in the [[peer-reviewed]] ''[[Econ Journal Watch]]'' examined statements from 17 economists from 1981 through 2009, and gauged the consistency of their stances on deficit spending and reduction during Republican and Democratic administrations. According to the study, Krugman was the only economist of the 17 to "significantly" change his stance on the federal budget deficit for partisan reasons.<ref>{{Citation | last = Barkley | first = Brett | title = When the White House Changes Party, Do Economists Change Their Tune on Budget Deficits? | journal = [[Econ Journal Watch]] | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 119-156 | date = 2010-05 | year = 2010 | month = May | url = http://econjwatch.org/articles/when-the-white-house-changes-party-do-economists-change-their-tune-on-budget-deficits | jstor = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}</ref>

This finding of inconsistency was supported when ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (WSJ) showed that Krugman contradicted his own findings in order to criticize Republican policy. When Republican [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Jon Kyl]] stated that unemployment relief doesn't create new jobs and in fact is a disincentive for unemployed individuals to seek new work, Krugman called it a "bizarre point of view" and stated that "What Democrats believe is what textbook economics says [...] But that's not how Republicans see it". [[James Taranto]] of the WSJ reproduced a passage from a textbook called ''Macroeconomics'' which states: "The drawback to [unemployment benefits] is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job." The authors of the textbook are Paul Krugman and [[Robin Wells Krugman|his wife]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Taranto | first = James | author-link = James Taranto | title = Mirror, Mirror | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-03-05 | url = http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703915204575103720332317434.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> This led [[John H. Hinderaker|John Hinderaker]] of the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[Claremont Institute]] to proclaim: "only the existence of [[Frank Rich]] prevents Krugman from being the world’s worst columnist."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Hinderaker
| first = John | authorlink = John H. Hinderaker | title = Krugman Vs. Krugman | publisher = [[Power Line]] | date = 2010-03-06 | url = http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025752.php | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2008, economist [[Peter Boettke]] noted: "[Over the years] Krugman's work devolved from science to [[ideology]] and finally to political partisanship" and that Krugman "has used his platform as an economist and as a columnist for the New York Times for his Democratic partisanship purposes."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boettke | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Boettke | title = Political Economist | publisher = [[Forbes]] | date = 2008-10-13 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20081016034623/http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_pb_1013boettke.html | archivedate = 2008-10-16 | url = http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_pb_1013boettke.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Author and [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|federal appeals court judge]] [[Richard Posner]] called Krugman "an unabashed Democratic partisan who often goes overboard in his hatred of the Republians." [sic]<ref name=posner>{{Citation | last = Posner | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Posner | title = The Good Paul Krugman and the Bad Paul Krugman | newspaper = [[The Atlantic]] | year = 2009 | date = 2009-06-03 | url = http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/06/the-good-paul-krugman-and-the-bad-paul-krugman/18718/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist [[Donald J. Boudreaux|Donald Boudreaux]] has stated that Krugman does "a disservice to non-'liberal' scholars as well as to scholarship generally" by asserting that serious thinking is done only by Krugman himself and other liberals.<ref>{{Citation | last = Boudreaux | first = Don | author-link = Donald J. Boudreaux | title = Open Letter to Paul Krugman | date = 2011-06-19 | year = 2011 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2011/06/open-letter-to-paul-krugman-2.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Liberal journalists also openly point out Krugman's obvious political bias: ''[[New York Magazine]]'' called Krugman "the leading exponent of a kind of liberal purism" that he is "not altogether comfortable with, but it is [a role] he has sought."<ref name=nymag>{{Citation | last = Wallace-Wells | first = Benjamin | author-link = | title = What’s Left of the Left | newspaper = [[New York Magazine]] | pages = | year = 2011 | date = 2011-04-24 | url = http://nymag.com/news/politics/paul-krugman-2011-5/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[American liberalism|Liberal]] journalist and author [[Michael Tomasky]] in ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' stated "Many liberals would name Paul Krugman of The New York Times as perhaps the most consistent and courageous—and unapologetic—liberal partisan in American journalism."<ref>{{Citation | last = Tomasky | first = Michael | author-link = Michael Tomasky | title = The Partisan | newspaper = [[The New York Review of Books]] | year = 2007 | date = 2007-11-22 | url = http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/nov/22/the-partisan/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Liberal historian [[Michael Kazin]] has stated Krugman’s account of the [[Right-wing politics|right]] succumbed to the [[Marxist]] flaw of false consciousness: "Unlike what Krugman says, conservatism is not some kind of smoke screen for another agenda."<ref name=nymag/>

===Contradictions===
Krugman has garnered a reputation for contradicting himself on many occasions. When documenting such inconsistencies several writers have made references to such an occurrence being commonplace: "It's not newsworthy when Paul Krugman contradicts himself."<ref name=states/> "Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan..."<ref name=entitlement/> "This just in: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a raging hypocrite. You'll be shocked to find out, I'm sure."<ref>{{Citation | last = Markay | first = Lachlan | author-link = | title = Paul Krugman Favored Raising Retirement Age Until GOP Proposed It | newspaper = [[NewsBusters]] | date = 2011-04-26 | url = http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2011/04/26/paul-krugman-favored-raising-retirement-age-until-gop-proposed-it | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In addition to the instance reported in the WSJ ([[Paul Krugman#Partisanism|see above]]), a single article published in the conservative online magazine ''[[The American Thinker]]'' documents Krugman making contradictory statements in a wide variety of topics. He is documented as stating that when [[deficit]]s are high [[interest rate]]s are low, and when governments run up a deficit, interest rates rise. He argued that higher [[national debt]] and spending were bad for people early in their careers, as they would have to pay for it later in life, and nearly twenty-five years later, he argues that the national debt is not a problem, as it never needs to be paid off. Krugman argued it is not the debt that matters, but rather the [[debt-to-GDP ratio]]. But in an open letter to [[Alan Greenspan]] he asserted, "...you obviously realize that the ratio of debt to G.D.P. is a highly misleading number." He has argued that [[Social Security]] is sustainable and unsustainable, opposed government-run health care before supporting government-run health care, and opposed the bailout of [[Fannie Mae]] before congratulating the government for the bailout of Fannie Mae.<ref name=contradiction/>

Krugman has stated [[labor unions]] and higher wages cause [[unemployment]], as well as stating labor unions create a stable [[middle class]], and lower wages have a [[Recession|contractionary]] effect on the economy (which is characterized in part by unemployment). He has argued that governments do not cause recessions and are not responsible for [[business cycle]]s, but he also blames the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] for the current [[recession]]. Krugman claimed that nothing the government has done has had an impact on the economy, and states that government actions are like using a water pistol to shoot an elephant -- but he also claims that "big government" saved the economy. He declared that workers' fears of losing jobs to workers in China and India due to [[globalization]] aren't irrational, when he earlier stated that those who blamed the global economy for the loss of jobs were "silly."<ref name=contradiction>{{Citation | last = Kumar | first = Arvind | title = Paul Krugman, the Self-Contradicting Economist | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | year = 2010 | date = 2010-06-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/paul_krugman_the_selfcontradic.html | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/60M5qaItY | archivedate = 2011-07-21 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

[[Conservatism in the United States|Conservative]] blogger and political commentator [[Michelle Malkin]] noted that in April 2011, Krugman assailed [[entitlement]] reform advocates, lamenting that "the fervor with which Washington types call for raising eligibility ages is a ‘tell’: it shows how disconnected they are from the way the other half lives (and dies)" and called life expectancy "more and more a class-related issue." But in 1996 he called similar proposals (such as raising the age of eligibility for federal entitlements) "sensible".<ref name=entitlement>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it | date = 2011-04-26 | year = 2011 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/26/paul-krugman-for-entitlement-reform-before-he-was-against-it/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2007, Krugman berated then-Senator [[Barack Obama]] for worrying about the future of Social Security, stating Obama had been misled by "decades of scare-mongering about Social Security’s future from conservative [[ideologue]]s." Economist and former Chairman of the [[Council of Economic Advisors]] [[N. Gregory Mankiw|Greg Mankiw]] responded by stating that "Paul's interpretation seems to be based on either a faulty memory or an especially inclusive definition of what constitutes a conservative ideologue", pointing out that not only did [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] President [[Bill Clinton]] voice similar concerns, but that he was under advisement of well-known economist and non-conservative [[Edward Gramlich]], whom Krugman had in the past praised as being particularly prescient.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Mankiw | first = Greg | authorlink = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = In Search of Ideologues | date = 2007-11-16 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/11/in-search-of-ideologues.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> In addition, less than a month prior, Mankiw had previously pointed out Krugman's contradiction on Social Security when he quoted from an interview in which Krugman stated it is "one of the best" federal government programs in terms of funding, and that it's not for certain the program has a problem. However, as Mankiw shows, Krugman himself stated ten years earlier that crisis loomed ahead when the baby boomers would start to retire around year 2010.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Mankiw | first = Greg | authorlink = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = Krugman vs Obama | date = 2007-10-28 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/10/krugman-vs-obama.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In an open letter to ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[Donald J. Boudreaux|Donald Boudreaux]] pointed out that Krugman suggested trade with low-wage countries poses real problems for high-wage America, despite years earlier penning a paper stating that wages are determined by worker productivity.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boudreaux | first = Donald J. | authorlink = Donald J. Boudreaux | title = Strange Case of Dr. K and Mr. K | date = 2008-01-05 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2008/01/strange-case-of.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Columnist Tom Bevan asked in 2009 how Krugman reconciles a call for [[economic stimulus]] while at the same time arguing that additional environmental regulations and taxes are needed to avert the "utter catastrophe", outlining that stricter environmental policies such as carbon taxes, capping emissions, and additional regulations come at a cost to the economy.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bevan | first = Tom | author-link = | title = Krugman's Contradiction | newspaper = [[RealClearPolitics]] | date = 2009-07-13 | url = http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/07/13/krugmans_contradiction_97433.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> While Krugman normally dismisses claims that debt reduces growth, he criticized the Bush tax cuts in 2005 for increasing the deficit.[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/the-bush-tax-cuts-and-the-deficit/]

Economist [[Robert P. Murphy|Robert Murphy]] has documented so many contradictions made by Krugman that he has coined the term "Krugman Kontradiction" or "Klassic Krugman".<ref name=states>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Caught: Krugman's Shifting Arguments
| work =
| publisher = [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
| date = 2011-03-03
| url = http://mises.org/daily/5086
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=austerity>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = A Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2010-06-10
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/06/a-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=QEcontra>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Yet Another Krugman Kontradiction
| date = 2010-11-23
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/11/yet-another-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=PIGS>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Yet Another Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2011-03-30
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2011/03/yet-another-krugman-kontradiction-2.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=stimulus>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Klassic Krugman Kontradiction
| date = 2011-05-19
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2011/05/klassic-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=WW2>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Another Krugman Kontradiction?
| date = 2010-07-07
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/07/another-krugman-kontradiction.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=hangover>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Krugman In Support of the Hangover Theory?
| date = 2010-12-30
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/12/krugman-hangover-theory.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>
<ref name=hangover>{{Cite web
| last = Murphy
| first = Robert P.
| authorlink = Robert P. Murphy
| title = Krugman Has Booted the Hackers From His Blog Account
| date = 2010-06-11
| url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/06/krugman-has-booted-the-hackers-from-his-blog-account.html
| accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

===False claims===
Columnist Richard Baehr has written several pieces documenting false and contradictory statements by Krugman. In August 2005, Baehr published a series of articles detailing Krugman's continuous misrepresentation of facts surrounding the [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000 Presidential election]] and votes cast in Florida.<ref name=biglie>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = Krugman's Big Lie | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-20 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/krugmans_big_lie.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = More baloney from Krugman | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/more_baloney_from_krugman.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> (A gaffe that was also noted by [[Michelle Malkin]]<ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = The Krugman Correction | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/08/26/the-krugman-correction/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Krugman's Correction | date = 2005-09-15 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/09/15/krugmans-correction/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Malkin | first = Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Malkin | title = Yet Another Krugman Korrection | date = 2005-10-02 | url = http://michellemalkin.com/2005/10/02/yet-another-krugman-korrection/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, [[Donald Luskin]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Luskin | first = Donald | author-link = Donald Luskin | title = It’s the Truth that Counts | newspaper = [[National Review]] | date = 2005-08-24 | url = http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/luskin200508240848.asp | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Luskin | first = Donald | authorlink = Donald Luskin | title = Krugman Officially Corrects His Florida 2000 Lies | newspaper = | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://www.poorandstupid.com/2005_08_21_chronArchive.asp#112503484243947813 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Luskin | first = Donald | author-link = Donald Luskin | title = Third Time’s Not a Charm | newspaper = [[National Review]] | date = 2005-09-13 | url = http://old.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/luskin200509130821.asp | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Luskin | first = Donald | authorlink = Donald Luskin | title = Hell Freezes Over at The New York Times | newspaper = | date = 2005-10-01 | url = http://www.poorandstupid.com/2005_09_25_chronArchive.asp#112822299822124760 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, [[Mickey Kaus]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Kaus | first = Mickey | author-link = Mickey Kaus | title = The "Two Atta" Theory | newspaper = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | date = 2005-08-21 | url = http://www.slate.com/?id=2124546&%2523overfisk | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, and Patterico<ref>{{Cite web | last = Patterico | first = | title = Paul Krugman Just Can’t Get It Right | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://patterico.com/2005/08/26/paul-krugman-just-cant-get-it-right/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last = Patterico | first = | title = Paul Krugman Prettifies His Own History of Misstatements | date = 2005-09-16 | url = http://patterico.com/2005/09/16/paul-krugman-prettifies-his-own-history-of-misstatements/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>, among others.) Baehr closed the series stating: "The continuous rise of the internet has enabled critics to hyperlink source material proving Krugman's lack of integrity. Krugman simply could not get away with his lies if he were required to post hyperlinks [...] Why is the New York Times still employing a serial liar in its op ed pages?"<ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = More Krugman lies: the Great Unraveling continues | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2005-08-26 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/more_krugman_lies_the_great_un.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2010 Baehr detailed Krugman's August 23 column on extending the Bush tax cuts as being "not merely misleading; it is an outright and deliberate fabrication."<ref>{{Citation | last = Baehr | first = Richard | title = Paul Krugman Is a Liar: Does the New York Times Care? | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2010-08-23 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/paul_krugman_is_a_liar_does_th.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2003 Krugman falsely accused conservatives of embracing the [[lump of labour fallacy]], when the paper he cited did not commit the error.<ref name=economist/>

James D. Agresti documented Krugman claiming total government spending had fallen under the Obama administration, then changing his claim to say it had remained flat, both of which were shown to be false according to the data published by the federal [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Agresti | first = James D. | author-link = | title = Paul Krugman's Jihad | newspaper = [[The American Thinker]] | date = 2010-10-27 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/paul_krugmans_jihad_1.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> This led economist [[Robert P. Murphy|Robert Murphy]] to ask: "Is Krugman just lying now?"<ref>{{Cite web | last = Murphy | first = Robert P. | authorlink = Robert P. Murphy | title = Is Krugman Just Lying Now? | date = 2010-10-11 | url = http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2010/10/is-krugman-just-lying-now.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist [[Robert Higgs]] noted that in a telephone news conference Krugman commented the [[Late-2000s recession]] "in fact" resembles the [[Great Depression]]. Higgs mentions various measures, including the [[unemployment rate]], [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] decline, commercial bank failures, and others, all which empirically contradict Krugman's claim.<ref name=depression/>

===Economics===

''[[The Economist]]'' notes that in addition to his obvious partisanism, "even [Krugman's] economics is sometimes stretched." He used [[game theory]] to argue that [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] was probably encouraging [[North Korea]] to become a more dangerous nuclear power. The magazine notes that while "this probably did not convince most game theorists", it still in effect gives lay readers "the illusion that Mr Krugman's perfectly respectable personal political beliefs can somehow be derived empirically from economic theory." Krugman is also said to have embraced the concept of the [[There ain't no such thing as a free lunch|free lunch]]—"even though as an economist he should know better."<ref name=economist/>

Economist and former [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Lawrence Summers|Larry Summers]] has stated Krugman has a tendency to favor more extreme policy recommendations because "it’s much more interesting than agreement when you’re involved in commenting on rather than making policy."<ref name=nymag/>

Krugman's contradictions and alleged poor economic reasoning have led to much attention, particularly in the [[blogosphere]] and the economics community. "[Krugman] has made a habit of distortion [...] Several website [sic] have sprung up to deconstruct each Krugman column,and others respond to specific errors, which are routine."<ref name=biglie/> Economist [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] maintains a website dedicated solely to documenting Krugman's errors and inconsistencies, called "Krugman-in-Wonderland".<ref>{{Cite web | last = Anderson | first = William L. | authorlink = William L. Anderson | title = Welcome to Krugman-in-Wonderland! | date = 2010-01-20 | url = http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-to-krugman-in-wonderland.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[United States House of Representatives elections in Massachusetts, 2012|U.S. House Republican candidate]] Jeff Semon founded a similar website titled "KrugmanIsWrong.com" to document Krugman's inaccuracies.<ref>{{Cite web | last = Semon | first = Jeff | authorlink = | title = About | work = | publisher = KrugmanIsWrong.com | url = http://www.krugmaniswrong.com/about/ | format = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Calling him a "doctor of (bad) economics", [[Sheldon Richman]] has pointed out inconsistencies and conflicting notions in Krugman's prescription for [[international trade]] and domestic [[social safety net]]s.<ref>{{Citation | last = Richman | first = Sheldon | author-link = Sheldon Richman | title = Paul Krugman, Doctor of (Bad) Economics | newspaper = [[The Freeman]] | date = 2008-01-04 | url = http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/tgif/the-goal-is-freedom-paul-krugman-doctor-of-bad-economics/ | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In 2002 [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] documented Krugman's notion that health care is the only industry in which improvements in knowledge and the development and acquisition of capital drive ''up'' costs, not reduce them, as laws of economics dictate. Anderson says Krugman's assessment "provides ample proof that one can be called an 'economist,' yet not know much about economics."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Anderson | first = William L. | authorlink = William L. Anderson | title = "Bad Medicine" or Bad Economics? | publisher = [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] | date = 2002-03-20 | url = http://mises.org/daily/917 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Economist and former Chairman of the [[Council of Economic Advisors]] [[N. Gregory Mankiw|Greg Mankiw]] stated he was left scratching his head when Krugman claimed a [[Tobin tax]] on foreign exchange trades is possible because "modern trading is a highly centralized affair", with a majority of transactions settled at a single London-based institution. Mankiw points out that if taxes made transacting in London even slightly more expensive, companies could easily move elsewhere, thus making the tax useless, and Krugman's claim null.<ref>{{Citation | last = Mankiw
| first = Greg | author-link = N. Gregory Mankiw | title = Is a Tobin Tax feasible? | date = 2009-11-27 | year = 2009 | url = http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-tobin-tax-feasible_27.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

Investor and businessman [[Jim Rogers]] said of Krugman "He doesn't know anything about economics. He's an idiot."<ref>{{Cite video | people = [[Jim Rogers]] | title = Freedom Watch | medium = Television production | format = [[Flash video]] | publisher = [[Fox Business Network]] | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWe3jyqRo-4 | location = [[New York City]] | date = 2010-10-16 | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

===Nobel Prize===
Upon Krugman's award of the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics]], many in the economic community voiced disapproval. [[Peter Boettke]] stated "the Swedes just made perhaps the worst decision in the history of the prize today in naming Paul Krugman the 2008 award winner [...] today I would say is a sad day for economics, not a day to be celebrated."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Boettke | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Boettke | title = You Cannot Be Serious! Paul Krugman's Nobel Prize | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://austrianeconomists.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/you-cannot-be-s.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> Economist [[William L. Anderson|Bill Anderson]] deemed the announcement indicative "that outright political partisanship is not a deterrent to winning."<ref>{{Citation | last = Anderson | first = William L. | author-link = William L. Anderson | title = A Socialist Laureate | newspaper = [[Forbes]] | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/13/krugman-nobel-economics-oped-cx_wla_1013anderson.html | archiveurl = | archivedate = | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[Russell Roberts (economist)|Russell Roberts]] of [[George Mason University]] called it "just another reminder that those of us who believe in liberty are in for a long time in the intellectual wilderness."<ref>{{Cite web | last = Roberts | first = Russell | authorlink = Russell Roberts (economist) | title = Krugman's prize | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://cafehayek.com/2008/10/krugmans-prize.html | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref> [[Robert Higgs]] stated Krugman’s selection made a travesty of the prize and constitutes "an insult to the few excellent economists [...] who have received the prize in the past." Higgs wrote: "For economists who would like the Nobel Prize to mean something, today is a very sad day."<ref name=depression>{{Cite web | last = Higgs | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert Higgs | title = Krugman’s Bizarre Comparison | publisher = [[The Independent Institute]] | date = 2008-10-13 | url = http://blog.independent.org/2008/10/13/krugmans-bizarre-comparison/ | accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

In a 2010 [[video blog]], [[investment broker]] and financial-economic commentator [[Peter Schiff]] stated "if they ever took away Nobel Prizes for something that shows a complete lack of understanding of economics, certainly Paul Krugman would be the first candidate where the commission asked for their Nobel Prize back."<ref>{{cite video |people = [[Peter Schiff]] |date = 2010-03-16 |title = Dollar, Paul Krugman |url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11WlFlO_mDg |format = [[Flash video]] |publisher = Schiff Report |medium = [[Video Blog]] |location = [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] |archiveurl =|archivedate= |accessdate = 2011-08-10}}</ref>

==Praised by Austrians==
While noting the many differences with Paul Krugman, James Miller has pointed out that many bloggers who promote the Austrian point of view commend Krugman's older, lesser-known book, ''Pop Internationalism''. The book is a collection of 13 essays highlighting the benefits of free trade and showing the fallacies of protectionism. After all, Krugman won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to "new trade theory," not for his continuing calls for massive stimulus spending and raising taxes on the rich, nor for accusing conservatives of being monsters bent on impoverishing the whole country.

Krugman's basic premise throughout the book is that free and globalized trade is not something a wealthy country such as the United States should fear, but rather something it should embrace. Protectionist fears of free trade such as "massive unemployment" and "trade deficits" are unjustified according to Krugman, because:

{{cquote|what drives trade is comparative rather than absolute advantage. Maintaining productivity growth and technological progress is extremely important; but it is important for its own sake, not because it is necessary to keep up with international competition.}}

Krugman points out that the idea of a country adopting an industrial policy to help certain "high-value" industries to be competitive in the world economy is superfluous. "Why," Krugman asks, "weren't private markets already doing their job?" He goes on to state that "the productivity of the average American worker is determined by a complex array of factors, most of them unreachable by any government policy."

To top off his embrace of market efficiency over government policy, he even goes on to acknowledge that government intervention to improve competitiveness can ultimately lead to "misallocations of resources." That is not a far cry from the inflation-induced "[[malinvestment]]s" that the likes of Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard have warned about for the past century.

Throughout Pop Internationalism, Paul Krugman makes a great case for how free trade and the global economy raise the living standards of both wealthy and impoverished nations. Despite the book's flaws, writes Miller, Krugman does a great job at dismissing unfounded fears about free trade.<ref name="Miller_5296">James E. Miller. [https://mises.org/daily/5296/The-Good-Krugman "The Good Krugman"], ''Mises Daily''. Referenced 2012-11-18.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Links==
* [http://mises.org/daily/3194 Consumers Don't Cause Recessions] by Robert P. Murphy, November 2008, about 'demand-side' economics
* [http://mises.org/daily/5086/Caught-Krugmans-Shifting-Arguments Caught: Krugman's Shifting Arguments] by Robert P. Murphy, March 2011
* {{md|6055|Charting Fun with Krugman|Robert P. Murphy|May 2012}}
* [http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2013/02/paul-krugmans-eyes-are-smiling.html Paul Krugman’s Eyes Are Smiling] by Robert P. Murphy, February 2013
* {{md|105|Epstein Responds|Gene Epstein|December 1998}}
* [http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae6_4_2.pdf Apoplithorismosphobia] (pdf) by Mark Thornton, 2003
* [http://mises.org/daily/4121 Krugman Fails to "Get It" on Japan] by William L. Anderson, March 2010
* [http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ricardo.htm Ricardo's Difficult Idea] by Paul Krugman, March 1996
* {{cb|2012/04/paul-vs-paul-the-video/|Paul vs. Paul: the Video|Daniel J. Sanchez|April 2012}}
* [http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/06/paul-krugman-versus-kenneth-rogoff-on-europe/ Paul Krugman versus Kenneth Rogoff on Europe] by Jacob Wolinsky, June 2012
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX55BH97quk&feature=player_embedded Paul Krugman: "¡Acabad ya con esta crisis!"] (video, partially in Spanish; esp. watch from 35:20 economist Pedro Schwartz; from 48:20 Krugman's reply)
* {{md|6372|Krugman's Call for a Housing Bubble|Daniel J. Sanchez|February 2013}}
* [http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/02/krugman_and_a_c.html Krugman and a Critic on the Minimum Wage] by David Henderson, February 2013
* [http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_dismal_science/1997/03/in_praise_of_cheap_labor.single.html In Praise of Cheap Labor] by Paul Krugman, March 1997
* [http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/08/23/denying-feds-role-in-housing-bubble-paul-krugman-exposes-his-intellectual-dishonesty/ Denying Fed’s Role in Housing Bubble, Paul Krugman Exposes His Intellectual Dishonesty] by Jeremy R. Hammond, August 2013
* [http://cafehayek.com/2014/01/i-dont-know-what-to-call-this-post.html I don’t know what to call this post] by Russ Roberts, January 2014
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/paulkrugman/index.html Paul Krugman Columnist Page - The New York Times]
* [http://pkarchive.org/ pkarchive - The Unofficial Paul Krugman Archive]
* [[Wikipedia:Paul Krugman|Paul Krugman]] on Wikipedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krugman, Paul}}
[[Category:Economists]]
[[Category:Nobel Prize in Economics]]

Austrian Business Cycle Theory

2014-01-15T20:03:25Z

Pestergaines: Reverted edits by DennyAfstand (talk) to last revision by 24.137.208.94

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{{See also|Argumentation:ABCT|Austrian Business Cycle Theory learning materials}}

The [[business cycle]] describes regularly occurring booms and busts observed in the economy and the '''Austrian Business Cycle Theory''' (sometimes called the "hangover theory"<ref name="Cochran_ABCT">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/630 "The Hangover Theory?"], Mises Daily, Friday, March 16, 2001, referenced 2009-11-14.</ref> or simply '''ABCT''') is an explanation of this phenomenon from the [[Austrian School]]. Originally developed by [[Ludwig von Mises]] in the 1912 ''[[Theory of Money and Credit]]'' it was elaborated on by [[Friedrich Hayek|Hayek]] and others.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle">[[Murray N. Rothbard]]. [http://mises.org/pdf/austtrad.pdf "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and other essays"] (pdf), "Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure", p.58-81, referenced 2009-10-27.</ref> In one classical rendition:
Banks expand credit well beyond their own assets and by the funds of their clients, often supported or encouraged by the setting of low interest rates by a central bank. This additional credit flow into the economy from increased borrowing for capital projects stimulates economic activity. Projects which would not have been started before, seem now profitable, creating [[malinvestment]]. They increase demand for production materials and for labor and their prices rise, which, in turn, leads to an increase in prices of consumption goods. If the banks would stop the extension of credit, the boom would be rapidly over. To prevent the sudden halt of this boom (and the resulting collapse of prices), the banks must create more and more credit, and the prices will rise even more.

But this expansion of credit cannot continue forever. There is no additional capital or labor; there is only more money (and debt). The means of production and labor which have been diverted to the new enterprises have to be taken away from others. Society is not sufficiently rich to permit the creation of new enterprises without taking away from others. As long as the expansion of credit is continued this will not be noticed, but it can't be pushed indefinitely. The inflation and the boom can last only as long as the public thinks that the prices will stop rising in the near future. When the public becomes aware, that there the inflation will not end, and that prices will continue to rise, panic sets in. Eventually, people may give up the currency and rush to exchange money for goods, buying things they have no use for, just in order to get rid of the money (the so-called "[[flight into real values]].")<ref name="Mises_business_cycle">[[Ludwig von Mises]]. [http://mises.org/pdf/austtrad.pdf "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and other essays"] (pdf), "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle", p.23-32, referenced 2009-10-27.</ref>

==History==
The regularly occurring booms and and busts were observed from approximately late eighteenth century, along with the start of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Sudden economic crisis, when some king made war or confiscated the property of his subject were known; but there was no sign of the modern phenomena of general and fairly regular swings in business fortunes, of expansions and contractions.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle" />

The Austrian cycle theory began with the eighteenth century Scottish philosopher and economist [[David Hume]], and with the eminent early nineteenth century English classical economist [[David Ricardo]]. These theorists observed another crucial institution developing in the mid-eighteenth century, alongside the industrial system. It was the institution of banking, with its capacity to expand credit and the money supply (first, in the form of paper money, or bank notes, and later in the form of demand deposits, or checking accounts, that are instantly redeemable in cash at the banks). It was the operations of these commercial banks which held the key to the mysterious recurrent cycles of expansion and contraction, of boom and bust, that had puzzled observers since the mid-eighteenth century.

The English "[[British Currency School|Currency School]]" has tried to explain the boom by the extension of credit resulting from the issue of banknotes without metallic backing. But the school did not see that current accounts which could be drawn upon at any time via checks, play exactly the same role in the extension of credit as bank notes. Because of the legislation inspired by the Currency School (like the [[Robert Peel|Peel]]'s [[Bank Act of 1844]] and similar laws in other countries), to prevent other economic crises, the issue of banknotes without metallic backing was restricted, but the expansion of credit through current accounts was unregulated. From this it was wrongly concluded that the English School's attempt to explain the trade cycle in monetary terms had been refuted by the facts.

The Currency School has also restricted its analysis to the case where credit is expanded in only one country while the banking policy of all the others remains conservative. The internal rise in prices would encourage imports and paralyse exports. Metallic money would drain away to foreign countries. As a result the banks would face increased demands for repayment of the instruments they have put into circulation (such as unbacked notes and current accounts), until they have to restrict credit. Ultimately the outflow of specie checks the rise in prices. The Currency School analyzed only this particular case; it did not consider credit expansion on an international scale by all the capitalist countries simultaneously. In the second half of the 19th century, this theory of the trade cycle fell into discredit, and the notion that the trade cycle had nothing to do with money and credit gained acceptance. The attempt of [[Knut Wicksell|Wicksell]] (1898) to rehabilitate the Currency School was short-lived.<ref name="Mises_business_cycle" />

== Questions Addressed ==

The Austrian business cycle theory attempts to answer the following questions about things which Austrian theorists, notably [[Murray Rothbard]], believe appear during the business cycle:<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/agd/chapter1.asp#boom_and_depression America's Great Depression], Murray Rothbard</ref>
* Why is there a sudden general cluster of business errors?
* Why do [[capital good]]s industries and asset market prices fluctuate more widely than do the [[consumer good]]s industries and consumer prices?
* Why is there a general increase in the quantity of money in the economy during every boom, and why is there generally, though not universally, a fall in the [[money supply]] during the depression (or a sharp contraction in the growth of [[credit (finance)|credit]] in a recession)?

== The Theory Explained ==
{{Wikipedia text}}
According to the theory, the boom-bust cycle of malinvestment is generated by excessive and unsustainable credit expansion to businesses and individual borrowers by the [[bank]]s.<ref name="econlib.org">[http://www.econlib.org/library/Mises/msT.html Theory of Money and Credit], Ludwig von Mises, Part III, Part IV</ref> This [[money creation|credit creation]] makes it appear as if the supply of "saved funds" ready for investment has increased, for the effect is the same: the supply of funds for investment purposes increases, and the [[interest rate]] is lowered.<ref>[[The Mystery of Banking]]. [[Murray Rothbard]]</ref> Borrowers, in short, are misled by the bank [[monetary inflation|inflation]] into believing that the supply of saved funds (the pool of "deferred" funds ready to be invested) is greater than it really is. When the pool of "saved funds" increases, entrepreneurs invest in "longer process of production," i.e., the capital structure is lengthened, especially in the "higher orders", most remote from the consumer. Borrowers take their newly acquired funds and bid up the prices of capital and other producers' goods, which, in the theory, stimulates a shift of investment from consumer goods to capital goods industries. Austrians further contend that such a shift is unsustainable and must reverse itself in due course. Proponents of the theory conclude that the longer the unsustainable shift in capital goods industries continues, the more violent and disruptive the necessary re-adjustment process.

The preference by entrepreneurs for longer term investments can be shown graphically by using any [[discounted cash flow]] model. Essentially lower [[interest rates]] increase the relative value of cash flows that come in the future. When modelling an investment opportunity, if [[interest rates]] are artificially low, entrepreneurs are led to believe the income they will receive in the future is sufficient to cover their near term investment costs. In simple terms, investments that would not make sense with a 10% cost of funds become feasible with a prevailing interest rate of 5% (and may become compelling for many entrepreneurs with a prevailing interest rate of 2%).<ref>[http://mises.org/story/2810 Manipulating the Interest Rate: a Recipe for Disaster], Thorsten Polleit, 13 December 2007.</ref>

The proportion of [[Consumption (economics)|consumption]] to saving or investment is determined by people's [[time preference]]s, which is the degree to which they prefer present to future satisfactions. In a stable money environment<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> the interest rate is the price signal reflecting the balance of consumption and saving. If the goods and services presently on offer encourage people to spend, interest rates will be higher, reflecting people's short-term time preferences. If the goods and services presently on offer do not encourage people to spend, interest rates will be lower, reflecting people's desire to save their money (and spend their money on goods and services in the future). Thus, interest rates in a stable money environment<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> are determined by the time preferences of depositors.<ref>[http://www.econlib.org/library/Mises/msT.html Theory of Money and Credit], Ludwig von Mises, Part II</ref>

In an environment where the money supply is continually expanding through the issuance of credit, interest rates no longer reflect people's time preferences, as interest rates are set by the [[central bank]].<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> Because the debasement of the [[means of exchange]] in a low interest rate environment is universal, many entrepreneurs can make the same mistake at the same time (i.e. many believe investment funds are really available for long term projects when in fact the pool of available funds has come from credit creation - not real savings out of the existing money supply). As they are all competing for the same pool of capital and market share, some entrepreneurs begin to borrow simply to avoid being "overrun" by other entrepreneurs who may take advantage of the lower interest rates to invest in more up-to-date capital infrastructure. Mises suggests that a tendency towards over-investment and speculative borrowing in this "artificial" low interest rate environment is therefore almost inevitable.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

This new money then percolates downward from the business borrowers to the factors of production: to the landowners and capital owners who sold assets to the newly indebted [[entrepreneurs]], and then to the other factors of production in wages, rent, and interest. Austrian economists conclude that, since time preferences have not changed, people will rush to reestablish the old proportions, and demand will shift back from the higher to the lower orders. In other words, depositors will tend to spend money on consumption items, capital investors will find their projects are unsustainable, banks will then ask their borrowers for payment and interest rates and credit conditions will deteriorate.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

Austrian economists theorize that capital goods industries will find that their investments have been in error; that what they thought profitable really fails for lack of demand by their entrepreneurial customers. Higher orders of production will have turned out to be wasteful, and the malinvestment must be liquidated.<ref name="Human Action">[http://mises.org/pdf/humanaction/pdf/humanaction.pdf Human Action], Ludwig von Mises, p.572</ref> In other words, the particular ''types'' of investments made during the monetary boom were inappropriate and "wrong" from the perspective of the long-term financial sustainability of the market because the price signals stimulating the investment were distorted by [[fractional reserve banking]]'s recursive lending "ballooning" the pricing structure in various capital markets.

This concept is captured by the term "heterogeneity of capital", where Austrian economists emphasize that the mere macroeconomic "total" of investment does not adequately capture whether this investment is genuinely sustainable or productive, due to the inability of the raw numbers to reveal the particular investment activities being undertaken and the inherent inability of the numbers to reveal whether these particular investment activities were appropriate and economically sustainable given people's real preferences.

The boom then, is actually a period of wasteful [[malinvestment]], a "false boom" where the particular kinds of investments undertaken during the period of fiat money expansion are revealed to lead nowhere but to insolvency and unsustainability. It is the time when errors are made, when speculative borrowing has driven up prices for assets and capital to unsustainable levels, due to low interest rates "artificially" increasing the [[money supply]] and triggering an unsustainable injection of [[fiat money]] "funds" available for investment into the system, thereby tampering with the complex pricing mechanism of the [[free market]]. "Real" savings would have required higher [[interest rates]] to encourage depositors to save their money in term deposits to invest in longer term projects under a stable money supply. According to von Mises's work, the artificial stimulus caused by bank-created credit causes a generalized speculative investment bubble, not justified by the long-term structure of the market.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

[[Ludwig von Mises]] stated that the "[[financial crisis|crisis]]" (or "[[credit crunch]]") arrives when the consumers come to reestablish their desired allocation of saving and consumption at prevailing interest rates.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="mises.org"/> The "recession" or "depression" is actually the process by which the economy adjusts to the wastes and errors of the monetary boom, and reestablishes efficient service of sustainable consumer desires.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="mises.org"/>

Since it takes very little time for the new credit-sourced money to filter down from the initial borrowers to the recipients of the borrowed funds (the various factors of production), why don't all booms come quickly to an end? Continually expanding bank credit can keep the borrowers one step ahead of consumer retribution (with the help of successively lower interest rates from the [[central bank]]). In the theory, this postpones the "day of reckoning" and defers the collapse of unsustainably inflated asset prices.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="goldensextant.com">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis, 21 August 2004</ref> It can also be temporarily put off by price deflation or exogenous events such as the "cheap" or free acquisition of marketable resources by market participants and the banks funding the borrowing (such as the acquisition of land from local governments, or in extreme cases, the acquisition of foreign land through the waging of war).<ref>[http://mises.org/story/3010 War and Inflation], Lew Rockwell</ref>

The "false" monetary boom ends when bank credit expansion finally stops - when no further investments can be found which provide adequate returns for speculative borrowers at prevailing interest rates. It is asserted that the longer the "false" monetary boom goes on, the bigger and more speculative the borrowing, the more wasteful the errors committed and the longer and more severe will be the necessary bankruptcies, foreclosures and depression readjustment.<ref name="Human Action"/>. There is also a notion of capital consumption contributing negatively to the readjustment period, which has been discussed in works such as ''[[Human Action]]''.<ref name="Human Action">[http://mises.org/pdf/humanaction/pdf/humanaction.pdf Human Action], Ludwig von Mises, Chp. 18</ref>

[[Ludwig von Mises]] and [[Friedrich Hayek]] warned of a major economic crisis before the [[Great Depression]]. Hayek made his prediction of a coming business crisis in February 1929. He warned that a financial crisis was an unavoidable consequence of reckless monetary expansion.

===The role of central banks===

All Austrian theorists consider the unsustainable expansion of bank credit through [[fractional reserve banking]] as the driving feature of most business cycles. However, Murray Rothbard paid particular attention to the role of central banks in creating an environment of loose credit prior to the onset of the [[Great Depression]], and the subsequent ineffectiveness of central bank policies, which simply delayed necessary price adjustments and prolonged market dysfunction.<ref>''[[America's Great Depression]]'', [[Murray Rothbard]]</ref> Rothbard begins with the assertion that in a market with no centralized monetary authority, there would be no simultaneous cluster of malinvestments or entrepreneurial errors, since astute [[entrepreneur]]s would not all make errors at the same time and would quickly take advantage of any temporary, isolated mispricing. In addition, in an [[openness|open]], non-centralized (uninsured) capital market, astute bankers would shy away from speculative lending and uninsured depositors would carefully monitor the balance sheets of risky financial institutions, tempering any speculative excesses that arose sporadically in the finance markets. The cycle of ''generalized'' malinvestment is therefore caused solely by ''centralized'' monetary intervention in the money markets by the [[central bank]].

Rothbard asserts that this over-encouragement to borrow and lend is initiated by the mispricing of credit via the [[central bank]]'s ''centralized'' control over interest rates and its need to protect banks from periodic [[bank run]]s (which Austrian economists believe then causes interest rates to be set too low for too long when compared to the rates that would prevail in a genuine non-[[central bank]] dominated [[free market]]).<ref name="econlib.org"/><ref name="mises.org">[http://mises.org/story/2810 Manipulating the Interest Rate: a Recipe for Disaster], Thorsten Polleit, 13 December 2007</ref>

===The element of risk===
[[Interest rate]]s pushed below the natural rate can have another serious damaging effect. They can distort the appreciation of [[risk]]. Austrian economists have claimed that interest rates include a risk premium in addition to valuing future over present consumption. It follows that interest rates below the natural rate can create an unwarranted
bullishness that leads to systemic "appraisal optimism." Error prone "marginal entrepreneurs" receive resources which would not have been available to them in ordinary circumstances.

This mistaken optimism leads to reductions in precautionary assets or "reserve assets", which businesses hold against untoward events. Businesses conclude that they are in a less risky business environment than they had thought. The resources released by the reduction in precautionary assets can be used to maintain the boom. It is important to note that the drawdown of precautionary assets can only continue for a limited period. At some stage, precautionary assets will be reduced to a minimum below which businessmen will be reluctant to let them fall. (As an example, in the period between the 1870s and the late 1930s, commodity stocks, which may constitute an important part of precautionary assets, were at their lowest point at the end of the boom and were at their highest just before the recovery.)

Risky investments will be concentrated at the beginning of the boom when stocks of precautionary assets are high. As holdings of precautionary assts are diverted into maintaining production in excess of the sustainable production frontier, businesses gradually realize that their resilience to adverse shocks has been reduced, and shift their attention to what they perceive to be less risky but more roundabout investments. It may also help explain how the boom could become self-reinforcing. As the boom progresses, precautionary assets are reduced as they are used to sustain the exuberance of the boom and businessmen’s confidence and optimism increases. Ten years after the start of a boom, businessmen may be more optimistic than they were five years earlier merely because the boom has lasted so long and fears of recession have faded.

Following the crisis, it is natural for businesses to rebuild their precautionary assets. Until these stocks are rebuilt, the economy will lack resilience and remain unduly vulnerable to untoward events.<ref name="Miller_Systemic">Robert C. B. Miller. [https://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae15_4_13.pdf "Systemic Appraisal Optimism and Austrian Business Cycle Theory"] (pdf), ''The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics'', Vol. 15, No. 4, Winter 2012. Referenced 2013-01-21.</ref>

==Other theories==
Since the cycles appeared on the scene at about the same time as modern industry, [[Karl Marx|Marx]] concluded that business cycles were an inherent feature of the capitalist market economy. Many current schools of economic thought, regardless of other differences and the different causes that they attribute to the cycle, agree on this vital point: That the business cycle originates somewhere deep within the free-market economy, and it can be only solved by some form of massive government intervention.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle" />

===Innovations===
It is sometimes held, that [[Innovation|innovations]] cause the ups and downs of the business cycle. The most prominent defender of that view was probably [[Joseph Schumpeter]]. He stated that booms are due to technological or other innovations whose implementations at first seem to promise high profits. After a while, more and more entrepreneurs copy the strategy of the pioneer firms until competitive behavior forces profits to go down again and a depression begins, in which the market is cleaned of unprofitable firms. This is a brief description of the well-known process of "[[creative destruction]]" — a term made famous by Schumpeter himself. The new state of equilibrium is only maintained until a new innovation creates the foundation for another boom.

The industrial revolution, the appearance of railway tracks, or the rise of cheap automobiles can be interpreted as examples. Furthermore, the [[dotcom bubble]] at the end of the last decade could have been due to innovations like the internet. Even the current crisis can be regarded as the result of financial innovations.<ref name="Kahler_Innovations">Malte Tobias Kahler. [http://mises.org/daily/3998 "Do Innovations Cause Business Cycles?"], Mises Daily, January 07, 2010, referenced 2010-01-07.</ref>

However, it is not technological innovation that generates the boom, but the general boom that makes it possible for more and more firms to implement their innovative ideas. In every moment there exist many ideas for possible innovations and improvements. The latest innovation has not yet been implemented in every business. If there are always many ideas whose only problem is to get enough funds, then it is not technology, but [[Saving|savings]] that limit development. To implement them, the companies need capital. Society has to save first and then grant credit.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with using credit for an innovative project. The problem only appears when these credits are created out of thin air, thus inducing [[malinvestment]]s. In an environment of monetary expansion, many innovative projects can be started that are in fact not sustainable. The clusters of innovative activities that seem to be the cause of inevitable depressions are in fact a symptom of the distortion of the market process that is introduced by fractional-reserve banks.

From a policy point of view, using political means to push forward new innovations (like "renewable energy sources") will not suffice to get the economy out of the slump. Moreover, it can be highly dangerous for the aid for such innovations to be flanked by expansive monetary policy.<ref name="Kahler_Innovations" />A recent study suggests that this was the case in Spain where a "green" bubble went boom and bust<ref name="Mariana_Renewable_Spain">Instituto Juan de Mariana. [http://www.juandemariana.org/pdf/090327-employment-public-aid-renewable.pdf "Study of the Effects of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources"] (pdf), pp. 19–20. March 2009, referenced 2010-01-08.</ref> — with all its destructive side effects, including unemployment.<ref name="Schwartz_Unemployment">Nelson D. Schwartz. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/business/global/01jobless.html "In Spain, a Soaring Jobless Rate for Young Workers"], published December 31, 2009, referenced 2010-01-08.</ref>

===Mania theories===
An alternative class of explanations for booms and busts, might be categorized as mania theories. In a mania, investors become entranced by some particular investment—[[Tulip mania|tulip bulbs]], [[Mississippi Bubble|French colonial trading ventures]], Florida real estate, the "[[nifty fifty]]" stocks, or [[Dot-com bubble|Internet companies]]—and begin a self-perpetuating process of bidding more for the asset, seeing its price rise, bidding even more for it, and so on. Like a manic-depressive who can only maintain his manic phase for so long before crashing, eventually investors begin to have doubts about the focus of their mania, at which point the bubble bursts.

There is nothing in most mania theories that contradicts an Austrian account of boom and bust. The two theories look at the same phenomenon from the vantage point of two different disciplines: social psychology and economics. They may, in fact, prove to be complementary. The Austrian theory offers a coherent explanation of the onset of the mania—a credit expansion—and the onset of the depression—the cessation of the expansion. After all, the mere fact that people are excited about French-Colonial North America or the Internet cannot create a speculative bubble by itself. The funds to speculate with must come from somewhere, and the Austrian theory identifies where. On the other hand, mania theories might help to explain the reason that booms often seem to be channeled into certain faddish investments.<ref name="Callahan_Dot">Gene Callahan and Roger W. Garrison. [http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae6_2_3.pdf "Does Austrian Business Cycle Theory Help Explain the Dot-Com Boom and Bust?"], ''The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics'', Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer 2003). Referenced 2010-01-10.</ref>

==Criticisms==
These are some of the more frequent or known criticisms of the theory.

===Central banking===
{{See also|History of money and banking in the US}}

Some critics point out, that the theory blames the [[business cycle]] on central banks, but the cycle has been well known throughout 19th century, well before [[central bank]]ing in the modern sense and the 20th century growth of the state. One particular example are the United States and its wide range of monetary and banking systems.<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian">John Quiggin. [http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/03/austrian-business-cycle-theory/ "Austrian Business Cycle Theory"], posted on May 3rd, 2009, referenced 2009-11-11.</ref>

Many casual expositions of '''ABCT''' say things like, "The business cycle is not a feature of the free market, but instead is caused by the manipulations of the central bank." But it is far more accurate to say that ABCT blames the boom-bust cycle on [[fractional reserve banking]]. Specifically, when banks are allowed to issue paper money (or increase customers' electronic bank deposits) without an actual act of saving by somebody in the economy, then the resulting drop in interest rates is artificial. The false interest rate sets in motion an unsustainable boom period, which leads people to erroneously consume [[capital]] and which creates the inevitable bust.

Government intervention is still very much involved here. Were it not for legal privileges granted to banks, the practice of fractional-reserve banking would be "regulated" by market competition. Even if banks were legally allowed to extend more loans than they had cash (or gold) in the vaults, they would be very cautious with their overissue so long as a [[bank run]] would spell ruin. Yet time and again, even before the establishment of central banks, governments would allow the banks to "suspend specie payment" during panics. This practice of absolving privileged bankers of their legal obligations was simply institutionalized (in the United States) with the creation of the Federal Reserve. It is no coincidence that the worst boom-bust in US history occurred sixteen years after the formation of the modern American central bank.
<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/story/3466 "Correcting Quiggin on Austrian Business-Cycle Theory"], Mises Daily: Monday, May 25, 2009, referenced 2009-11-11.</ref>

===Rational Expectations===
"If investors correctly anticipate that a decline in interest rates will be temporary, they won't evaluate long-term investments on the basis of current rates. So, the Austrian story requires either a failure of rational expectations, or a capital market failure that means that individuals rationally choose to make "bad" investments on the assumption that someone else will bear the cost. And if either of these conditions apply, there's no reason to think that market outcomes will be optimal in general."<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian" />

First off, free individuals often make mistakes — even systematic mistakes. But even perfectly rational entrepreneurs who know a boom is underway cannot prevent their more reckless competitors from taking cheap (or now free) government loans and bidding away scarce resources. Workers don't care whether their paychecks come from genuine saving or from the printing press, and every few years there is always a fresh crop of naïve employers willing to borrow money and start new projects.

Second, Austrians emphasize that interest rates ''communicate information'' to entrepreneurs. In some critiques it seems that "everybody knows" that the true interest rate ought to be 5 percent, and so the central bank's efforts to push it down to 3 percent should be easily corrected. Yet nobody knows what the truly free-market [[interest rate]] is. That's why market prices are important in the first place, and why government distortions of these prices lead to real imbalances in the economy.<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin" />

Entrepreneurs don't need to speculate about a change in consumers’ "rate of [[time preference]]", or about the "supply of capital goods". An individual entrepreneur is concerned only with a very small set of market prices, namely, the prices of the inputs she will need for her projects, and the prices for which these products will sell. That’s the whole point of relying on the market rates of interest and other prices — it eliminates the need for individuals to speculate about aggregates that are far too complex for any single mind to comprehend.

Also, some expositions of ABCT assume an initial free market state, and then analyze the impact of a one-shot [[intervention]]. But in reality the government of each major country intervene permanently in the credit market by the creation of a central bank (or a centralized system of banks). Actors in these economies have no idea what the free market rate of interest would be in the absence of such interference; even if the rates were raised, the new rate could still be below the "natural rate".<ref name="Murphy_rational">Robert P. Murphy. [http://consultingbyrpm.com/files/2009.05.14%20ABCTRatExp%20Excerpt.pdf "The Rational Expectations Objection to Austrian Business Cycle Theory: Prisoner’s Dilemma or Noisy Signal?"] (pdf), last updated May 25, 2005, referenced 2009-11-12.</ref>

===Investment vs. Consumption===
If booms are driven by mistaken beliefs that investments have become more profitable, and labor and other resources are channeled into projects not compatible with the overall level of real savings, then consumption should go down, say some critics. But booms are characterized by high, not low, consumption. If the government can't make the economy more productive by pushing down interest rates, how could businesses possibly produce more investment and consumption goods during the boom?<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian" /><ref name="Cowen_ABCT">Tyler Cowen. [http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/10/paul-krugman-on.html "Paul Krugman on Austrian trade cycle theory"], posted on October 14, 2008, referenced 2009-11-14.</ref>

The answer is in the Austrian approach to [[capital]] theory. The low interest rates of the boom period mislead entrepreneurs into borrowing too much, but they also mislead consumers into borrowing too much and saving too little. This is physically possible because resources that otherwise would have gone into replenishing the capital structure are instead devoted to new projects or additional consumption goods. This "eating of the seed corn" can take a while to manifest in a complex, modern economy.<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin" />

====Unemployment in the boom====
In a similar vein, it is pointed out that there is generally no period of high [[unemployment]] when resources are transferred out of consumption-producing sectors into investment goods-producing sectors. There is no necessity that the transfer of resources out of investment goods-producing sectors be accompanied by high unemployment.<ref name="DeLong_ABCT">Brad DeLong. [http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/04/what-is-austrian-economics.html "What Is Austrian Economics?"], April 2010, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref>

Suppose we start in an original equilibrium position, where unemployment is at the "natural" rate, reflecting the normal turnover of workers as some businesses fail, etc. Then a $100 billion in crisp new bills is printed, and handed out to bankers. The banks lend the new money to employers, who enter the labor market with the fresh wads of cash in their pockets. Armed with the money that was just created out of thin air, the employers bid up wage rates. Seeing the higher pay, many workers quit their current jobs and take new positions in the expanding sectors. Also, some previously unemployed workers end their job search and take positions with the employers who got their hands on the new $100 billion. There is no reason for unemployment to go up in the scenario just described.

But when the the influx of new money is cut off, the underlying economic fundamentals will reassert themselves. The workers who had been drawn into the expanding sectors by new money weren't ''supposed'' to move to those sectors. The employers in the boom sectors will lose their advantage over their competitors in other sectors. Without being propped up artificially by cheap money, the bloated boom sectors will realize their unprofitability. They will cut back on operations and lay off workers.

And why don't the laid-off workers move seamlessly back into the original niches from which they came? Why does a massive reservoir of unemployed workers build up after the bust, when no such reservoir built up during the boom? The answer is pretty simple: Workers are more eager to quit and take a better job than to be laid off and take a worse job. During the boom, workers are drawn into the expanding sectors by the promise of higher wages. They aren't forced into the expanding sectors by getting let go from their original position; instead they voluntarily leave. No less important is the '''capital consumption''' during the boom period. Society "eats the seed corn" through [[malinvestment]].<ref name="Murphy_explain">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/3387 "Austrians Can Explain the Boom and the Bust"], Mises Daily, March 2009, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref>

===There was no inflation as measured by the CPI===
Some critics point out, that if prices did not rise (the CPI did not rise excessively) there was really no inflation. There was no wave of rising consumer price inflation in the 2000s.<ref name="DeLong_ABCT" />

However, as the [[CPI]] is an arbitrary index of prices, it does not necessarily capture the "true" inflation picture.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/why-you-shouldnt-trust-the-core-cpi-numbers/ You shouldn't trust the CPI numbers]</ref> For example, in the 2000s, there was an unprecedented spike in house price inflation fuelled by credit growth. This is a form of inflation, but was not fully picked up in the inflation figures, which focus more on consumer goods.

Expansionary monetary policy makes prices higher than they otherwise would have been. For example, the extraordinary interventions in late 2008 — in which the M1 measure of the monetary stock rose 12 percent over a three-month period — went hand-in-hand with falling prices. Prices should have fallen in response to the bursting bubble. Prices would have fallen more, were it not for a floor under them with an aggressive influx of new money. At the same time, house prices rose at unusual rates during the boom years.<ref name="Murphy_Fed">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/3252 "Evidence that the Fed Caused the Housing Boom"], Mises Daily, December 2008, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref><ref name="Murphy_explain" />

Murray Rothbard stressed that the stock-market [[Late 1920s bubble|bubble of the late 1920s]] — fueled by the Fed's policies — did not coincide with rampant ''consumer''-price inflation - but did produce "inflation" if the term is used to describe a situation in which the money supply is expanding and the dollar is losing value.<ref name="Murphy_Chicago">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/4875 "The Fed: The Chicago School's Achilles Heel"], see also [http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?&chart_type=line&graph_id=&category_id=&recession_bars=On&width=630&height=378&bgcolor=%23B3CDE7&graph_bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&txtcolor=%23000000&ts=8&preserve_ratio=true&fo=ve&id=CPIAUCNS&transformation=l graphic]. ''Mises Daily'', December 13, 2010. Referenced 2010-12-14.</ref>

===Magnitude of a depression===
Some critics and adherents of the ABCT misunderstand it if they think it is some sort of comprehensive theory of the boom, breaking point, and length/depth of the bust. It isn't. The theory by itself is a theory of the unsustainable boom. It is a theory that explains why driving the market rate of interest below the natural rate through expansionary monetary policy produces a boom that contains endogenous processes that will cause that boom to turn to a bust.

ABCT tells us nothing about exactly when the boom will break and the precise factors that will cause it. The theory claims that eventually costs will rise in such a way that make it clear that the longer-term production processes falsely induced by the boom will not be profitable, leading to their abandonment. But it says nothing about ''which'' projects will be undertaken in ''which'' markets and ''which'' costs (other than perhaps the loan rate) will rise, and it tells us nothing about the ''timing'' of those events. We know it ''has to happen'', but the where and when are unique, not typical, features of business cycles.

Once the turning point is reached, ABCT tells us little to nothing about how the bust will play out. Yes, we know that further inflation and interventionist attempts to prevent the necessary reallocation of resources will make matters worse, but the theory by itself doesn't tell us a priori how this will play out in any given historical circumstance. The ABCT is ''not a theory of the causes of the length and depth of recessions/depressions, but a theory of the unsustainable boom''.

For one example, the ABCT cannot explain the entirety of the [[Great Depression]]. What ABCT can explain (at least potentially) is why there was a recession at all in 1929. It argues that it was the result of an unsustainable boom initiated by an excess supply of money at some point in the 1920s. The bigger the boom, ''[[ceteris paribus]]'', the worse the bust, but even that doesn't tell us much. Once the turning point is reached, there's not a lot that ABCT can say other than to let the healing process unfold unimpeded.

The same can be said of the most recent boom and bust, where ABCT can help us explain why the boom was unsustainable and necessitated a bust, but it cannot, by itself, explain why the housing market was front and center and why it turned into a financial crisis as well. Nor can it explain the lingering slow recovery in and of itself. Note that if the ABCT is a theory of the unsustainable boom, then a recession caused by other factors would not invalidate the ABCT.<ref name="Horwitz_Cannot">Steven Horwitz. [http://www.coordinationproblem.org/2012/02/what-the-austrian-business-cycle-theory-can-and-cannot-explain.html "What the Austrian Business Cycle Theory Can and Cannot Explain"], ''Coordination Problem'', February 11, 2012. Referenced 2013-01-04.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Ponzi scheme]]

==Links==
* [http://mises.org/Community/wikis/economics/austrian-business-cycle-theory-learning-materials.aspx Full collection] Austrian Business Cycle Theory learning materials and resources at [[Mises.org]]
* [http://mises.org/daily/672 "Austrian Business Cycle Theory: A Brief Explanation"] by Dan Mahoney, May 2001
* [http://mises.org/daily/2673 "Why Don't Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Business Cycle?"] by Brian J. Stanley, August 2007
* [http://mises.org/daily/4730 "Are the Austrians Too Harsh?"] by [[John P. Cochran]], October 2010
* [http://mises.org/daily/4682 "Putting Austrian Business-Cycle Theory to the Test"] by Robert P. Murphy, October 2010
*[http://www.anarcocapitalista.com/JHSLSE10.htm "Financial Crisis and Economic Recession"] by [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]]
* [http://mises.org/resources/666 "Austrian Business Cycles, Plucking Models, and Real Business Cycles"] by John P. Cochran, 2001
* [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.196.6182&rep=rep1&type=pdf Empirical Evidence on the Austrian Business Cycle Theory] (pdf) by James P. Keeler, 2001
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCmwRN5gjOo ABCT described by Tom Woods] (video)
* [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/behind-business-cycles Behind Business Cycles] (video) by Steve Patterson, October 2013
* {{cb|2013/08/mises-and-hayek-at-columbia-and-the-bank-of-international-settlements/|Mises and Hayek at Columbia and the Bank of International Settlements|John P. Cochran|August 2013}}
* [https://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae15_1_1.pdf A Reformulation of Austrian Business Cycke Theory in Light of the Financial Crisis] (pdf) Joseph T. Salerno, 2012

* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Austrian School of Economics]]
[[Category:Economic concepts]]

List of Austrian School economists

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Pestergaines: Fixed link

{{wikipedia text|List of Austrian School economists|462907689}}

{{dynamic list}}
[[Image:Menger.gif|thumb|right|[[Carl Menger]] (1840 – 1921), founder of the Austrian School.]]
The [[economist]]s aligned with the [[Austrian School]] are sometimes colloquially called "the Austrians" even though few hold [[Austria]]n citizenship, and not all economists from Austria subscribe to the ideas of the Austrian School.

==Austrian economists==
===A-F===
* [[Benjamin Anderson]]
* [[William L. Anderson]]
* [[William Barnett II]]<ref>[http://www.business.loyno.edu/faculty-staff/william-barnett-ii-phd Chase Distinguished Professor of International Business and Professor of Economics]</ref>
* [[Walter Block]]
* [[Peter Boettke]]<ref>[http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/pboettke/index.html Peter J. Boettke's GMU faculty webpage]</ref>
* [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]]
* [[Donald J. Boudreaux]]
* [[Gene Callahan (economist)|Gene Callahan]]
* [[Tony Carilli]]<ref name=GMU/>
* [[Christopher Coyne (professor)|Christopher Coyne]]
* [[Daniel D'Amico]]<ref>[http://www.business.loyno.edu/faculty-staff/daniel-damico Assistant Professor of Economics] </ref>
* [[Gregory Dempster]]<ref name=GMU>[http://www.gmu.edu/rae/archives/VOL14_4_2001/4_carilli&dempster.pdf George Mason University site]</ref>
* [[Thomas DiLorenzo]]
* [[Richard Ebeling]]
* [[Karel Engliš]]<ref>[http://www.brno.cz/index.php?nav01=2222&nav02=2220&lan=en&nav03=2447&idosobnosti=10 Karel Englis, Economist, politician]</ref>
* [[Marc Faber]]
* [[Antal E. Fekete]]
* [[Frank Fetter]]

===G-Q===
* [[Roger Garrison]]
* [[David Gordon (philosopher)|David Gordon]]
* [[Gottfried Haberler|Gottfried von Haberler]]
* [[Friedrich Hayek]]
* [[Henry Hazlitt]]
* [[Robert Higgs]]
* [[Randall G. Holcombe]]
* [[Hans-Hermann Hoppe]]
* [[Steven Horwitz]]
* [[William Harold Hutt]]
* [[Ubiratan Iorio]]<ref>[http://www.ubirataniorio.org/ Webpage of Professor Ubiratan Iorio]</ref>
* [[Israel Kirzner]]
* [[Peter G. Klein]]
* [[Ludwig Lachmann]]
* [[Don Lavoie]]
* [[Henri Lepage (economist)|Henri Lepage]]
* [[Peter Leeson]]
* [[Roderick Long]]
* [[Fritz Machlup]]
* [[Carl Menger]]
* [[Ludwig von Mises]]
* [[Robert P. Murphy]]
* [[Gary North (Christian Reconstructionist)|Gary North]]
* [[Frederick Nymeyer]]
* [[Ernest C. Pasour]]
* [[David Prychitko]]

===R-Z===
* [[Ralph Raico]]
* [[Lawrence Reed]]
* [[George Reisman]]
* [[Kurt Richebächer]]
* [[Lew Rockwell]]
* [[Jim Rogers]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Paul Rosenstein-Rodan]]
* [[Russell Roberts (economist)|Russell Roberts]]
* [[Joseph Salerno]]
* [[Pascal Salin]]
* [[Joseph Schumpeter]]
* [[Hans Sennholz]]
* [[Jesús Huerta de Soto]]
* [[Mark Thornton]]
* [[Lawrence H. White]]
* [[Friedrich von Wieser]]

==Related lists==
* [[List of economists]]
* [[List of liberal theorists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/bawerk/austrian The Austrian Economists by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk 1891]
* [http://it.stlawu.edu/sdae Society for the Development of Austrian Economics] Largest professional organization of Austrian economists
* [http://www.liberty-page.com/issues/austrian/main.html/ Austrian School Economists] from Mark Valenti's Liberty Page
{{Austrian economists}}
[[Category:Austrian School economists|*]]
[[Category:Economics lists]]
[[Category:Lists of economists|Austrian School economists]]

Money substitutes

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Pestergaines: Created initial page.

A '''money substitute''' consists of a secure and immediately convertible claim to [[money]]. A money substitute is not money, but is used as such.<ref name="Mises_substitute">[[Ludwig von Mises]]. [[The Theory of Money and Credit]], [https://mises.org/books/Theory_money_Credit/Part1_Ch3.aspx Chapter 3, The Various Kinds of Money - 1 Money and Money Substitutes]. Referenced 2014-01-07.</ref>

==Nature==
According to Mises, '''money substitutes''' are claims to a definite amount of money, payable and redeemable on demand, against a debtor about whose solvency and willingness to pay there does not prevail the slightest doubt, render to the individual all the services money can render, provided that all parties with whom he could possibly transact business are perfectly familiar with these essential qualities of the claims concerned: daily maturity as well as undoubted solvency and willingness to pay on the part of the debtor. We may call such claims money-substitutes, as they can fully replace money in an individual's or a firm's cash holding. The technical and legal features of the money-substitutes do not concern catallactics. A money-substitute can be embodied either in a banknote or in a demand deposit with a bank subject to check ("checkbook money" or deposit currency), provided the bank is prepared to exchange the note or the deposit daily free of charge against money proper. Token coins are also money-substitutes, provided the owner is in a position to exchange them at need, free of expense and without delay, against money. To achieve this it is not required that the government be bound by law to redeem them. What counts is the fact that these tokens can be really converted free of expense and without delay. If the total amount of token coins issued is kept within reasonable limits, no special provisions on the part of the government are necessary to keep their exchange value at par with their face value. The demand of the public for small change gives everybody the opportunity to exchange them easily against pieces of money. The main thing is that every owner of a money-substitute is perfectly certain that it can, at every instant and free of expense, be exchanged against money.<ref name="Mises_Indirect">[[Ludwig von Mises]]. [[Human Action]], [https://mises.org/humanaction/chap17sec11.asp Chapter XVII. Indirect Exchange - 11. The Money-Substitutes ]. Referenced 2014-01-07.</ref>

==Types and terminology==
Apart from paper notes, the main types of such substitutes are token [[coins]], certificates of deposit, checking accounts, credit cards, and electronic bank accounts on the [[Internet]].<ref name="Hulsmann_certificates">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], Chapter 2. Money certificates p.35-41, referenced 2009-05-10</ref>

If the debtor--the government or a bank--keeps against the whole amount of money-substitutes a 100% reserve of money proper, it is called a '''money-certificate'''. The individual money-certificate is a representative of a corresponding amount of money dept in the reserve. The issuing of money-certificates does not increase the quantity of things suitable to satisfy the demand for money for cash holding. Changes in the quantity of money-certificates therefore do not alter the supply of money and the money relation. They do not play any role in the determination of the purchasing power of money.

If the money reserve kept by the debtor against the money-substitutes issued is less than the total amount of such substitutes, we call that amount of substitutes which exceeds the reserve '''[[fiduciary media]]'''. As a rule it is not possible to ascertain whether a concrete specimen of money-substitutes is a money-certificate or a fiduciary medium. A part of the total amount of money-substitutes issued is usually covered by a money reserve held. Thus a part of the total amount of money-substitutes issued is money certificates, the rest fiduciary media. But this fact can only be recognized by those familiar with the bank's balance sheets. The individual banknote, deposit, or token coin does not indicate its catallactic character.<ref name="Mises_Indirect" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [https://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae14_2_1.pdf Money or Money Substitutes? Implications of Selgin's Small Change Challenge] (pdf) by Malavika Nair, 2011
* {{md|5028|Lost in a Maze of Money Aggregates?|Robert P. Murphy|February 2011}}
* {{md|6104|Let Unsound Money Wither Away|Joseph T. Salerno|July 2012}}

[[Category:Economic concepts]]

Money

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Pestergaines: /* Money substitutes */ +link

{{RightTOC}}
'''Money''' is a commonly used [[medium of exchange]].<ref name="Goods">Ludwig von Mises. [http://mises.org/humanaction/chap17sec1.asp "1. Media of Exchange and Money"], ''Chapter XVII. Indirect exchange'', [[Human Action]], online edition, referenced 2009-04-27.</ref> People wishing to achieve their ends often have to [[trade]]. They can exchange their [[good]]s ''directly'', if they have matching preferences and suitable goods, or ''indirectly'', with the help of another good, the ''medium of exchange''.

==Medium of exchange and money==
{{Main|Medium of exchange}}
Jones can trade an apple against two eggs from Brown. But this direct exchange or [[Trade#Direct Exchange|barter]] limits the number of exchanges and the extent of social cooperation. Both must have a direct personal need for the goods of the other person (this problem is called the "[[Coincidence of wants|double coincidence of wants]]") and the goods must be easily divided. Using another, marketable good between the traded and desired goods and services helps to reduce some of the problems.

: Indirect exchange means, "''if, between the commodities and services, that are the ultimate end of exchanging, are one or several media of exchange.''"<ref name="Goods" />

Another grave problem with a world of barter is that it is impossible for any business [[firm]] to '''calculate''' how it's doing, whether it is making profits or incurring losses, beyond a very primitive estimate. Suppose that you are a business firm, and you are trying to calculate your income, and your expenses, for the previous month. And you list your income: "let's see, last month we took in 20 yards of string, 3 codfish, 4 cords of lumber, 3 bushels of wheat. . . etc.," and "we paid out: 5 empty barrels, 8 pounds of cotton, 30 bricks, 5 pounds of beef." How in the world could you figure out how well you are doing? Once a money is established in an economy, however, business calculation becomes easy: "Last month, we took in 500, and paid out 450. Net profit, 50." The development of a general medium of exchange, then, is a crucial requisite to the development of any sort of flourishing market economy.<ref name="Rothbard_money">[[Murray N. Rothbard]]. [http://mises.org/books/fed.pdf The Case Against the Fed] (pdf), The Genesis of Money, p.12-15, referenced 2010-03-18.</ref>

A [[commodity]] that comes into general use as a medium of exchange is money. The concept of a "medium of exchange" is precise. But when exactly comes a medium of exchange into "common" or "general" use is not strictly definable. Whether or not is a medium money can be decided only by the judgment of the historian. Since there is a great tendency on the market for a medium of exchange to become money, it is called money for simplification.<ref name="Rothbard_medium">Murray N. Rothbard [http://mises.org/rothbard/mes/chap3a.asp#2._Emergence_of_Indirect "2. The Emergence of Indirect Exchange"] Chapter 3-The Pattern of indirect exchange, ''[[Man, Economy and State]]'', online edition, referenced 2009-05-05.</ref>

Note that money is still a [[good]] - the most marketable good. Money is valuable to the extent that others are willing to accept it in exchange. But, money itself must first have originated as a directly serviceable good before it could become an indirectly serviceable good.<ref name="Mahoney_money">Dan Mahoney. [http://mises.org/story/672 "Austrian Business Cycle Theory: A Brief Explanation"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-06-17.</ref>

==Origin and properties==
In the history of mankind, a great variety of commodities — cattle, shells, nails, tobacco, cotton, copper, silver, gold, stone wheels<ref name="Friedman_Yap">Milton Friedman. [http://hoohila.stanford.edu/workingpapers/getWorkingPaper.php?filename=E-91-3.pdf "The Island of Stone Money"] (pdf), The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, February 1991, referenced 2009-08-14.</ref>, and so on, have been used as media of exchange. In the most developed societies, the precious metals have eventually been preferred to all other goods because of their physical characteristics ([[scarcity]], durability, divisibility, distinct look and sound, homogeneity through space and time, malleability, and beauty).<ref name="Hulsmann_money">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], online version, 2. The Origin and Nature of Money, p.22-24, referenced 2009-05-08.</ref>

For a good to become money, it must have the physical properties and be considered valuable by itself. The [[price]] of a good, when employed only for nonmonetary purposes, is a good starting point to estimate its price for use as a money. Should the good stop being money, it will still have [[value]] due its other uses.<ref name="Hulsmann_money" />

Historically, there were often several types of money used concurrently and for different purposes. For example, [[silver]] tended to be widespread in daily use, while [[gold]] served for larger and international transactions. Livestock<ref name="Davies">Davies, Glyn. [http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/origins.html "A history of money from ancient times to the present day"], Origins of Money and of Banking, referenced 2009-05-09.</ref> was for ages associated with wealth (and while it is bulky, it can be easily transported). The role of cigarettes<ref>R. A. Radford. [http://www.albany.edu/~mirer/eco110/pow.html "The Economic Organisation of a P.O.W. Camp"], ''[[Wikipedia:Economica|Economica]]'', vol. 12, 1945, referenced 2009-05-09.</ref> in prisons is also well documented.

In the present, money is mostly in the form of [[coin]]s and [[banknote]]s.

{{See also|History of money and banking}}

===Commodity money===
The emergence of money happens through a gradual process, in the course of which more and more market participants, each for himself, decide to use one [[commodity]] rather than others in their indirect exchanges. Thus the historical selection of gold, silver, and copper was not made through some sort of a social contract or convention. Rather, it resulted from the spontaneous convergence of many individual choices, a convergence that was prompted through the objective physical characteristics of the precious metals. Money selected in the free market. i.e. money that comes into use by the voluntary cooperation of acting persons, is also called ''natural money''.<ref name="Hulsmann_money" />

By adding a new component to the pre-existing (barter) demand for these goods, their marketability is still further enhanced. Based on their perception of this fact, other market participants increasingly choose the same goods for their inventory of exchange media, as it is in their own interest to select media of exchange that are already employed by others for the same purpose. Initially, a variety of goods may be in demand as common media of exchange. However, since a good is demanded as a medium of exchange to facilitate future purchases of directly serviceable goods (i.e., to help one buy more cheaply) and simultaneously widen one's market as a seller of directly useful goods and services (i.e., help one sell more dearly), the more widely a commodity is used as a medium of exchange, the better it will perform its function.<ref name="Hoppe_money">Hans-Hermann Hoppe. [http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE7_2_3.pdf "How is Fiat Money Possible? - or, The Devolution of Money and Credit"] (pdf), The Review of Austrian Economics Vol.7, No. 2 (1994). Referenced 2010-04-28.</ref>

Because each market participant naturally prefers the acquisition of a more marketable and, in the end, universally marketable medium of exchange to that of a less or non-universally marketable one, "there would be an inevitable tendency for the less marketable of the series of goods used as media of exchange to be one by one rejected until at last only a single commodity remained, which was universally employed as a medium of exchange; in a word, money."<ref name="Mises_origin">Ludwig von Mises. [http://mises.org/books/tmc.pdf "Theory of Money and Credit"] (pdf), p.32-33, referenced 2010-04-28.</ref>

===Fiat money===
Money did not and never could begin by some arbitrary social contract, or by some government agency decreeing that everyone has to accept the tickets it issues. Even coercion could not force people and institutions to accept meaningless tickets that they had not heard of or that bore no relation to any other pre-existing money.<ref name="Rothbard_money" />

If anyone could produce [[paper money]] on their own, without backing by an underlying commodity, a [[hyperinflation]] would soon follow. Free entry into the note-production business must be restricted, and a money [[monopoly]] must be established. Fiat money can be only established via the development of money substitutes (paper titles to commodity money) - but only fraudulently and only at the price of economic inefficiencies. [[Wikipedia:Hans-Hermann Hoppe|Hoppe]] speaks of the "devolution" of money.<ref name="Hoppe_money" />
{{Main|Fiat Money}}

==Types==

===Commodity money===
As the more marketable [[Commodity|commodities]] in any society begin to be picked by individuals as media of exchange, their choices will quickly focus on the few most marketable commodities available. The demand for these commodities has now an additional component - not only for their direct use, but also for their use as a medium of exchange. This increase in the demand greatly increases their marketability. If e.g. butter begins as one of the most marketable commodities and is therefore more and more chosen as a medium, this increase in the demand for butter greatly increases the very marketability that makes it useful as a medium in the first place. The process is cumulative, with the most marketable commodities becoming enormously more marketable and with this increase spurring their use as media of exchange. The process continues, with an ever-widening gap between the marketability of the medium and the other commodities, until finally one or two commodities are far more marketable than any others and are in general use as media of exchange.<ref name="Rothbard_medium" />

===Money substitutes===
{{Main|Money substitutes}}
Or ''money certificates'', are placeholders for actual money, that is stored in a [[bank]] and can be redeemed at any time by the present owner of the note. Instead of trading e.g. silver, people would trade with notes representing the silver. Apart from paper notes, the main types of such substitutes are token coins, certificates of deposit, checking accounts, credit cards, and electronic bank accounts on the [[Internet]]. The advantage are lower transaction costs, the downside is a greater potential for abuse (and historically, this lure appeared to be irresistible).<ref name="Hulsmann_certificates">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], Chapter 2. Money certificates p.35-41, referenced 2009-05-10</ref>

===Credit money===
Credit money is created when financial instruments are used in indirect exchange. It is only a derived kind of money: it receives its [[value]] from an expected future redemption. For example, an [[Wikipedia:IOU (debt)|IOU]] can be accepted by others, if they trust the reputation of the issuer of [[debt]]. This risk of [[default]] also limits its application.

"Not surprisingly, therefore, credit money has reached wider circulation only when the credit was denominated in terms of some commodity money, when the reputation of the issuer was beyond doubt, and when it was the only way to quickly provide the government with the funds needed to
conduct large-scale war."<ref name="Hulsmann_credit_money">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], 2. The origin and nature of Money, p.28-29, referenced 2009-05-10</ref>

===Fiat money===
{{Main|Fiat Money}}
Often called '''paper money''', fiat money is in a wider sense any money declared to be [[Legal tender|legal tender]] by government ''fiat''. In the narrower sense used here, fiat money is an [[Wikipedia:intrinsic|intrinsically]] useless good used as a means of payment and a storable object.<ref>Walsh, Carl E. Monetary Theory and Policy, The MIT Press 2003, ISBN 978-0-262-23231-9, [http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=4&q=http://books.google.com/books%3Fid%3DeX3n3LSZVrIC%26dq%3DWalsh,%2BCarl%2BE.%2BMonetary%2BTheory%2Band%2BPolicy%26printsec%3Dfrontcover%26source%3Dbn%26hl%3Den&ei=kCwHSuypIoGH_Qb99sXcBg&usg=AFQjCNFILyic0qj63G7aiTnMpix5BJaRDQ&ei=kCwHSuypIoGH_Qb99sXcBg&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4 online version], referenced 2009-05-10.</ref> All modern paper [[Currency|currencies]] are fiat money.

There are many reported advantages to fiat money as opposed to commodity-based money, among them:
* much lower costs of production
* the quantity can be easily modified to suit the needs of trade
* the quantity can be easily modified to stabilize the value of the money unit.

The main risk of this money is the possibility of a complete loss of value.

{{See also|For and against paper money}}

===Electronic money===
The information technologies have been able to develop very efficient and beneficial new instruments to access and transfer. But no purely electronic money has been produced so far, except for government money, which is free from competition.<ref name="Hülsmann_fiat">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], Chapter 1., 5. Paper Money and the Free Market, p. 29-33, referenced 2009-05-10.</ref> A possible candidate for a purely electronic money, which is currently in the experimental stage, is [[bitcoin]].

==Production of money==
The [[production]] of additional units of money will decrease the value of already existing units. Those owning these additional units will tend to pay more money for goods and services or demand additional goods and services, and demand in turn more money when selling their own goods and services. Thusly, the production of money has a tendency to raise money [[price]]s, starting from the producers of money and spreading to other economical actors.

In the free market, the amount of money produced depends in the free market on the consumers. They decide not only the amount of goods (or money) to be produced, but also the the types of money widely used. Historically, coins of several metals and alloys were used concurrently, this appears to be the natural state of things.

It is often asserted, that higher money prices benefit debtors, as it lowers the relative value of their debts. This may not always be the case: if the lender's estimate of the rising prices is too high, the debtor may end up paying more on account of the expected [[inflation]].

The final and possibly most important effect of a rising [[money supply]] is in its timing - the positive effect of "having more money" benefits the producer of money and those getting it first; while the negative effects impact the latecomers. This redistribution of of wealth and rising prices may be limited to some degree, but cannot be avoided.<ref name="Hulsmann_production">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [[The Ethics of Money Production]], Chapter 3 Money within the Market Process, referenced 2009-05-10.</ref>

===The optimal quantity of money===
For all products except money, an increase is socially beneficial, since it means that production and living standards have increased in response to consumer demand. If steel or bread or houses are more plentiful and cheaper than before, everyone‘s standard of living benefits. But an increase in the [[Money supply|supply of money]] cannot relieve the natural scarcity of consumer or capital goods; all it does is to make the money cheaper, that is, lower its purchasing power in terms of all other goods and services. Once a good has been established as money on the market, then, it exerts its full power as a mechanism of exchange or an instrument of calculation. All that an increase in the quantity of dollars can do is to dilute the effectiveness, the purchasing-power, of each money. Hence, the great truth of monetary theory emerges: once a commodity is in sufficient supply to be adopted as a money, no further increase in the supply of money is needed. Any quantity of money in society is "optimal." Once a money is established, an increase in its supply confers no social benefit.<ref name="Rothbard_money" />

This is not the situation with '''commodity money'''. Money originally emerged from an ordinary commodity that people demanded because it contributed tangible benefits to their life and well being - one of them the service of a medium of exchange. Therefore, an increase of the production of commodity means more useful goods.<ref name="Shostak">Frank Shostak. [http://mises.org/daily/1596 "The Subsistence Fund"], Mises Daily, August 2004, referenced 2010-05-10.</ref>

==Using money==
Money can be employed in several ways:<ref name="Mahoney_money" />

* Money can be held. Holding it "buys" alleviation from a currently felt uneasiness about an [[Uncertainty|uncertain]] future. If the future seems more uncertain, people will increase their cash holdings.
* Money can be used to buy consumer [[good]]s. People increase their consumption if their time preference rises.
* Finally, it can be [[Saving|saved]], to buy producer goods and so form [[capital]]. People save because their [[Time preference|time preference]] falls.

==Monies over the course of history==
According to a study of 775 present and historical [[Currency|currencies]] by DollarDaze.org, twenty percent failed through hyperinflation, 21% were destroyed by war, 12% ended by independence, 24% were monetarily reformed, and 23% are still in circulation.<ref name="Hewitt_Fate">Mike Hewitt. [http://dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00405 "The Fate of Paper Money"], ''DollarDaze.org'', January 7th, 2009. Referenced 2011-08-17.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
===Bibliography===
* {{Cite journal
|last=Bastiat|first=Frédéric|authorlink=Frédéric Bastiat
|title=What Is Money?
|journal=[[Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics|The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics]]
|volume=5|issue=3
|year=2002
|pages=87-105
|doi=10.1007/s12113-002-1033-4
|url=http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae5_3_7.pdf
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Hülsmann|first=Jörg Guido|authorlink=Jörg Guido Hülsmann
|title=[[The Ethics of Money Production]]
|publisher=[[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
|place=Auburn, Alabama
|year=2008
|isbn=978-1-933550-09-1
|oclc=370739249
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Menger|first=Carl|authorlink=Carl Menger
|title=On the Origins of Money
|publisher=[[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
|place=Auburn, Alabama
|year=2009
|url=http://mises.org/document/4984/On-the-Origins-of-Money
|isbn=978-1-933550-59-6
|oclc=664877242
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Mises|first=Ludwig von|authorlink=Ludwig von Mises
|title=[[The Theory of Money and Credit]]
|publisher=[[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
|place=Auburn, Alabama
|year=2009
|isbn=978-1-933550-55-8
|oclc=781455429
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Soto|first=Jesús Huerta de|authorlink=Jesús Huerta de Soto
|title=[[Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles]]
|publisher=[[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
|place=Auburn, Alabama
|year=2012
|isbn=978-1-61016-189-3
|oclc=807678778
}}

===Links===
* {{wplink}}
* {{md|1711|The Nature and Origin of Money|[[Carl Menger]]|Wednesday, January 05, 2005}}
* {{md|5213|What Is Money?|[[Frédéric Bastiat]]|Friday, May 27, 2011}}
* Murray N. Rothbard, [http://mises.org/rothbard/mes.asp Man, Economy and State], esp. Chapters 2 and 3
* Ludwig von Mises, [http://mises.org/resources/3250 Human Action], esp. Chapter XVII
* Frank A. Fetter, Economics In Two Volumes: [http://chestofbooks.com/finance/economics/Economics2-Modern-Economic-Problems/index.html Volume II. Modern Economic Problems]

[[Category:Money|*]]

Austrian Economics Wiki talk:Possible spam

2014-01-06T07:38:40Z

Pestergaines: Re

The idea behind this page is to let people note that a page is suspected spam so that they don't offend the user by adding [[:Category:Spam]] to his page. But, in a way that's like [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY7ZX6ngOSs saying], "Come here. What that? Look like spam to me. Pick up. '''''PICK UP!''''' Feel like spam? Smell. '''''SMELL!''''' Smell like spam? Taste. '''''TASTE!''''' Taste like spam? Good thing we don't step in it." [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 02:28, 6 January 2014 (EST)

==Possible spam==
*{{confirmed}} [[User:Jimmer308]]: I almost hit "delete" but gave the benefit of the doubt. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 00:29, 6 January 2014 (EST)

: Spam. I have added some criteria that will be hopefully helpful in identifying it. Sometimes, when it is really, really unclear whether a user is an actual human, the easiest thing can be to ask - if they don't answer within a few days, we can assume the negative. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:38, 6 January 2014 (EST)

Austrian Economics Wiki:Possible spam

2014-01-06T07:38:27Z

Pestergaines: An edit might be spam if...

If a page appears to be spam but you are unsure, either place it in [[:Category:Possible spam]] or post the wikilink here. Other editors may give their opinions on whether the page should be deleted.

==An edit might be spam if...==
A contribution may be considered spam and a user account may be considered a spam account if one or more of the following apply:

* The edit only consists from a link and accompanying text
* The link doesn't fit on the inserted location of the page, on the page or the wiki itself
* The link is of a commercial or advertising nature
* The user only created one edit and was never seen or heard from again
* User's homepage or talk page only consists of a link and accompanying text

Obviously, caution is advised when undoing user contributions. However, when it is too hard to discern whether a user is a living person or spambot, it is most likely a spambot. Legitimate users, please make yourselves identifiable as human beings.

[[Category:Mises Wiki]]

Austrian School

2014-01-06T07:12:04Z

Pestergaines: Undo revision 25291 by 182.253.51.162 (talk)

{{TOC right}}
The '''Austrian School of Economics''' is a [[Schools of economic thought|school of economic thought]] that derives its name from its [[Austrian]] founders and early supporters, including [[Carl Menger]], [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]] and [[Ludwig von Mises]].

Other significant [[Austrian]] writers and economists include [[Murray Rothbard]], Nobel Laureate [[Friedrich Hayek]] and journalist [[Henry Hazlitt]]. Current research is produced by, among many others, scholars from the [[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]], and "Austrian" economists can now come from any part of the world. They are identified with the School through their shared views on the nature of economic science and its proper methodology.

The school emphasizes the spontaneous organizing power of the price mechanism and holds that the complexity of subjective human choices makes mathematical modeling of the evolving market practically impossible and therefore its scholars eschew what they consider "naïve" and pointless mathematical modeling of the economy, considering much of mainstream economics a form of economic charlatanism.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3582 Keynesians Can't Predict], [[L. Albert Hahn]], ''The Freeman'', October 6, 1952</ref><ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/10768.cfm Tenured Austrian Economists]</ref> Its proponents tend to advocate the strong protection of private property rights and the strict enforcement of voluntary contractual agreements between economic agents, but otherwise advocate a laissez-faire approach to the economy and hold that the smallest imposition of coercive force (especially government-imposed force) on commercial transactions is the most effective way to secure long-run economic stability and well-being.

In particular, they voice serious concerns about the distorting and damaging effects of government involvement in commerce, arguing that few government regulations in this area are necessary or desirable and often trigger a "ratchet effect" as problems associated with existing regulations are often blamed on the free market, thereby justifying further damaging, coercive incursions into the market. They are particularly critical of long-standing governmental incursions into the area of private money production, advocating instead the immediate abolition of all coercive [[legal tender]] laws and the return to full reserve - or free - banking, where the financial system is decentralized and not dominated or controlled by coercive [[monopoly]] government or a monopoly [[central bank]].

==History==
While the Austrian School of Economics has connections as far back as the 15th century, it began with notable 19th century economists of Austrian origin. It is recognized to have emerged after the publication in 1871 of a trilogy of works (by [[William Stanley Jevons|Jevons]], [[Léon Walras|Walras]], and [[Carl Menger|Menger]]) which introduced the idea of the [[subjective theory of value]] and began what has been called “the [[marginal revolution]]” in economic thought.<ref>{{Citation | title = School of Thought: The Austrian School of Economics | publisher = [[Online Library of Liberty]] | url = http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Fcollection=8&Itemid=29&s=1 | accessdate = 2011-05-19}}</ref>

Other early theorists of the Austrian School were [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[Friedrich Hayek]], and [[Friedrich von Wieser]]. Austrian economists no longer need be from Austria, and the term describes a particular school of economic thought rather than the nationality of its practitioners.

===Pre-Austrian Economists===
With noted contributions of earlier thinkers, like [[Nicole Oresme]], the Austrian school traces its roots to the followers of St. Thomas Aquinas, writing and teaching at the [[School of Salamanca|University of Salamanca]] in Spain.

These Late scholastics established the first modern economic theories and argued, in current terms, for free [[trade]] and property rights. Over the course of several generations, they discovered and explained the laws of [[supply]] and [[demand]], the cause of [[inflation]], the operation of foreign exchange rates, and the subjective nature of economic [[value]]. They were advocates of property rights and the freedom to contract and trade. "Austrians share the scholastic belief that there is no such thing as an economic science dealing with autonomous variables. Economic problems are aspects of larger social phenomena; and it is most expedient to deal with them as such, rather than to analyze them in some twisted separation."<ref name="Hulsmann_scholastics">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [http://www.mises.org/books/moneyproduction.pdf "Ethics of Money Production"], online version, Introduction p. 12, referenced 2009-05-10.</ref>

The first general treatise on economics, [http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/cantillon/index.html Essay on the Nature of Commerce], was written in 1730 by [[Richard Cantillon]], a man schooled in the scholastic tradition. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to France. He saw economics as an independent area of investigation, and explained the formation of [[price]]s using the "thought experiment." He understood the market as an entrepreneurial process, and held to an Austrian theory of money creation: that it enters the economy in a step-by-step fashion, disrupting prices along the way.

Cantillon was followed by [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot]], the pro-market French aristocrat and finance minister under the ''ancien regime'', one of the [[Physiocrats]]. His economic writings were few but profound. His paper "Value and Money" spelled out the origins of money, and the nature of economic choice: that it reflects the subjective rankings of an individual's preferences. Turgot solved the famous [[Paradox of value|diamond-water paradox]] that baffled later classical economists, articulated the law of diminishing returns, and criticized usury laws (a sticking point with the Late Scholastics). He favored a classical liberal approach to economic policy, recommending a repeal of all special privileges granted to government-connected industries.

Turgot was the intellectual father of a long line of great French economists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, most prominently [[Jean-Baptiste Say]] and [[Frédéric Bastiat|Claude Frédéric Bastiat]]. Say was the first economist to think deeply about economic method. He realized that economics is not about the amassing of data, but rather about the verbal elucidation of universal facts (for example, wants are unlimited, means are scarce) and their logical implications.

Say discovered the productivity theory of resource pricing, the role of [[capital]] in the division of labor, and "[[Say's Law]]": there can never be sustained "overproduction" or "underconsumption" on the free market if prices are allowed to adjust. He was a defender of laissez-faire and the [[industrial revolution]], as was Bastiat. As a free-market journalist, Bastiat also argued that nonmaterial services are subject to the same economic laws as material [[good]]s. In one of his many economic allegories, Bastiat spelled out the "[[Parable of the broken window|broken-window fallacy]]" later popularized by [[Henry Hazlitt]].

Despite the theoretical sophistication of this developing pre-Austrian tradition, the [[Classical economics|British school]] of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries won the day, mostly for political reasons. This British tradition (based on the objective-cost and labor-productivity theory of value) ultimately led to the rise of the Marxist doctrine of capitalist exploitation.

===The First Austrians===
The dominant British tradition received its first serious challenge in many years when [[Carl Menger]]'s ''[[Principles of Economics]]'' was published in 1871. Menger, the founder of the Austrian School proper, resurrected the Scholastic-French approach to economics, and put it on firmer ground.

Together with the contemporaneous writings of [[Leon Walras]] and [[Stanley Jevons]], Menger spelled out the subjective basis of [[Value|economic value]], and fully explained, for the first time, the theory of [[Utility|marginal utility]] (the greater the number of units of a [[good]] that an individual possesses, the less he will value any given unit). In addition, Menger showed how money originates in a free market when the most marketable [[commodity]] is desired, not for consumption, but for use in trading for other goods.

Menger's book was a pillar of the "[[marginalist revolution]]" in the history of economic science. When Mises said it "made an economist" out of him, he was not only referring to Menger's theory of money and prices, but also his approach to the discipline itself. Like his predecessors in the tradition, Menger was a classical liberal and methodological individualist, viewing economics as the science of individual choice. His Investigations, which came out twelve years later, battled the [[Wikipedia:Historical school of economics|German Historical School]], which rejected theory and saw economics as the accumulation of data in service of the state. They took great exception to his defense of "theory" and gave the work of Menger and his followers the derogatory name "Austrian school" because of their faculty positions at the University of Vienna. The term stuck.<ref name="School">[http://mises.org/about/3467#Austrian_Economics "FAQ: What is Austrian Economics"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-27.</ref>

As professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and then tutor to the young but ill-fated [[Wikipedia:Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria|Crown Prince Rudol]]f of the House of Habsburg, Menger restored economics as the science of human action based on deductive [[logic]], and prepared the way for later theorists to counter the influence of socialist thought. Indeed, his student [[Friederich von Wieser]] strongly influenced Friedrich von Hayek's later writings. Menger's work remains an excellent introduction to the economic way of thinking.

Menger's admirer and follower at the University of Innsbruck, [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]], took Menger's exposition, reformulated it, and applied it to a host of new problems involving [[value]], [[price]], [[capital]], and interest. His ''[[History and Critique of Interest Theories]]'', appearing in 1884, is a sweeping account of fallacies in the history of thought and a firm defense of the idea that the interest rate is not an artificial construct but an inherent part of the market. It reflects the universal fact of "[[time preference]]," the tendency of people to prefer satisfaction of wants sooner rather than later (a theory later expanded and defended by [[Frank Fetter]]<ref name="Fetter">Jeffrey Herbener. [http://mises.org/about/3231 "Frank A. Fetter (1863-1949): A Forgotten Giant"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-28.</ref>).

Böhm-Bawerk's ''[[Positive Theory of Capital]]'' demonstrated that the normal rate of business profit is the interest rate. Capitalists [[Saving|save]] money, pay laborers, and wait until the final product is sold to receive profit. In addition, he demonstrated that [[capital]] is not homogeneous but an intricate and diverse structure that has a time dimension. A growing economy is not just a consequence of increased capital investment, but also of longer and longer processes of production.

Böhm-Bawerk engaged in a prolonged battle with the [[Marxian Economics|Marxists]] over the exploitation theory of capital, and refuted the socialist doctrine of capital and wages long before the communists came to power in Russia. Böhm-Bawerk also conducted a seminar that would later become the model for Mises's own Vienna seminar.

Böhm-Bawerk favored policies that deferred to the ever-present reality of economic law. He regarded interventionism as an attack on market economic forces that cannot succeed in the long run. In the last years of the Habsburg monarchy, he three times served as finance minister, fighting for balanced budgets, sound money and the [[gold standard]], free trade, and the repeal of export subsidies and other monopoly privileges.

===Mises and Hayek===
It was Böhm-Bawerk's research and writing that solidified the status of the Austrian School as a unified way of looking at economic problems, and set the stage for the School to make huge inroads in the English-speaking world. But one area where Böhm-Bawerk had not elaborated on the analysis of Menger was [[money]], the institutional intersection of the "micro" and "macro" approach. The young [[Ludwig von Mises]]<ref name="Mises">Murray N. Rothbard. [http://mises.org/about/3248 "Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-26.</ref>, economic advisor to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, took on the challenge.

The result of Mises's research was ''[[The Theory of Money and Credit]]'', published in 1912. He spelled out how the theory of [[Utility|marginal utility]] applies to [[money]], and laid out his "regression theorem," showing that money not only originates in the market, but must always do so. Drawing on the [[British Currency School|British Currency School]], [[Knut Wicksell]]'s theory of [[interest rate]]s, and Böhm-Bawerk's theory of the structure of production, Mises presented the broad outline of the [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|Austrian theory of the business cycle]]. A year later, Mises was appointed to the faculty of the University of Vienna, and Böhm-Bawerk's seminar spent a full two semesters debating Mises's book.

Mises's career was interrupted for four years by [[World War I]]. He spent three of those years as an artillery officer, and one as a staff officer in economic intelligence. 1919, at war's end, he published ''[[Nation, State, and Economy]]'', arguing on behalf of the economic and cultural freedoms of minorities in the now-shattered empire, and spelling out a theory of the economics of war. Meanwhile, Mises's monetary theory received attention in the U.S. through the work of [[Benjamin Anderson|Benjamin M. Anderson, Jr.]]<ref name="Anderson">Mark Thornton. [http://mises.org/about/3226 "Benjamin Anderson (1886-1949)"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-26.</ref>, an economist at [[Chase National Bank]]. (Mises's book was panned by [[John Maynard Keynes]], who later admitted he could not read German.{{Fact|reason=It would be cool to quote this somewhere.}})

In the political chaos after the war, the main theoretician of the now-socialist Austrian government was Marxist [[Otto Bauer]]. Knowing Bauer from the Böhm-Bawerk seminar, Mises explained economics to him night after night, eventually convincing him to back away from Bolshevik-style policies.{{fact|reason=It would be great to have a resource on this.}} The Austrian socialists never forgave Mises for this, waging war against him in academic politics and successfully preventing him from getting a paid professorship at the university.

Undeterred, Mises turned to the problem of socialism itself, writing a blockbuster essay in 1921, which he turned into the book ''[[Socialism (book)|Socialism]]'' over the next two years. Socialism permits no private property or exchange in [[capital goods]], and thus no way for resources to find their most highly valued use. Socialism, Mises predicted, would result in utter chaos and the end of civilization.

Mises challenged the socialists to explain, in economic terms, precisely how their system would work, a task which the socialists had hitherto avoided. The debate between the Austrians and the socialists continued for the next decade and beyond, and, until the collapse of world socialism in 1989, academics had long thought that the debate was resolved in favor of the socialists.

Meanwhile, Mises's arguments on behalf of the free market attracted a group of converts from the socialist cause, including [[Friedrich Hayek|Hayek]], [[Wilhelm Roepke]]<ref name="Roepke">Shawn Ritenour. [http://mises.org/about/3241 "Wilhelm Röpke (1899-1966): Humane Economist"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-27.</ref> , and [[Wikipedia:Lionel Robbins|Lionel Robbins]]. Mises began holding a private seminar in his offices at the Chamber of Commerce that was attended by [[Wikipedia:Fritz Machlup|Fritz Machlup]]<ref name="Machlup">Mark Thornton. [http://mises.org/about/3237 "Biography of Fritz Machlup (1902-1983)"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-27.</ref>, [[Wikipedia:Oskar Morgenstern|Oskar Morgenstern]], [[Wikipedia:Gottfried von Haberler|Gottfried von Haberler]]<ref name="Haberler">[http://mises.org/journals/aen/aen20_1_1.asp "Between Mises and Keynes An Interview with Gottfried von Haberler (1900-1995)"], ''The Austrian Economics Newsletter'' Spring 2000 Volume 20, Number 1, referenced 2009-04-27.</ref>, [[Wikipedia:Alfred Schutz|Alfred Schutz]]<ref name="Schutz">Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard. [http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae6_2_2.pdf "The Viennese Connection: Alfred Schutz and the Austrian School"](pdf), ''The Quarterly Journal Of Austrian Economics'' Vol.6, no.2, referenced 2009-04-27.</ref>, Richard von Strigl<ref name="Strigl">Jörg Guido Hülsmann. [http://mises.org/about/3243 "Richard von Strigl (1891-1942)"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-27.</ref>, [[Wikipedia:Eric Voegelin|Eric Voegelin]], [[Wikipedia:Paul Rosenstein-Rodan|Paul Rosenstein-Rodan]], and many other intellectuals from all over Europe.

Also during the 1920s and 30s, Mises was battling on two other academic fronts. He delivered the decisive blow to the [[Historical school of economics|German Historical School]] with a series of essays in defense of the deductive method in economics, which he would later call [[praxeology]] or the logic of [[action]]. He also founded the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research, and put his student Hayek in charge of it.

During these years, Hayek and Mises authored many studies on the [[business cycle]], warned of the danger of credit expansion, and predicted the coming currency crisis. This work was cited by the [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Nobel Memorial Prize]] committee in 1974 when Hayek received the award for economics. Working in England and America, Hayek later became a prime opponent of [[Keynesian economics]] with books on exchange rates, capital theory, and monetary reform. His popular book ''[[Road to Serfdom]]'' helped revive the classical liberal movement in America after the [[New Deal]] and [[World War II]]. And his series ''[[Law, Legislation, and Liberty]]'' ([http://books.google.com/books?id=wK49AAAAIAAJ&dq=Law,+Legislation+and+Liberty&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=YAvviNdntc&sig=ZdwmZeD_vlQzvUM5nIIs2xmqp50&hl=en#PPP1,M1 online]) elaborated on the Late Scholastic approach to law, and applied it to criticize egalitarianism and [[nostrums]] like [[social justice]].

===Outside of Austria===
In the late 1930s, after suffering from the [[Great Depression|worldwide depression]], Austria was threatened by a Nazi takeover. Hayek had already left for London in 1931 at Mises's urging, and in 1934, Mises himself moved to Geneva to teach and write at the [[Graduate Institute of International Studies|International Institute for Graduate Studies]], later emigrating to the United States. Knowing Mises as the sworn enemy of national socialism, the Nazis confiscated Mises's papers from his apartment and hid them for the duration of the war. Ironically, it was Mises's ideas, filtered through the work of Roepke and the statesmanship of [[Ludwig Erhard]], that led to Germany's postwar economic reforms and rebuilt the country. Then, in 1992, Austrian archivists discovered Mises's stolen Vienna papers in a reopened archive in Moscow.<ref name="Documents">Richard M. Ebeling. [http://www.fff.org/comment/ed0397e.asp "The Discovery of the Lost Papers of Ludwig von Mises"], ''The Future of Freedom Foundation'', March 1997, referenced 2009-04-28.</ref>

While in Geneva, Mises's wrote his masterwork, ''[[Nationalökonomie]]'', and, after coming to the United States, revised and expanded it into ''[[Human Action]]'', which appeared in 1949. His student [[Murray N. Rothbard]]<ref name="Rothbard">David Gordon. [http://mises.org/about/3249 "Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995)"], ''[[Mises Institute]]'', referenced 2009-04-28.</ref> called it "Mises's greatest achievement and one of the finest products of the human mind in our century. It is economics made whole." It remains the economic treatise that defines the School. Even so, it was not well received in the economics profession, which had already made a decisive turn towards Keynesianism, which accepted fiat money, fractional-reserve banking and central banking, as well as the premise that government had to intervene in the economy because somehow the free market sometimes did not "work" - all principles that Mises found objectionable and wrong.

Though Mises never held the paid academic post he deserved, he gathered students around him at New York University, just as he had in Vienna. Even before Mises emigrated, journalist [[Henry Hazlitt]] had become his most prominent champion, reviewing his books in the New York Times and Newsweek, and popularizing his ideas in such classics as ''[[Economics in One Lesson]]''. Yet Hazlitt made his own contributions to the Austrian School. He wrote a line-by-line [[The Failure of the New Economics|critique]] of Keynes's ''[[The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money|General Theory]]'', defended the writings of Say, and restored him to a central place in Austrian macroeconomic theory. Hazlitt followed Mises's example of uncompromising adherence to principle, and as a result was pushed out of four high-profile positions in the journalistic world.

Mises's New York seminar continued until two years before his death in 1973. During those years, [[Murray Rothbard]], a PhD student at Columbia, attended Mises's seminars and become student of the Austrian School, moving further away from "mainstream" economics the more he studied the Austrian School.

===Murray Rothbard and the revival of the Austrian School===

Although Murray Rothbard proved to be a brilliant student, he had difficulties obtaining his PhD from Columbia, and the rejection of his views within mainstream economic thought was to become a theme throughout his professional career.<ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/10768.cfm Tenured Austrian Economists vs Murray Rothbard]</ref> Although a prolific writer and polymath, he never obtained an academic posting at any Ivy League institution, having to accept an academic posting at Brooklyn Polytechnic and later becoming a professor of economics at the University of Nevada.<ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/10768.cfm Tenured Austrian Economists vs Murray Rothbard]</ref>

In the tradition of many Austrian scholars, Rothbard was uncompromising in his views and was ostracized from many influential political bodies because of his perceived radicalism, even within right-leaning conservative groups that would normally have been sympathetic to his views. William F. Buckley wrote a bitter obituary on Rothbard's death,<ref>William F. Buckley, Jr. [http://notableandquotable.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/william-f-buckleys-obituary-of-murray.html "Murray Rothbard RIP"], ''National Review'', February 6, 1995. Referenced 2013-02-24.</ref> and supporters of [[Ayn Rand]] ultimately rejected his views on the corrupting influence of big business on politics.

Rothbard wrote of the betrayal of the "true spirit" of the American conservative movement in his book, ''[[The Betrayal of the American Right]]''.

On economic matters, Rothbard's ''[[Man, Economy, and State]]'' was patterned after ''Human Action'', and in some areas--[[monopoly]] theory, [[utility]] and [[welfare]], and the theory of the state--tightened and strengthened Mises's own views. Rothbard's approach to the Austrian School followed directly in the line of Late Scholastic thought by applying economic science within a framework of a natural-rights theory of property.

What resulted was a full-fledged defense of a capitalistic and [[stateless social order]], based on [[property]] and freedom of association and contract. Rothbard extended and in a sense "completed" Mises's views on economic thought, removing inconsistencies and drawing more radical policy conclusions than Mises's early works (that were, in themselves, radical in their day and are still considered to be so even today).

Rothbard followed his economic treatise with an investigation of the [[Great Depression]], which applied [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] to show that the stock market crash and economic downturn was attributable to a prior [[bank]] [[Inflation|credit expansion]]. Then in a series of studies on government policy, he established the theoretical framework for examining the effects of all types of intervention in the market.

Rothbard extended and "radicalized" the Austrian School, taking Mises's insights and pushing them to their logical conclusion. Unlike Mises's view that there was a role for the State (in providing public goods and services such as law and order and basic infrastructure) it was Rothbard's view that all goods and services could be - and should be - produced by the private sector. He viewed many regulations and laws ostensibly promulgated for the "public interest" as self-interested power grabs by scheming government bureaucrats engaging in dangerously unfettered self-aggrandizement, as they were not subject to real competition. Rothbard held that there were inherent inefficiencies involved with governments providing commercial services and asserted that real competition would eliminate these efficiencies, if those services could be provided by the private sector.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard40.html The Great Society: A Libertarian Critique], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard53.html The Noble Task of Revisionism], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard37.html The Fallacy of the 'Public Sector'], Murray Rothbard</ref>

Rothbard was equally condemning of state corporatism. He criticized many instances where business elites co-opted government's monopoly power so as to influence laws and regulatory policy in a manner benefiting them at the expense of their competitive rivals.<ref>''For a New Liberty'', Chapter 3</ref> He was a seminal writer in an area that would later branch out to become public choice theory, but his work is now rarely associated with this area of study.

He argued that [[taxation]] represents coercive theft on a grand scale, and "a compulsory [[monopoly]] of force" prohibiting the more efficient voluntary procurement of defense and judicial services from competing suppliers.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard24.html Tax Day], Murray Rothbard</ref> He also considered [[central bank]]ing and [[fractional reserve banking]] under a monopoly [[fiat money]] system a form of state-sponsored, legalized financial [[embezzlement|fraud]], antithetical to [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] principles and ethics.<ref>Rothbard, Murray. [http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''] Ludwig von Mises Institute. 2008. p. 111</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2737288_ITM |title=Has fractional-reserve banking really passed the market test? (Controversy). |date=January 2003 |format= |work= Independent Review|accessdate=}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fff.org/freedom/0999c.asp The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>See also Murray Rothbard articles: [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; and [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back]</ref>

It was Rothbard who firmly established the Austrian School and classical liberal doctrine in the U.S., especially with ''[[Conceived in Liberty]]'' (volumes [http://mises.org/books/conceived1.pdf I], [http://mises.org/books/conceived2.pdf II], [http://mises.org/books/conceived3.pdf III], [http://mises.org/books/conceived4.pdf IV]), his four-volume history of colonial America and the secession from Britain. The reunion of natural-rights theory and the Austrian School came in his philosophical work, ''[[The Ethics of Liberty]]'' ([http://www.mises.org/rothbard/ethics/ethics.asp text]), all while he was writing a series of scholarly economic pieces gathered in the two-volume ''Logic of Action'', published in Edward Elgar's ''Economists of the Century'' series.

The founding of the [[Mises Institute|Ludwig von Mises Institute]] in 1982, with the aid of Margit von Mises as well as Hayek and Hazlitt, provided a range of new opportunities for both Rothbard and the Austrian School. Through a steady stream of academic conferences, instructional seminars, books, monographs, newsletters, studies, and even films, they carried the Austrian School forward into the post-socialist age.

The Austrian School enters a new millennium with many new advocates, including economists such as prominent Spanish economist [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]], German economist [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]] and American economists [[William Anderson]], [[Robert Murphy]] and [[Walter Block]], writers such as [[Thomas Woods]], [[Lew Rockwell]], and [[Charles Goyette]], and media commentators and public figures such as [[Peter Schiff]] and [[Ron Paul]]. Some commentators have described this as a recent renaissance of [[classical liberal]] scholarship and thought.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/255968/who-ron-paul-interview Ron Paul Interview], National Review Online</ref>

==Methodology==
Austrian School economists advocate strict adherence to [[methodological individualism]] – analyzing human [[action]] from the perspective of individual agents.<ref name="Mises_Individualism">Ludwig von Mises [http://mises.org/humanaction/chap2sec4.asp "The Principle of Methodological Individualism"], ''[[Human Action]]'' online edition, [[Mises Institute]]. Referenced 2009-04-24}.</ref> Proponents of this method, [[praxeology]], argue that the only means of arriving at a valid economic theory is to derive it logically from basic principles of human action. Proponents of this method hold that it allows for the discovery of fundamental economic laws valid for all human action. Alongside praxeology, the school has traditionally advocated an interpretive approach to history to address specific historical events.

Austrian economists reject empirical [[Econometrics|statistical methods]] as tools applicable to economics, saying that while it is appropriate in the natural sciences where causal factors can be isolated in laboratory conditions, the actions of human beings are far too complex for this "numerical" treatment as passive non-adaptive subjects. Instead one should isolate the logical processes of human action. Mises called this discipline "[[praxeology]]" – a term he adapted from [[Alfred Espinas]] (but which had been in use by others).<ref>Ludwig von Mises, Nationalökonomie (Geneva: Union, 1940), p. 3; Human Action (Auburn, Ala.: Mises Institute, [1949] 1998), p. 3.</ref>

Mises also argued against the use of empirically derived probability modelling in economics, which became prevalent in finance and other areas of economics in the late 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mises.org/books/ufofes/ |title=The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science by Ludwig von Mises |publisher=Mises.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-13}}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4128/ The Correct Theory of Probability], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4979 Why the definition of probability matters], Mark Crowelli</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5352/ What Mises can teach the Quants], Daniel Sanchez</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/7496/The-Enduring-Allure-of-Objective-Probability The Enduring Allure of Objective Probability] Robert Mulligan presentation</ref> Instead, the Austrian praxeological method is based on the heavy use of [[deductive reasoning|deductive arguments]] from undeniable, self-evident [[axioms]] or from irrefutable facts about human existence.<ref name="HansHermannHoppe">Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Economic Science and the Austrian Method (Auburn, Ala.: Mises Institute, [1995] 2007), p. 63.</ref> According to Austrians, deductive economic [[thought experiment]], if performed correctly, can yield conclusions that follow irrefutably from the underlying assumptions and could not be discovered by empirical observation or statistical inference.

The Austrian praxeological method is based on the heavy use of logical [[deductive reasoning|deduction]] from what they assert to be undeniable, self-evident [[axioms]] or irrefutable facts about human existence. The primary axiom from which Austrian economists deduce further certain conclusions is the action axiom, which holds that humans take conscious action toward chosen goals.<ref>Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Economic Science and the Austrian Method (Auburn, Ala.: Mises Institute, [1995] 2007), p. 63.</ref>

Austrian school theorists, like [[Ludwig von Mises]], insist that praxeology must be [[positive economics|value-free]]—that the method does not answer the question "should this policy be implemented?", but rather "if this policy is implemented, will it have [[Law of unintended consequences|the effects you intend]]"? However, Austrian economists often make policy recommendations that call for the elimination of government regulations and their policy prescriptions often overlap with [[libertarian]] or [[Anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalist]] solutions. These recommendations are similar to, but further reaching than the [[minarchism|minarchist]] ideas of [[Chicago school of economics|Chicago School]] economists, and frequently address issues that other schools ignore, such as [[monetary reform]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Skousen | first = Mark | title = Vienna & Chicago, Friends or Foes? | publisher = Capital Press/Regnery Pub | location = Washington | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-89526-029-8 }}</ref>

Consistent with this deductive approach, Mises argued against the use of complex mathematical modelling and empirically-derived probabilities in economic models.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mises.org/books/ufofes/ |title=The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science by Ludwig von Mises |publisher=Mises.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-13}}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4128/ The Correct Theory of Probability], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4979 Why the definition of probability matters], Mark Crowelli</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5352/ What Mises can teach the Quants], Daniel Sanchez</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/7496/The-Enduring-Allure-of-Objective-Probability The Enduring Allure of Objective Probability] Robert Mulligan presentation</ref> Instead, his praxeological method is based on [[deductive reasoning|deductive arguments]] from what are considered undeniable, self-evident [[axioms]], or irrefutable facts, about human existence. According to Mises, deductive economic [[thought experiment]], if performed correctly, can yield conclusions that follow irrefutably from the underlying assumptions and could not be discovered by empirical observation or statistical inference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mises.org/books/ufofes/ |title=The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science by Ludwig von Mises |publisher=Mises.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-13}}</ref>

Austrian economists view [[entrepreneurship]] as the driving force in [[economic development]], see [[private property]] as essential to the efficient use of resources, and usually (if not always) see [[government]] interference in market processes as counterproductive.

As with neoclassical economists, Austrian economists reject [[classical economics|classical]] cost of production theories, most famously the [[labor theory of value]]. Instead, they explain value by reference to the [[Subjective theory of value|subjective preferences of individuals]]. This psychological aspect to Menger's economics has been attributed to the school's birth in turn of the century [[Vienna]]. [[Supply and demand]] are explained by aggregating over the decisions of individuals, following the precepts of [[methodological individualism]], which asserts that only individuals and not collectives make decisions, and [[marginalist]] arguments, which compare the costs and benefits for incremental changes.

[[Frank van Dun]] outlines the basic difference between the methods:
: The central dogma of [[positivism]] in fields such as “law” and “economics” is that every order is artificial. There are no [[natural order]]s, or, if there are, they are not suitable objects of scientific investigation. Consequently, persons can be admitted as objects of study only if they are disguised as artificial persons. In economics, positivism typically involves the personification of “theoretical constructs” (for example, utility functions) constrained by the rules of a model or a simulation. It fits the profile of a technology of want-satisfaction that characterises modern neo-classical and mainstream economics, but obviously is useless for the anarchocapitalists’ program of research into the conditions of order and disorder of the real human world.<ref>Frank van Dun. [http://www2.units.it/etica/2003_2/index.html ''Natural Law: A Logical Analysis'']. Etica & Politica, 2003.2. Dipartimento di Filosofia, Lingue e Letterature, Università di Trieste.</ref>

===Criticism of mainstream practices===
Austrians consider their methodology to be superior to mainstream economists' attempts to mimic the "hard' sciences through what Austrians consider to be a "naive" [[empiricism]]. This "naive" attempt by the mainstream academic community to mimic the hard sciences through econometrics has had questionable results. German economist, banker and Keynesian critic, L. Albert Hahn, noted the following in October 1952:<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3582 Keynesians Can't Predict], L. Albert Hahn, ''The Freeman'', October 6, 1952</ref>

{{quote|It is seldom realized that belief in the possibility of "scientific" business forecasts, and the forecasting mania of our time, are comparatively new phenomena. Until about 1930 serious economists were not so bold — or so naive — as to pretend to be able to calculate the coming of booms and depressions in advance. It would not have fitted into their general view on the working of a free economy. They considered the economic future as basically dependent on unpredictable price-cost relationships and on the equally unpredictable psychological reactions of entrepreneurs. Predictions of future business conditions would have seemed to them mere charlatanry, just as predictions, say, regarding the resolutions of Congress two years from now... The basic error of the whole approach lies in the fact that the causative link between objective data and the decision of the members of the community are treated as mechanical. But men are still men and not automatons... Insufficiently educated in the history of economic thought, they [Anglo-American economists] do not realize that Keynesianism — down to the most technical details, like the concept of the foreign exchange multiplier — is mercantilism or, more precisely, John Lawism pure and simple... Reading, quoting, praising, and promoting each other, and only each other, will not liberate these economists from their voluntary isolationism. They will remain in their dream world. They will continue to predict the unpredictable.}}

Mainstream economists mostly ignore the Austrian assertion that prediction in economics is inherently impossible and continue to focus on mathematical modelling of the economy derived from simplified assumptions about human behaviour and preferences.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/rosen-e1.1.1.html What is the Current State of Economic Science?], Erwin Rosen</ref> However, in the past some mainstream economists and central bankers held similar views to those of the Austrians, eschewing econometric analysis and disparaging attempts to control statistical data that were not amenable to central control and direction (or prediction).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5146/Over-to-You-H-Parker-Willis Over To You H. Parker Willis], James Grant</ref> For example, H. Parker Willis co-authored the 1936 text ''The Theory and Practice of Central Banking'' and wrote the following:

{{quote|Central banks will do wisely to lay aside their inexpert ventures in half-baked monetary theory, meretricious statistical measures of trade, and hasty grinding of the axes of speculative interests with their suggestion that by so doing they are achieving some sort of vague 'stabilization' that will, in the long run, be for the greater good.}}

In their rejection of mainstream practices, Austrians have long argued that mainstream economic models have a very poor record of prediction, citing the [[Global Financial Crisis]] as one of many examples of the utter uselessness of theoretical economic modelling - and risk analysis - just when it is needed most.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/rosen-e1.1.1.html What is the Current State of Economic Science?], Erwin Rosen</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/thornton/thornton38.html You Heard It Here First], Mark Thornton, LRC</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/4019 Business Cycles and Prediction, Mark Thornton]</ref> However, some Austrian adherents have themselves been labeled as "Chicken Littles" for continually making predictions of "catastrophic" financial crises.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis</ref><ref>{{cite news
|last=Brodie
|first=Lee
|title=Is This Market Heading For A Serious Correction?
|date=2009-08-17
|work=CNBC
|url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/32441070/Is_This_Market_Heading_For_A_Serious_Correction }}
</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref>

==Contributions==
Some significant general contributions of Austrian economists are listed below:
* The Regression Thereom of Money, wherein Mises hypothesized that the creation of money is a time-dependent process where market participants, by spontaneously engaging in barter and trading goods, quickly reach a market-based consensus regarding what should be commonly accepted as a medium of exchange in that market. An item becomes "money" based primarily on participants' subjective values - their past experience of ''other'' traders accepting this "good" as money - and their expectation that it will be accepted by others in future. If people stop trusting that others will accept this item in future, this item can lose its tradeability - or "moneyness" - suddenly and immediately.
* A fundamental rejection of mathematical methods in economics, seeing the function of economics as investigating the essences rather than the specific quantities of economic phenomena. This was seen as an evolutionary, or "genetic-causal", approach against the alleged "unreality" and internal stresses inherent in the "static" approach of [[economic equilibrium|equilibrium]] and [[perfect competition]], which are the foundations of mainstream Neoclassical economics (see also [[praxeology]]). This methodology is also driven by the belief that [[econometrics]] is inherently misleading in that it creates a fallacious "precision" in economics where there is none.
* [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]]'s critique of [[Karl Marx|Marx]], which centered on the untenability of the [[labor theory of value]] in the light of the [[transformation problem]]. There was also the connected argument that capitalists do not exploit workers; they ''accommodate'' workers by providing them with income well in advance of the revenue from the output they helped to produce.
* Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk's demonstration that the law of marginal utility, as formulated by [[Carl Menger|Menger]] necessarily implies the classical law of costs and hence the vast majority of the conclusions of the British [[classical economists]]. This discovery was later fully developed and its implications traced by a student of [[Ludwig von Mises|von Mises]], [[George Reisman]], in his book, ''Capitalism''.
* An emphasis on [[opportunity cost]] and reservation demand in defining [[marginal theory of value|value]], and a refusal to consider supply as an otherwise independent cause of value.<ref>"Values are not seen (as they are in Marshallian economics) as ''jointly'' determined by subjective (utility) and objective (physical cost) considerations. Rather, values are seen as determined ''solely'' by the actions of consumers... Cost is seen (by Menger, and especially by Wieser...) merely as prospective utility deliberately sacrificed (in order to command more highly preferred utility)." Israel M. Kirzner, "The Austrian School of Economics", ''The New Palgrave: Dictionary of Economics'' (1987)</ref> (The British economist [[Philip Wicksteed]] adopted this perspective.)
* The Mises-Hayek [[business cycle]] theory, which is asserted as explaining depression as a reaction to an intertemporal production structure fostered by [[monetary policy]] setting [[interest rate]]s inconsistent with individual time preferences.
* Mises and Hayek's view of prices as permitting agents to make use of [[dispersed knowledge|dispersed tacit knowledge]].
* The [[time preference theory of interest]], which explains interest rates through [[intertemporal choice]] - the different time preferences of the borrower or lender - rather than as a price paid for a [[factor of production]].
* The [[economic calculation debate]] between Austrian and [[Marxist]] economists, with the Austrians claiming that Marxism is flawed because prices could not be set to recognize opportunity costs of factors of production, and so [[socialism]] could not make rational decisions.
* [[Friedrich Hayek]] was one of the few economists who gave warning of a major economic crisis before [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|the great crash]] of 1929.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Making of Modern Economics |last=Skousen |first=Mark |authorlink=Mark Skousen |year=2001 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=0-7656-0479-5 |page=284 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1974/press.html |title=The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1974 |accessdate=2008-10-12 |publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]] |date=1974-10-09 }}</ref> In February 1929, Hayek warned that a coming financial crisis was an unavoidable consequence of reckless monetary expansion.<ref>{{cite book |title= Keynes and Hayek |last= Steele |first=G. R. |year=2001 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 0-415-25138-9 |page=9 }}</ref>
* Stressing uncertainty in the making of economic decisions, rather than relying on "[[Homo economicus]]" or the rational man who was fully informed of all circumstances impinging on his decisions. The fact that perfect knowledge never exists, means that all economic activity implies risk.
* Seeing the entrepreneurs' role as collecting and evaluating information and acting on risks.
* An emphasis on the forward-looking nature of choice, seeing time as the root of uncertainty within economics (see also [[time preference]]).

==Notable theories==
===Economic calculation problem===
{{Main|Economic calculation problem}}
The economic calculation problem was first proposed by Ludwig von Mises in 1920 and later expounded by Friedrich Hayek.<ref name="Mises">{{cite book |title=Economic calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth |accessdate=2008-09-08 |last=Von Mises |first=Ludwig |authorlink=Ludwig von Mises |year=1990|format=pdf |publisher=[[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] |url=http://mises.org/pdf/econcalc.pdf |isbn=0945466072 }}</ref><ref>F. A. Hayek, (1935), "The Nature and History of the Problem" and "The Present State of the Debate," om in F. A. Hayek, ed. ''Collectivist Economic Planning'', pp. 1–40, 201–243.</ref> The problem referred to is that of how to distribute resources efficiently in an economy. The capitalist or free market solution is to produce and distribute goods and services according to the [[price mechanism]]; Mises and Hayek argued that this is the only viable solution, as the [[price mechanism]] co-ordinates supply and investment decisions most efficiently, favoring the production of desired goods and services and eliminating those goods and services that are not wanted by reducing their prices and thereby rationing the resources given to "unwanted" or inefficient producers. Without the "feedback" information being provided by market prices, centrally planned [[socialism]] lacks a method to efficiently allocate resources over an extended period of time in any market where the [[price mechanism]] is effective (an example where the [[price mechanism]] may not work is in the relatively confined area of [[public goods|public]] and [[common good (economics)|common goods]]). This thereom implies that a [[socialist]] [[planned economy]] could never be sustainable in the long term for the vast bulk of the economy, as huge shortages of desired goods and large surpluses of unwanted goods would continually occur in the economy, resulting in misallocations and dislocations that would eventually cause chaos throughout the economic system. The debate over whether socialism was a viable economic system raged in the 1920s and 1930s, and that specific period of the debate has come to be known by historians of economic thought as ''The Socialist Calculation Debate.''<ref name="School">[http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/essays/paretian/social.htm The socialist calculation debate]</ref>
[[Ludwig von Mises]] argued in a famous 1920 article "[[Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth]]" that the pricing systems in socialist economies were necessarily deficient because if government owned the [[means of production]], then no prices could be obtained for [[capital goods]] as they were merely internal transfers of goods in a socialist system and not "objects of exchange," unlike final goods. Therefore, they were unpriced and hence the system would be necessarily inefficient since the central planners would not know how to allocate the available resources efficiently.<ref name="School" /> This led him to declare "…that rational economic activity is impossible in a socialist commonwealth."<ref name="Mises" />

===Inflation===
{{Main|Inflation}}
The Austrian School has consistently argued that a "traditionalist" approach to inflation yields the most accurate understanding of the causes (and the cure) for [[inflation]]. Austrian economists maintain that inflation is ''by definition'' always and everywhere simply an increase in the [[money supply]] (i.e. units of currency or means of exchange), which in turn leads to a higher nominal price level for assets (such as housing) and other goods and services in demand, as the real value of each monetary unit is eroded, loses purchasing power and thus buys fewer goods and services.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5407/Is-Higher-Inflation-Inevitable Is Higher Inflation Inevitable?], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Given that all major economies currently have a [[central bank]] supporting the private [[bank]]ing system, money can be supplied into these economies by way of private bank-created credit (or [[debt]]).<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref> Austrian School economists therefore regard the private bankers and the state-sponsored [[central bank]] as the main cause of [[inflation]] in an economy where the bulk of the money supply is created through debt, because they regard the central bank as the institution charged with supporting the banking system and supplying cash to the banking system when needed by the banks.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north803.html Why Deflation Is not Inevitable (Sadly)], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref>

The Austrian School also views the "contemporary" definition of [[inflation]] as inherently misleading in that it draws attention only to the ''effect'' of inflation (rising prices) and does not address the "true" phenomenon of [[inflation]], which they believe simply involves the debasement of the means of exchange. They argue that this semantic difference is important in defining inflation and finding a cure for inflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref> Austrian School economists maintain the most effective cure is the strict maintenance of a stable money supply.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mises.org/story/908 |title=Defining Inflation |accessdate=2008-09-20 |last=Shostak, Ph.D |first=Frank |date=2002-03-02 |publisher=Mises Institute }}</ref> [[Ludwig von Mises]], the seminal scholar of the Austrian School, asserts that:

<blockquote>
Inflation, as this term was always used everywhere and especially in this country, means increasing the quantity of money and bank notes in circulation and the quantity of bank deposits subject to check. But people today use the term `inflation' to refer to the phenomenon that is an inevitable consequence of inflation, that is the tendency of all prices and wage rates to rise. The result of this deplorable confusion is that there is no term left to signify the cause of this rise in prices and wages. There is no longer any word available to signify the phenomenon that has been, up to now, called inflation. . . . As you cannot talk about something that has no name, you cannot fight it. Those who pretend to fight inflation are in fact only fighting what is the inevitable consequence of inflation, rising prices. Their ventures are doomed to failure because they do not attack the root of the evil. They try to keep prices low while firmly committed to a policy of increasing the quantity of money that must necessarily make them soar. As long as this terminological confusion is not entirely wiped out, there cannot be any question of stopping inflation.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Ludwig |last=von Mises |chapter=Economic Freedom and Interventionism |editor1-first=Bettina B. |editor1-last=Greaves |title=Economics of Mobilization |publisher=The Commercial and Financial Chronicle |location=Sulphur Springs, West Virginia |pages= |year=1980 |isbn= |chapterurl=http://mises.org/efandi/ch20.asp |ref=harv}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Austrian economists tend to measure the inflation by calculating the growth of what they call 'the true money supply', i.e. how many new units of money that are available for immediate use in exchange, that have been created over time.<ref>Ludwig von Mises Institute, "[http://mises.org/content/nofed/chart.aspx?series=TMS True Money Supply]"</ref><ref>Joseph T. Salerno, (1987), Austrian Economic Newsletter, "[http://www.mises.org/journals/aen/aen6_4_1.pdf The "True" Money Supply: A Measure of the Medium of Exchange in the U.S. Economy]"</ref><ref>Frank Shostak, (2000), "[http://www.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae3_4_3.pdf The Mystery of the Money Supply Definition]"</ref>

Austrian School economists claim that the state uses subtle forms of inflation as one of the three means by which it can fund its activities, the other two being taxing and borrowing.<ref>[[Lew Rockwell]], interview on "[http://mises.org:88/Now NOW with Bill Moyers]"</ref> Because of the disruptive and dislocating effects of inflation, many Austrian School economists support the abolition of the [[central bank]]s and the [[fractional-reserve banking]] system, and advocate instead a return to money based on the [[gold standard]], or less frequently, [[free banking]].<ref>Ludwig von Mises Institute, "[http://mises.org/books/goldstandard.pdf The Gold Standard]"</ref><ref>Ron Paul, "[http://mises.org/books/caseforgold.pdf The Case for Gold]"</ref> Money could only be created by finding and putting into circulation more gold under a [[gold standard]]. In the absence of a return to commodity money, many Austrian analysts predict catastrophe for the economy. For example, Austrian commentator Robert K. Landis has written the following:<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving The System], Robert K. Landis</ref>

<blockquote> No, the die is cast: we shall have the catastrophe. Our fiat monetary system got a reprieve in the 1980's, not a deliverance. All that has happened since, with the fantastic mispricing of credit the Greenspan Fed has engineered, and the massive global malinvestment this has engendered, is that the dimensions of the unraveling have become more dire.

Mises called this one too:

"Certainly, the banks would be able to postpone the collapse; but nevertheless, as has been shown, the moment must eventually come when no further extension of the circulation of fiduciary media is possible. Then the catastrophe occurs, and its consequences are the worse and the reaction against the bull tendency of the market the stronger, the longer the period during which the rate of interest on loans has been below the natural rate of interest and the greater the extent to which roundabout processes of production that are not justified by the state of the capital market have been adopted."

With respect to the form the denouement will take, much has been written within the gold community on the subject of whether we face hyperinflation or deflationary depression as the prelude to monetary collapse. Both sides of the debate appear to accept the premise that whatever may transpire will bear a linear relationship to what now exists. The disagreement centers on the direction the line will go. But today's markets are fully linked by derivatives and technology, and they are patrolled by wolf packs of large, leveraged speculators not noted for their patient outlook. So it seems likely that the terminal monetary crisis will unfold on virtually an instantaneous and discontinuous basis, once the fog of statistical deceit and false market cues begins to lift and a clear trend either way becomes evident. We are not likely to enjoy the luxury of observing either a deflation or an inflation unfold in the fullness of time, but rather, just as Mises foretold, a final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system. All we can hope is that once the curtain falls on the current system, the wisdom in the gold bugs' submissions to the Gold Commission will finally find a receptive audience.</blockquote>

Advocates argue that the abolition of legal tender laws and the spontaneous return to a gold or silver monetary system would effectively constrain unsustainable and volatile [[fractional-reserve banking]] practices, ensuring that [[money supply]] growth ("[[inflation]]") would never spiral out of control.<ref>Murray Rothbard, "[http://mises.org/rothbard/100percent.pdf The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar]"</ref><ref>Ludwig von Mises Institute, "[http://mises.org/story/2870 Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve]"</ref>

In relation to the current [[central bank]]-managed [[fractional reserve banking|fractional reserve]] [[fiat currency]] [[debt-based monetary system|system]], Austrian economist [[Murray Rothbard]] stated the following:<ref>Rothbard, Murray. [http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], p. 261</ref>

{{quote|Given this dismal monetary and banking situation, given a 39:1 pyramiding of checkable deposits and currency on top of gold, given a Fed unchecked and out of control, given a world of fiat moneys, how can we possibly return to a sound noninflationary market money? The objectives, after the discussion in this work, should be clear: (a) to return to a gold standard, a commodity standard unhampered by government intervention; (b) to abolish the Federal Reserve System and return to a system of free and competitive banking; (c) to separate the government from money; and (d) either to enforce 100 percent reserve banking on the commercial banks, or at least to arrive at a system where any bank, at the slightest hint of nonpayment of its demand liabilities, is forced quickly into bankruptcy and liquidation. While the outlawing of fractional reserve as fraud would be preferable if it could be enforced, the problems of enforcement, especially where banks can continually innovate in forms of credit, make free banking an attractive alternative.}}

[[Ludwig von Mises]] asserted that, in addition to reducing the serverity of business cycles and eliminating inflation, civil liberties would be better protected through a return to the gold standard:

<blockquote>
It is impossible to grasp the meaning of the idea of [[sound money]] if one does not realize that it was devised as an instrument for the protection of civil liberties against despotic inroads on the part of governments. Ideologically it belongs in the same class with political constitutions and bills of rights. The demand for constitutional guarantees and for bills of rights was a reaction against arbitrary rule and the nonobservance of old customs by kings.<ref>{{cite book |last=von Mises |first=Ludwig |authorlink=Ludwig von Mises |coauthors= |title=The Theory of Money and Credit |publisher=Liberty Fund, Inc. |date=1981-07-01 |location= |pages=Chapter 21 |url=http://mises.org/story/2276 |doi= |id= |isbn=0-913966-71-1 |nopp=true }}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Business cycles===
{{Main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}
The Austrian School is one of the few schools of economic thought that considers different forms of money to be "non-neutral" - meaning that changes in the money supply can have real economic effects, disrupting the price mechanism and causing "ripple" effects throughout the economy. Mainstream theories generally consider money to be "neutral" (in other words, they consider that changes in the money supply do not have significant effects on the real economy). According to Austrian School economist [[Joseph Salerno]], what most distinctly sets the Austrian school apart from [[neoclassical economics]] is the [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]:<ref>{{Cite journal
| last = Salerno
| first = Joseph
| author-link = Joseph Salerno
| title = Why We're Winning: An Interview with Joseph T. Salerno
| journal = The Austrian Economics Newsletter
| volume = 16
| issue = 3
| pages =
| date =
| origyear =
| year = 1996
| month =
| url = http://mises.org/journals/aen/aen16_3_1.asp
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
| doi =
| id =
| ref = harv }}
</ref>
{{quote|The Austrian theory embodies all the distinctive Austrian traits: the theory of heterogeneous capital, the structure of production, the passage of time, sequential analysis of monetary interventionism, the market origins and function of the interest rate, and more. And it tells a compelling story about an area of history neoclassicals think of as their turf. The model of applying this theory remains [[Murray Rothbard|Rothbard]]'s ''[[America's Great Depression]]''.}}

Austrian School economists focus on the changes in the money supply and the associated credit cycle as the primary cause of most business cycles. Austrian economists assert that the pernicious monetary effects of [[fractional reserve banking]] are the predominant cause of most business cycles, as the inflating effects of the practice result in lower interest rates than would prevail in a stable money system, thereby causing excessive credit creation, speculative "[[economic bubble|bubbles]]" and "artificially" low savings.<ref>Thorsten Polleit, [http://mises.org/story/2810 Manipulating the Interest Rate: a Recipe for Disaster], 13 December 2007</ref>

According to the Austrian School business cycle theory, the business cycle unfolds in the following way:

Fractional reserve banking continually causes inflation through the "artificial" lowering of interest rates (compared to what they would be in a stable money environment).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5407/Is-Higher-Inflation-Inevitable Is Higher Inflation Inevitable?], Thorsten Polleit</ref> This can occur indefinitely with the aid and assistance of the central bank. Low interest rates encourage fresh borrowing and new credit creation, thereby increasing the short term profitability of the banking system. But this expansion of credit also causes an expansion of the [[money supply|supply of money]], through the [[money creation]] process in a [[fractional reserve banking]] system and misallocates resources, skewing production to "unwanted" capital goods industries and encouraging Ponzi-like speculation. This artificial increase in money and credit inevitably leads to an unsustainable "credit-fuelled boom" during which the "artificially stimulated" borrowing seeks out diminishing investment opportunities and causes widespread [[malinvestment]]s, where capital resources are misallocated into areas that would not attract investment if the money supply remained stable.

[[Murray Rothbard]] used the concept of malinvesment and the distorting effects of bank-induced credit creation to study the [[Great Depression]] is his [[historical revisionism|revisionist]] work, ''[[America's Great Depression]]'':<ref>[[Murray Rothbard]], [http://mises.org/rothbard/agd/chapter1.asp#cluster_of_error|''America's Great Depression'', 2005, 5th Edition, Ludwig von Mises Institute, Chapter 1, ''The Cluster of Error''].</ref>

{{quote|A credit expansion may appear to render submarginal capital profitable once more, but this too will be malinvestment, and the now greater error will be exposed when this boom is over. Thus, credit expansion generates the business cycle regardless of the existence of unemployed factors. Credit expansion in the midst of unemployment will create more distortions and malinvestments, delay recovery from the preceding boom, and make a more grueling recovery necessary in the future. While it is true that the unemployed factors are not now diverted from more valuable uses as employed factors would be (since they were speculatively idle or malinvested instead of employed), the other complementary factors will be diverted into working with them, and these factors will be malinvested and wasted. Moreover, all the other distorting effects of credit expansion will still follow, and a depression will be necessary to correct the new distortion.}}

Austrian School economists argue that a correction or "[[credit crunch]]" – commonly called a "[[recession]]" or "bust" – occurs when credit creation cannot be sustained. They claim that the [[money supply]] suddenly and sharply contracts when markets finally "clear", causing resources to be reallocated back toward more efficient uses.

Economist [[Steve H. Hanke]] identifies the [[Great Recession|financial crisis of 2007–2010]] as the direct outcome of the Federal Reserve Bank's interest rate policies as is predicted by Austrian school economic theory.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10100 |title=The Fed's Modus Operandi: Panic | Cato Institute: Commentary |first=Steve H. |last=Hanke |work=cato.org |accessdate=17 July 2010 }}</ref> Some analysts such as Jerry Tempelman have also argued that the predictive and explanatory power of ABCT in relation to the recent [[Global Financial Crisis]] has reaffirmed its status and, perhaps, cast into question the utility of mainstream theories and critiques.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_1_1.pdf ABCT and the GFC: Confessions of a Mainstream Economist] by Jerry Tempelman</ref>

===Monetary Reform===
{{Main|Debt-based monetary system}}
The Austrian School is currently the only major school of economic thought that advocates radical monetary reform and actively debates the efficacy of fundamental banking reform.<ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref>

All other schools of economic thought (including Keynesian, monetarist and neo-classical) implicitly accept the current monopoly fiat money and central bank-dominated financial system as optimal - or at least as not actively destructive of the economy.<ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref> This is based on the mainstream idea of "money neutrality" - the idea that inflation does not have real economic effects over the long term and does not significantly distort real resource allocation.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead], Robert Wenzel</ref>

Austrian scholars, on the other hand, uniformly see coercive legal tender laws (which inevitably force people to use the national fiat currency as money) and the current fractional-reserve financial system as an extremely dysfunctional and disruptive influence on the economy.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5407/Is-Higher-Inflation-Inevitable Is Higher Inflation Inevitable?], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref> Through the centralized control of interest rates, through the arbitrary diversion of scarce resources to repeatedly bail out the "too big to fail" banks, through the manipulation of financial markets via the buying of government bonds (so called "quantitative easing"), Austrian scholars see coercive legal tender laws, central banking and the current financial system generally as a source of continual disruption in the price discovery mechanism, misleading investors and market participants and ultimately causing continual and ongoing misallocations in scarce resource distribution, resulting in massive [[malinvestment]]s and wrenching and disruptive business cycles.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5407/Is-Higher-Inflation-Inevitable Is Higher Inflation Inevitable?], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

However, Austrian scholars are divided on the optimal solution to this urgent problem.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], review by John P. Cochran</ref>

Some Austrian scholars advocate "free banking", where banks are permitted to engage in fractional-reserve banking activities provided they comply with the laws against fraud and are not supported in any way against the possibility of bank runs and are forced into bankruptcy should they not be able to pay their debts as and when they fall due.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], review by John P. Cochran</ref>

Advocates of this system of banking include Lawrence White, Steven Horwitz, George Selgin, and Kevin Dowd, amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], review by John P. Cochran</ref> F.A. Hayek also advocated the de-nationalization of money production and implicitly supported a free banking financial system in some of his works on monetary reform.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/store/Free-Market-Monetary-System-A-P553.aspx?AFID=14 ''Free Market Money System''] by [[F.A. Hayek]]</ref>

Other Austrian scholars advocate "full-reserve banking", considering fractional-reserve banking to be inherently unethical, disruptive and dysfunctional, akin to embezzlement.<ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> [[Full reserve banking]] would require banks to retain in reserve all deposits that are legally available for immediate withdrawal, and permit lending only from longer-term deposits.

Advocates of this system of banking include [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="The Mystery of Banking">[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar">[http://mises.org/story/1829 The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref> [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]],<ref>[http://www.mises.org/books/desoto.pdf ''Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles''], Jesus Huerta de Soto, First English edition (2006), pp. 98-114</ref> and [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]],<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref name=FBFB>[http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_1_1.pdf Free Banking and the Free Bankers], Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (Vol. 9, No. 1)</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/01/04/181-hyperinflation-ahead/ Interview with Jörg Guido Hülsmann], The Lew Rockwell Show</ref> amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

==Criticism of the Austrian School==
Critics argue that modern Austrian economics generally lacks scientific rigor,<ref name="white1">{{Cite journal |title=The research program of Austrian economics |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing Limited |first=Lawrence H. |last=White |journal=Advances in Austrian Economics |year=2008 |pages=20 |url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/books.htm?chapterid=1775479&show=pdf}}</ref> which forms the basis of the most prominent criticism of the school. Austrian theories are not formulated in formal mathematical form,<ref>{{cite web |first=Deborah L. |last=Walker |title=Austrian Economics |publisher=Library of Economics and Liberty |url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/AustrianEconomics.html |accessdate=2010-01-23 }}</ref> but by using mainly verbal logic and self-evident axioms. Mainstream economists believe that this makes Austrian theories too imprecisely defined to be clearly used to explain or predict real world events. Economist [[Bryan Caplan]] noted that, "what prevents Austrian economists from getting more publications in mainstream journals is that their papers rarely use [[mathematics]] or [[econometrics]]."

There are also criticisms of specific Austrian theories. For example, Nobel laureate [[Milton Friedman]], after examining the history of business cycles in the US, concluded that "The Hayek-Mises explanation of the business cycle is contradicted by the evidence. It is, I believe, false."<ref name="Friedman1969">{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=Milton |title=The Optimal Quantity of Money and Other Essays |publisher=Aldine |location=Chicago |pages=261–284 |chapter=The Monetary Studies of the National Bureau, 44th Annual Report}}</ref><ref name="Friedman93">{{cite journal|last=Friedman|first=Milton|title=The 'Plucking Model' of Business Fluctuations Revisited|journal=Economic Inquiry|pages=171–177|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1993.tb00874.x/abstract}}</ref><ref name="Friedman_ABCT_false">{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=Milton |title=The Optimal Quantity of Money and Other Essays |publisher=Aldine |location=Chicago |pages=261–284 |chapter=The Monetary Studies of the National Bureau, 44th Annual Report | quote=The Hayek-Mises explanation of the business cycle is contradicted by the evidence. It is, I believe, false. }}</ref> In addition to Milton Friedman's criticism, noted liberal [[Neo-Keynesian Economics|neo-Keynesian]] economist [[Paul Krugman]] has criticized the theory.<ref name="Krugman">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/id/9593 |title=The Hangover Theory |last=Krugman |first=Paul |date=1998-12-04 |publisher=Slate |accessdate=2008-06-20}}</ref>

[[Jeffrey Sachs]] has argued that high tax rates and a "mixed" economy (with some "socialist" elements such as high levels of social welfare transfer payments) appears to have generated higher growth rates in the second half of the 20 century - which appears to run counter to the Austrians' assertion that strong deference to private property rights (and therefore low tax rates) are essential for a properly functioning free market economy. Sachs asserts that poverty rates are lower, median income is higher, the government budget has larger surpluses, and the trade balance is stronger (although unemployment tends to be higher).<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Social Welfare State, Beyond Ideology |last=Sachs|first=Jeffrey |date=October 2006 |journal=Scientific American |url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-social-welfare-state |accessdate=2008-06-20|ref=harv }}</ref> In response to Sachs' article, [[William Easterly]] states that Hayek, writing in 1944, correctly recognized the dangers of large-scale state economic planning. He also questions the validity of comparing poverty levels in the Nordic countries and the United States, when the former have been moving away from social planning toward a more market-based economy, and the latter has historically taken in impoverished immigrants.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116355956112023480.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries|title=Dismal Science|accessdate=2008-09-07|author=[[William Easterly]]
|date=2006-11-15|publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>

==Seminal works==
* ''[[Principles of Economics]]'' (1871) by [[Carl Menger]]
* ''[[Capital and Interest]]'' (1884–1921) by [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]]
* ''[[Human Action]]'' (1940–1949) by [[Ludwig von Mises]]
* ''[[Economics in One Lesson]]'' (1946) by [[Henry Hazlitt]]
* ''[[Individualism and Economic Order]]'' (1948) by [[Friedrich Hayek]]
* ''[[Man, Economy, and State]]'' (1962) by [[Murray Rothbard|Murray N. Rothbard]]
* ''[[Competition and Entrepreneurship]]'' (1973) by [[Israel Kirzner|Israel M. Kirzner]]

==See also==
* ''[[The Austrian School of Economics]]''
* ''[[An Introduction to Economic Reasoning‎]]''
* ''[[An Introduction to Austrian Economics]]''
* ''[[The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics]]''
* ''[[Austrian Economics: An Anthology]]''
* ''[[Economic Science and the Austrian Method]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==Links==
{{store|http://mises.org/store/Home-Study-Course-in-Austrian-Economics-P211.aspx|Home Study Course in Austrian Economics|https://mises.org/store/The-Framework-P10468.aspx|The Framework}}
{{Academy|http://academy.mises.org/courses/ae1/|Austrian Economics 1: Praxeology through Price Theory|http://academy.mises.org/courses/production/|Production and the Market Process|http://academy.mises.org/courses/money-monopoly-market-intervention/|Money, Monopoly, and Market Intervention|http://academy.mises.org/courses/microeconomics/|Austrian Microeconomics}}
===Writings===
* What is economics (Austrian perspective)
** [http://mises.org/daily/987 "What is Economics? Why Study It?"] by [[Gene Callahan]] (excerpt from ''[[Economics for Real People]]'')
** [http://mises.org/daily/6118 "What Is Economics?"] by [[Percy L. Greaves, Jr.]] (excerpt from ''[[Understanding the Dollar Crisis]]'')
** [http://mises.org/daily/1294 "Why Study Economics?"] by Stephen Carson, April 2003
** {{md|2025|What Is A Priori Science, and Why Does Economics Qualify As One?|Gene Callahan|February 2006}}
** {{mb|8056|The Real Problem With Non-Austrian Economics|Stefan Karlsson|April 2008}}

* Austrian School tenets & methodology
** [http://mises.org/etexts/austrian.asp What is Austrian Economics?] from the [[Mises Institute]] (republished in Mises About [http://mises.org/about/3223 here])
** [http://mises.org/resources/1200 "Why Austrian Economics Matters"] by [[Lew Rockwell]]
** [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/AustrianSchoolofEconomics.html Austrian School of Economics] from The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics
** [http://homepage.newschool.edu/het//schools/austrian.htm The Austrian School] from the History of Economic Thought page
** [http://mises.org/daily/5091 "The Austrian School in Brief"] by Schulak and Unterköfler (excerpt from ''[[The Austrian School of Economics]]'')
** {{md|1665|To Be an Austrian: A Primer|Sean Corrigan|November 2004}}
** [http://mises.org/daily/3561 Understanding "Austrian" Economics] by [[Henry Hazlitt]], February 1981
** [http://mises.org/daily/4390 A Primer on Austrian Economics] by Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan, June 2010
** [http://www.cobdencentre.org/literature/primer/ Austrian economics primer] list of resources by [[Cobden Centre]]
** [http://www.tomwoods.com/blog/austrian-economics-is-unscientific/ Austrian Economics Is ‘Unscientific’] by [[Tom Woods]], November 2011
** [http://www.tomwoods.com/blog/austrian-economists-called-unscientific/ Austrian Economists Called ‘Unscientific’] [[Jeffrey M. Herbener]] interview by Tom Woods, August 2012
** [http://mises.org/daily/3512 "Mises Introduces the Austrian School"] (Excerpt from [[Memoirs (Mises)|Memoirs]])
** "Ludwig von Mises and the Austrian School of Economics" ([http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae5_2_2.pdf PDF]) by Jeffrey M. Herbener, 1991
** [http://mises.org/resources/1004 "Hermeneutics vs. Austrian Economics"] by [[David Gordon]], 1986
** [http://blog.mises.org/15965/adventures-in-austrian-economics/ "Adventures in Economics"] Interview with [[Richard M. Ebeling]], March 2011
** [http://mises.org/resources/204/ "The Austrian School and the Theory of Value"] by [[Friedrich Wieser]], 1891
** [http://mises.org/resources/976/ "Austrian School of Economics at the University of Vienna"] lecture by Ludwig von Mises, May 1962
** [http://mises.org/daily/2200 "The Philosophical Origins of Austrian Economics"] by David Gordon, 1994
** [http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/articles/menger.html "Aristotle, Menger, Mises: An Essay in the Metaphysics of Economics"] by Barry Smith, 1990
** [http://lewrockwell.com/block/block221.html Is Austrian Economics a Cult?] by Walter Block, April 2013

* Collections
** [http://mises.org/literature.aspx?action=subject&Id=1 Overview of the Austrian School of Economics] literature collection at [[Mises.org]]
** [http://mises.org/literature.aspx?action=subject&Id=116 Austrian core] literature collection at Mises.org
** [http://mises.org/literature.aspx?Id=3&action=subject Methodological Foundations] literature collection at Mises.org
** [http://mises.org/literature.aspx?action=subject&Id=127 Austrian Methodology for the Social Sciences] literature collection at Mises.org
** [http://www.fee.org/category/intro-to-austrian-economics/ Intro to Austrian Economics Category] article collection at [[Foundation for Economic Education|FEE.org]]

* {{wplink}}

===Recommendations===
* [http://mises.org/store/For-Beginners-C9.aspx "For Beginners"] - Mises Store reading list
* [http://www.garynorth.com/public/3112.cfm "Ten Steps to Understand Austrian Economic Theory"] - [[Gary North]] recommended reading list (in order of difficulty)
* [http://blog.mises.org/8831/how-do-i-get-started-with-austrian-economics/ "How Do I Get Started with Austrian Economics?"] by [[Thomas E. Woods]], October 2008
* [http://austrianomics.com "Learn Austrian Economics"] - Tom Woods' recommended reading list
** {{mb|19148|Learn Austrian Economics|Justin Ptak|November 2011}}
*"[http://www.cobdencentre.org/2010/06/review-how-an-economy-grows-and-why-it-crashes/ And Then There Were Three]" by Andy Duncan, June 2010

===Media and interactive===
{{See also|Where to study Austrian Economics}}
* [http://academy.mises.org/ Mises Academy]
* [http://mises.org/classroom/default.asp The Mises Classroom] - study in Austrian economics and libertarian theory ([http://mises.org/resources/2022/ MP3 downloads])([http://mises.org/HSCAE/lessonplan.pdf PDF Lesson Plan & Study Guide])
** [http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=562 "Why Home Study?"] by [[Robert P. Murphy]] (republished as Mises Daily [http://mises.org/daily/1901 here])
* [http://mises.org/media.aspx?action=category&ID=89 Introduction to Austrian Economic Analysis] lecture series with [[Joseph T. Salerno]]
* [http://mises.org/media/category/176The-Austrian-School-of-Economics-An-Introduction The Austrian School of Economics: An Introduction] lecture series
* [http://vforvoluntary.com/austrian-economics Austrian economics lectures] (selected lectures, including "Introduction to Austrian Economics" by [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]] and [[Hans-Hermann Hoppe]])([http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=1AD95D0593508BD8 YouTube])
* [http://mises.org/media/5618/media.aspx?action=author&ID=1619 "Why Does Economics Matter?"] lecture by [[Mark Thornton]], November 2010
* [http://mises.org/media/4288/The-Core-of-What-Economics-Teaches "The Core of What Economics Teaches"] lecture by [[Bob Murphy]], November 2009
* [http://mises.org/media/6143/The-Core-of-What-Economics-Teaches "The Core of What Economics Teaches"] lecture by [[Mark Thornton]], April 2011
* [http://mises.org/media/5722/Why-Should-We-Care-About-Economic-Theory "Why Should We Care About Economic Theory?"] lecture by [[Lew Rockwell]], January 2011
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e_8H7E3cTo Austrian Economics versus Mainstream Economics] with Mark Thornton, June 2011
* [http://mises.org/quiz.aspx Are You an Austrian?] quiz at Mises.org

[[Category:Austrian School of Economics|*]]

Portugal

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{{Stub}}

{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = Lisbon
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Spain]] 1,214 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = republic; parliamentary democracy
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 10,707,924 (July 2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_PT">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_po.html "Portugal"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth
|Row 5 info = 0.275% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_PT" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 78.21 years<ref name="CIA_PT" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 9.5% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_PT" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 62<ref name="Heritage_PT">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/Portugal "Portugal"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 35<ref name="Transparency_PT">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "Portugal"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 48<ref name="Business_PT">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "Portugal"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
}}

Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, '''Portugal''' lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.<ref name="CIA_PT" />

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Euro (ISO code: EUR)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': 3% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_PT" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 8.35% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_PT" />
* is part of the '''[[Eurozone ]]'''

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: 1828, 1846-1847, 1890, 1920, 1923, 1931-1932<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 379. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>
* Years in [[inflation]]: 9.5% (share of years 1800-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
* [[Public default]]: 1828, 1837-1841, 1850-1856, 1892-1901 (external)<ref name="Reinhart_histories">Carmen M. Reinhart. [http://www.princeton.edu/economics/seminar-schedule-by-prog/macro-s10/papers/Reinhardt-Chartbook.pdf "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises"] (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 94. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_PT">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/pt/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "Portugal: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 121 662
| 112 650
| 115 712
| 127 455
| 156 413
| 178 952
| 185 454
| 195 015
| 223 337
| 243 497
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_PT">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/pt/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Portugal: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 60.581
| 60.248
| 60.978
| 65.245
| 67.166
| 70.836
| 74.452
| 73.234
| 71.134
| 76.018
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_PT">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/pt/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Portugal: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 34.624
| 34.925
| 34.473
| 35.532
| 36.960
| 39.538
| 37.887
| 38.458
| 39.109
| 39.213
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_PT">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/pt/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Portugal: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 38.802
| 38.735
| 39.627
| 40.082
| 41.195
| 42.125
| 43.284
| 42.181
| 41.605
| 42.919
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
| 1.750
| 1.725
| 1.769
| 1.836
| 1.817
| 1.792
| 1.965
| 1.904
| 1.819
| 1.939
|}

==Economic crisis==
{{Main|2010 European sovereign debt crisis}}
The troubles of Portugal were described as a chronically low [[savings]] rate that forces a reliance on foreign investors to finance persistent [[deficit]]s. Portuguese exporters have been losing market share to competitors since entering the common currency in 2000. That, in turn, has pushed the government to borrow from abroad to finance the current account deficit, pushing debt to its current levels.

As of April, 2010, the Portuguese government has taken pre-emptive steps to cut spending and raise taxes. Portugal’s debt, at just under 90 percent of gross domestic product, was still lower than Greece’s 113 percent level. The savings rate was 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (compared to 6 percent for Greece). In contrast, Italy had a savings rate of 17.5 percent, Spain 20 percent, France 19 percent and Germany 23 percent.<ref name="Landon_Worries">Landon Thomas Jr. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/business/global/16escudo.html?_r=2&ref=europe "Debt Worries Shift to Portugal, Spurred by Rising Bond Rates"], ''New York Times'', April 15, 2010. Referenced 2011-03-01.</ref>

In a burgeoning welfare state, citizens were granted a multitude of social and economic rights, including the right to work, housing, education, culture, health, and social security. Prior to the 1974 revolution, the government spent about 20% of GDP, mostly on the traditional functions of military defence, domestic administration, and infrastructure. Since then, driven by social expenditures, the weight of government has risen to 46% of GDP, higher than the European average. Over the same period, the number of public-sector workers quadrupled.

Since the revolution, Portugal has not even once avoided a [[fiscal deficit]].

In the 1980s, Portugal has shifted towards free markets. Limited-term work contracts have attenuated the impact of its labour laws. The constitution was amended to allow the privatization of previously nationalized firms. This led the country to its best economic performance of the post-revolutionary era.

The country's adoption of the [[euro]] reduced debt-servicing costs. Figuring that giving up its own currency would force the government to implement market reforms, instead of resorting to the previous ways of depreciation, the bond market lowered the risk premium charged on Portuguese debt. But few reforms were made.<ref name="Bragues_Welfare">George Bragues. [http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Welfare+state+crack/3908760/story.html "Welfare state crack-up"], ''National Post'', December 1, 2010. Referenced 2011-03-01.</ref>

===2011===
In January, 2011, Portugal’s prime minister Jose Socrates insisted his country doesn’t need a [[bailout]] and is cutting its debt faster than promised. He also said Portugal ‘won't ask for any financial help because it's not necessary.’ Commentators pointed out that that is precisely what Ireland said in the weeks before it accepted a €90 billion bailout and Greece said before it bowed to market pressure and accepted a €120 billion handout. Several analysts expressed worry that a bailout of Portugal could speed up the rate at which the [[Eurozone|euro zone’s]] sovereign debtors fall.

The interest rates, or yields, as well as the cost of insuring money lent to the Portuguese government have been rising on the government debt markets. That has prompted the [[European Central Bank]] to start buying Portuguese debt and has sparked reassurances from China and Japan that they too will buy the debt to try and prop up prices.<ref name="Hyde_woes">Deborah Hyde. [http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/portugal-debt-woes-grow-as-economy-now-seen-shrinking-in-2011/a462161?ref=citywire-money-latest-news-list "Portugal debt woes grow as economy now seen shrinking in 2011"], ''Citywire Money'', January 11, 2011. Referenced 2011-03-01.</ref>

By February, 2011, the rising costs to service Portuguese debt led to speculations of an imminent bailout. Athanasios Orphanides, a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, said that Portugal's case is "particularly urgent." He warned that failure to come up with convincing changes to fiscal policy and competitiveness could destabilize the 17-country euro zone.<ref name="Bartha_Debt">Emese Bartha And Patricia Kowsmann. [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/portugals-debt-d-day-nears-2011-02-22 "Portugal's Debt D-Day Nears"], ''MarketWatch'', February 22, 2011. Referenced 2011-03-01.</ref>

As of July, 2011, the nation's long-term government bond rating was cut by [[Moody's]] to Ba2, which is two levels into junk, and assigned a negative outlook, meaning further downgrades were possible. Peers Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services have each recently cut Portugal's ratings. They currently rate Portugal at BBB-, which is the lowest investment-grade level and two notches above Moody's new rating.

The downgrade was driven by an increasing probability that Portugal will not be able to borrow at sustainable rates in the capital markets in the second half of 2013 and for some time thereafter. Moody's also expressed concerns about the country's ability to fully achieve the deficit reduction and debt stabilization targets Portugal set out in its loan agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund due to "formidable challenges the country is facing in reducing spending, increasing tax compliance, achieving economic growth and supporting the banking system."<ref name="Kell_cuts">John Kell. [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/moodys-cuts-portugal-to-junk-outlook-negative-2011-07-05 "Moody's cuts Portugal to junk; outlook negative"], ''MarketWatch'', July 5, 2011. Referenced 2011-07-12.</ref> Private-sector owners of Portugal’s government bonds may be asked to participate in a bailout of the country.<ref name="Detrixhe_Hamper">John Detrixhe. [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-05/private-sector-requirement-may-hamper-portugal-moody-s-says.html "Private-Sector Requirement May Hamper Portugal, Moody’s Says"], ''Bloomberg'', Jul 5, 2011. Referenced 2011-07-12.</ref>

In July, Portugal's new Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has told the nation to brace for further austerity measures after his government discovered a "colossal" €2bn (£1.7bn) hole in the public accounts left by the outgoing Socialists. Portugal's government will have to cover the gap with another round of spending cuts, mostly in the civil service and state-owned industries.

This revelation has echoes of what occurred in [[Greece]] in late 2009, when an audit by the new Pasok government exposed a budget deficit twice the level previously declared.

Portugal is obliged to cut the budget deficit to 5.9pc of GDP in 2011 under its rescue terms. That task will be even harder since the deficit was still 8.7pc in the first quarter, and further austerity will have the side-effect of choking tax revenue. <ref name="Evans-Pritchard_collosal">Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8646189/Portugals-Prime-Minister-Pedro-Passos-Coelho-discovers-colossal-budget-hole.html "Portugal's Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho discovers 'colossal' budget hole"], ''The Telepgraph'', 18 July, 2011. Referenced 2011-07-25.</ref>

In November, 2011, a former treasury secretary indicated Portugal may need a further 20-25 billion euros in rescue funds to finance public companies that have had their access to market funding cut off.<ref name="CNBC_25_billion">CNBC.com. [http://www.cnbc.com/id/45403926 "Portugal may need 25 billion euros more in bailout: ex official"], ''Reuters'', Published: 22 November 2011. Referenced 2011-11-29.</ref>

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:Portugal|Portugal]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.bportugal.pt Central bank] of Portugal
* [http://countrystudies.us/portugal/ Studies] from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/994099.stm country profile]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7FshBjkS6U Portugal legalizes drugs. Crime/Usage falls.] (video), BBC, July 2009
* [http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?] by Maia Szalavitz, April 2009
* [http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5887 Drug Decriminalization in Portugal] (video), CATO Policy Forum, April 2009
* [http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/greenwald_whitepaper.pdf Drug Decriminalization in Portugal] (pdf) Glenn Greenwald, 2009
* [http://www.businessinsider.com.au/portugal-drug-policy-decriminalization-works-2012-7 Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs Eleven Years Ago And The Results Are Staggering] by Samuel Blackstone, July 2012
* [[Wikipedia:Drug policy of Portugal|Drug policy of Portugal]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/26/portugal-adopts-austerity-says-no-bailout-needed/ Portugal adopts austerity, says no bailout needed] by Barry Hatton, November 2010
[[Category:Countries]]

Drug legalization

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'''Drug legalization''' ('''drug liberalization''' or '''drug decriminalization''') is the process of eliminating or reducing [[drug prohibition]] laws.<ref>[http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/ille-e/03evb-E.htm Proceedings of the Special Committee on Illegal Drugs], Senate of Canada, May 28, 2001</ref>

{{See also|Drug prohibition}}

==Criticisms of drug prohibition laws==
According to [[Milton Friedman]], prohibition of drugs creates many negative externalities like corruption, increased incarceration rates, disproportional imprisonment of African Americans, destruction of inner cities, compounding the harm to users by making drugs exorbitantly expensive and highly uncertain in quality, under treatment of chronic pain and harm to foreign countries.<ref name="Friedman_Justice">[[Milton Friedman]]. [http://zpub.com/un/drug-mf.html "There's No Justice in the War on Drugs"], ''New York Times'', originally published on January 11, 1998. Referenced 2013-08-04.</ref>

According to Mark Thornton, drug prohibition imposes a heavy cost and is extremely difficult to enforce. Arguably, effective prohibition is impossible to achieve, because the unintended consequences of prohibition itself preclude any benefits. To the extent that prohibition results in increased prices, it produces increased crime and political corruption. Higher prices for a prohibited product also result in the substitution of related products and the innovation of more dangerous and more potent substitutes. Therefore, the assumption that higher prices achieve the goals of prohibition is unfounded.<ref name="Thornton_2269">[[Mark Thornton]]. [https://mises.org/daily/2269 "The Economics of Prohibition"], ''Mises Daily''. Referenced 2013-08-04.</ref>

According to Laurence Vance, the War on Drugs is a failure. In the United States, it has clogged the judicial system, unnecessarily swelled prison populations, fostered violence, corrupted law enforcement, eroded civil liberties, and destroyed financial privacy. It has encouraged illegal searches and seizures, ruined countless lives, wasted hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, hindered legitimate pain treatment, and had no impact on the use or availability of most drugs.<ref name="Vance_3736">Laurence M. Vance. [https://mises.org/daily/3736 "The Drugs of John Gray"], ''Mises Daily''. Referenced 2013-08-04.</ref>

According to philosopher John Gray, the worldwide war on drugs should be ended because:
* The drug war has maimed, traumatized, or displaced uncounted numbers of people.
* In spite of it, drug use has remained embedded in the way we live.
* The costs of drug prohibition now far outweigh any possible benefits.
* Penalizing drug use drives otherwise law-abiding people into the criminal economy.
* Prohibition exposes drug users to major health risks.
* Illegal drugs can't easily be tested for quality and toxicity.
* A great many drug users in years past lived productive lives before drugs were banned.
* Drug users face inflated prices, health risks, and the threat of jail.
* Politicians who have used drugs have not suffered any significant political fallout.
* The extreme profit reaped from selling illegal drugs corrupts institutions and wrecks lives.
* The antidrug crusade in Mexico has escalated into something like low-intensity warfare.
* Some states have been more or less wholly captured by drug money.<ref name="Gray_case">John Gray. [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/13/legalise-drugs-john-gray "The case for legalising all drugs is unanswerable"], ''The Guardian'', 13 September 2009. Referenced 2013-08-04.</ref>

[[Walter Block]] argues that the legalization of drugs would prevent civil liberties from being threatened any further, it would reduce crime rates, reverse the potency effect, improve the quality of life in the inner cities, prevent the spread of disease, save the taxpayer money, and generally benefit both individuals and the community as a whole.<ref name=Cussen_Block_Legalize">Cussen, Meaghan and Walter Block. [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/legalize_drugs_now.pdf "Legalize Drugs Now! An Analysis of the Benefits of Legalized Drugs"] (pdf), ''American J. Economics And Sociology'', Vol. 59, No. 3, July 2000, pp. 525-536. Referenced 2013-08-04.</ref>

Wilton Alston points out that there is another reason for maintaining the "War on Drugs" despite its failings: profit. The drug war may be the largest economy in the US. Politicians, judges, lawyers, police officers, deputy sheriffs, jailers, prison guards, social workers, probation and parole officers, a third of the military, Customs, FBI, DEA, IRS, U.S. Marshals. The drug war makes these people's house and car payments at least in part. There’s too much money to be made fighting it and too many jobs at stake to make it legal. Worse yet, the drug war has spawned a network of supposedly private enterprises beholden to it. This is an ecosystem — large, well-funded, politically-entrenched — that exists directly as a result of the war on drugs.<ref name="Alston_Praxeology">Wilton Alston. [http://www.lewrockwell.com/2009/09/wilton-alston/the-drug-war-is-working/ "The Praxeology* of the Drug War: Who Knew? (*Logical, Economically-Valid Justification)"], ''LewRockwell.com'', September 4, 2009. Referenced 2013-08-07.</ref>

==Arguments against legalization==
===Addictive materials are harmful to the person who uses them===
From a purely economic perspective, we can deduce from the fact that a man buys narcotics the conclusion that he values them more than their cost. The value-free economist can only conclude that, in the view of the economic actor, at the time the decision was made, the choice of consumption, whether alcohol or Amadeus, was made in order to enhance his welfare.

The paternalistic argument (bad addictive materials should be legally prohibited) rings true from a health point of view. If there are such materials, ending their use would be a medical accomplishment. But this is irrelevant to public policy analysis, at least from the libertarian legal perspective. There are many other things that are deleterious; for example, chocolate, ice cream, hang gliding, ice skating, boxing, fatty foods, automobile racing, fried chicken. If this argument was accepted in the present case, logic would require that all such items and activities are forbidden.

Let us now concede for the sake of argument that heroin is harmful. Even so, injury is a relative, not an absolute concept. Harmful, but compared to what? Alcohol? Tobacco? Many more people - even proportional to actual use - die of the latter two than of the former. If foreclosure is indicated, it is thus by no means clear as to which item it should be applied. Further, legal suppression does not improve, but rather exacerbates the health problem. This is because of the potency effect of prohibition: the mere existence of prohibition, and the more severely it is administered, the stronger will be the potency of the ensuing drugs. A smuggler would rather risk transporting a suitcase full of cocaine than marijuana, because of its greater value. The same phenomenon occurred with alcohol in the early part of the 20th century: beer manufacture declined, while that for hard liquor increased. This, too, is the explanation for the most recent generation of chemical substitutes: crack, ice, PCP, etc

There are some people who even go so far as advocate entrenching into law the right of suicide. These individuals, as in the case of the pro-choicers, are logically obligated to support repeal. For at worst addictive drugs are a (slow) form of suicide.<ref name="Block_Analysis">Walter Block. [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/drug_prohibition.pdf "Drug Prohibition: A Legal and Economic Analysis"] (pdf), Journal of Business Ethics 12: 689-700, 1993. Referenced 2013-08-06.</ref>

===Addictive drugs are financially harmful to other people than the users===
This is true, but only under a regime of [[socialized medicine]]. If you overeat, and contract heart disease, I, along with everyone else, am forced to pay for it. If I smoke cigarettes and fall victim to cancer, you, and all other citizens, must foot the bill. We, therefore, each have a clear and focused interest in the health habits of everyone else.

But why accept this context as a fact of nature? Coercive medical insurance schemes have many shortcomings, not the least of which is the problem of [[moral hazard]], which encourages all parties to overuse scarce health services since they are priced at subsidized costs. Given a free market in medicine, this reason for restraint of drug markets all but vanishes. Further, alcohol and tobacco are far more harmful than addictive drugs. To the extent that this objection has any merit, we should first enact legislation against the former, and only then prohibit the latter.<ref name="Block_Analysis" />

===Addictive drugs promote crime===
It is the suppression of narcotics that leads to criminal behavior, not these substances themselves. If left to the market, the prices of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and all the rest would be exceedingly modest. After all, they are based for the most part on very hardy plants, which cost little to harvest and process. The reason they are so expensive at present is because of their legal status: it is highly risky to bring them to market. The high prices they can fetch, however, create vast profits. These attract people whose adherence to the niceties of the law are less than thorough.

Crime comes about in three ways based on this scenario. First, the farmers, refiners, transporters, street vendors, etc., involved in the practice are per se considered criminals, since they break the law. However, there are no victims of these commercial interactions; there are only willing participants involved. Second, because of the exorbitant costs of the drugs, addicts must resort to crime (burglaries, auto theft, assault and battery, etc.) in order to obtain the funds necessary to feed their habits. Third, are those who pay the ultimate penalty as a result of gun battles in the streets between different gangs contending for turf. These “mushrooms” are also entirely innocent, and lose their lives not because of drugs in and of themselves, but rather due to the law.

There are claims to the effect that narcotic usage creates crime in a very different way: by turning the addict into a crazed, enraged lunatic, uncontrollable in his lust to lay waste to the countryside, and all who reside in it. There are several precedents which can be used in behalf of this claim. One is the British experience with legalization, where doctors in hospitals would not start newcomers out on this path, but would administer the drug to confirmed addicts. The finding from this source is that the recipients of this medication were able to lead normal lives without any extraordinary involvement in criminal activity. Second are the opium dens of Chinese origin. The denizens of these establishments, too, were not given over to violence; if anything, the very opposite was the case. And third is the example of the one segment of US. society which has almost full access to such material at cut rate prices: physicians. Experience has failed to show enraged antisocial behavior as a result.<ref name="Block_Analysis" />

===Legalization would massively increase drug use===
The [[elasticity]] of demand for drugs in general is very low. This is because such items are usually seen by their consumers as necessities, not luxuries. While one might severely reduce demand for luxuries in the face of an increased price, or even give it up entirely in the extreme, this does not apply to necessities. But if such behavior is characteristic of most drugs, it applies even more so in the case of addictive substances. For at least in the mind of the addict, these are the most difficult of all from which to refrain.

Secondly, the effect of legalization - in markedly reducing profits - will be to greatly decrease the incentive for "pushing." No longer will it pay for addicts to go to school yards, offering free samples, in an attempt to "hook" children into a life of addiction in order to support their own habits. With a free market, where these products will be exceedingly cheap, there will be no temptation to resort to these extraordinary means of salesmanship. Third, even if quantity increases, potency will fall. Given this effect, a great amount of total drugs may be less harmful to the population than what is presently consumed, as heroin and cocaine begin to take the place of the more deleterious chemical derivatives, and as marijuana begins to replace those two.<ref name="Block_Analysis" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* {{md|5427|Why Legalize Now?|Mark Thornton|July 2011}}
* [https://mises.org/journals/scholar/thornton3.pdf Prohibition vs. Legalization: Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Drug Policy?] (pdf) by Mark Thornton, 2002
* {{md|6412|Obama on Drugs|Mark Thornton|April 2013}}
* {{md|6418|Is Pot too Potent to Legalize?|Mark Thornton|April 2013}}
* {{md|6388|Nullify the War on Drugs|Mark Thornton|March 2013}}
* {{md|4842|Prop. 19 Goes up in Smoke|Mark Thornton|November 2010}}
* {{md|6272|US Gone to Pot, but Not Completely|Mark Thornton|November 2012}}
* {{md|4971|What Explains Crystal Meth?|Mark Thornton|January 2011}}
* [http://www.lewrockwell.com/2002/07/walter-block/new-thoughts-on-drug-prohibition/ The Libertarian Case For Drug Prohibition] by Walter Block, July 2002
* [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/9612094436.pdf Drug Prohibition and Individual Virtue] (pdf) by Walter Block, October 1996
* {{md|3051|What Motley Crue Can Teach Us About Drug Legalization|Vedran Vuk|August 2008}}
* {{md|5425|Legalize It|Stefano R. Mugnaini|July 2011}}
* [https://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=294 The Legalization of Drugs] by David Gordon, 2005 (review of ''The Legalization of Drugs'' by Doug Husak and Peter de Marneffe)
* [https://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=222 Legalize This! The Case For Decriminalizing Drugs] by David Gordon, 2002 (review of ''Legalize This! The Case For Decriminalizing Drugs'' by Douglas N. Husak)
* {{md|6504|Gupta Mea Culpa|Mark Thornton|August 2013}}
* [http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jun/14/drugsandalcohol.socialsciences Make heroin legal] by Nick Davies, June 2001
* {{wplink}}

{{See also|The Economics of Prohibition}}

[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Interventions]]

South Africa

2014-01-05T22:52:18Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

{{Stub}}

{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = Pretoria (administrative capital)
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Botswana]] 1,840 km, [[Lesotho]] 909 km, [[Mozambique]] 491 km, [[Namibia]] 967 km, [[Swaziland]] 430 km, [[Zimbabwe]] 225 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = republic
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 49,052,489<ref name="CIA_ZA">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_sf.html "South Africa"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth
|Row 5 info = 0.281% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 48.98 years<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 24% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 72<ref name="Heritage_ZA">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/SouthAfrica "South Africa"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 55<ref name="Transparency_ZA">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "South Africa"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 34<ref name="Business_ZA">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "South Africa"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
}}

Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day '''South Africa''' in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting, which has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned, and Kgalema MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009.<ref name="CIA_ZA" />

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Rand (ISO code: ZAR)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': 7% (31 December 2009)<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 11.71% (31 December 2009 )<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
* '''Stock of money''' ([[Money supply#M1|M1]]): $44.66 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_ZA" />
* '''Quasi money''' (with M1 makes [[Money supply#M2|M2]]): $124.1 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_ZA" />

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: 1977-1978, 1989<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 382. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>
* Years in [[inflation]]: 1% (share of years 1910-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
* [[Public default]]: 1985-1987, 1989, 1993 (external)<ref name="Reinhart_histories">Carmen M. Reinhart. [http://www.princeton.edu/economics/seminar-schedule-by-prog/macro-s10/papers/Reinhardt-Chartbook.pdf "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises"] (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 99. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_ZA">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/za/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "South Africa: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
| 133 184
| 132 878
| 118 479
| 110 874
| 166 654
| 216 012
| 242 802
| 257 728
| 283 745
| 276 445
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_ZA">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/za/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "South Africa: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|
| 45.270
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_ZA">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/za/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "South Africa: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|
| 26.347
| 27.436
| 26.431
| 26.839
| 28.517
| 30.613
| 32.017
| 32.041
| 30.719
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_ZA">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/za/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "South Africa: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-10-04.</ref>
|
| 27.907
| 27.824
| 27.570
| 29.284
| 30.319
| 30.461
| 30.773
| 30.748
| 30.943
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
|
| 1.718
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:South Africa|South Africa]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.resbank.co.za Central bank] of South Africa
* [http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/documents/EnterpriseSurveys/Reports/South_Africa-2007.pdf Country profile] (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
* [http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/ Studies] from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm country profile]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/06/magwa-tea-plantation-dispute-south-africa?newsfeed=true South Africa's last tea farm tries to bounce back after costly pay dispute] by David Smith, March 2012
* [http://news.sky.com/story/1033939/south-africa-women-drinking-to-harm-babies South Africa: Women Drinking To Harm Babies] by Alex Crawford, January 2013
* [http://www.thedailybell.com/29265/Anthony-Wile-Chris-Beckers-Austrian-Perspective-on-South-Africa-Gold-and-the-Ludwig-von-Mises-Institute Chris Becker's Austrian Perspective on South Africa, Gold and the Ludwig von Mises Institute] by Anthony Wile, June 2013
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/legalizing-the-rhino-horn-trade/ Legalizing the Rhino Horn Trade] by Logan Albright, July 2013
* {{cb|2013/12/mandela-and-the-economics-of-apartheid/|Mandela and the Economics of Apartheid|Peter G. Klein|December 2013}}

[[Category:Countries]]

Talk:Money substitutes

2014-01-05T22:51:29Z

Pestergaines: Re

Bitcoin's more of a money than a money substitute, isn't it? [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 13:38, 5 January 2014 (EST)

: Depends on how one defines [[money]], a "commonly used medium of exchange" of course makes it dependent on what can be considered "common". And indeed, Bitcoin doesn't seem to me like a money substitute.
: Which leads to the bigger question - how come we don't have a [[Money substitute]] page? :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:51, 5 January 2014 (EST)

User talk:Pestergaines

2014-01-05T22:40:48Z

Pestergaines: /* Barnstar */ re

'''Welcome!'''

Hello, Pestergaines, and welcome to the Mises Wiki! Thank you for [[Special:Contributions/Pestergaines|your contributions]]. I hope you like the place and decide to stay.

Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, ask me!

[[User:DickClarkMises|DickClarkMises]] 01:17, 5 November 2010 (CDT)

== Linking ==

What do you think about using red links instead of links to Wikipedia? We don't want readers who find us to go off to Wikipedia--we want them to stay here. Even now, red links are allowed on WP (see WP:RED), but when Wikipedia was younger and less developed, red links were strongly encouraged, because they helped new contributors find an article to create. For these reasons I think it makes more sense to use red links as much as possible. Sure, Wikipedia's article on [[Tennessee]] will be more developed than ours ever will, but we can at least shoot for a simple stub that gives readers the basics, with an external link at the bottom to WP's article. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 07:32, 9 November 2010 (CST)

: Good question. My take is, that this page is in many respects more focused than Wikipedia - on specific topics, it will provide more information, and specifically biased information - on many others, it will provide less information (at least in volume) with a specific spin or focus. On a great many topics, there will be no page at all.
: For an example, I see no need for an article or Tennessee - unless there is a reason for it. So in that case I would link to Wikipedia. (Or even not link at all!) I have actually linked very liberally to WP's articles and consider it a strength, not a weakness - it points to more resources and (possible) alternative viewpoints, both of which make a resource richer IMO.
: I will raise this in the mailing group, since it is an interesting strategic question, and deserves to be addressed by others as well. Thanks! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 07:55, 9 November 2010 (CST)

== Book sources and other crazy WP stuff ==

I managed to figure out what the issue was with [[Special:BookSources]]. The pages to change are [[MisesWiki:Book sources]] and [[MediaWiki:Booksources-text]].

All the citation stuff is in place except for that dumb cite journal template... I just can't figure out why it refuses to accept a link-free work. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 14:36, 16 November 2010 (CST)
:See [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:ISBN_links]. Especially: "links regarding the book according to the contents of the page "Book sources" in the project namespace." So [[MisesWiki:BookSources]] isn't doing anything. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 14:41, 16 November 2010 (CST)
:: Thanks! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:42, 16 November 2010 (CST)

== Anniversaries ==

I've been using past tense for the anniversary pages, in order to distinguish their entries from those of the "current events" box. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 09:33, 9 December 2010 (CST)
:Right you are, thanks for fixing my first attempts! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 10:31, 9 December 2010 (CST)

== On the International Project ==

A bit of discussion [[MisesWiki talk:International|here]]. :) -- [[User:RayBirks|RayBirks]] 14:20, 8 January 2011 (CST)

== Check-in ==

Not much to report [[User talk:RayBirks#About the idea|here]]. --[[User:RayBirks|RayBirks]] 11:03, 24 February 2011 (CST)

== Vandals ==

I did some research and found that our spammers are using open proxies, i.e., fake IP addresses that change constantly. Wikipedia blocks such proxies as fast as they appear, so I don't think there's any issue with blocking the IP addresses that the accounts use. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 07:48, 11 March 2011 (CST)
:Thanks for the research - and good work keeping those bastards out! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 03:12, 12 March 2011 (CST)

== Decided to go with it ==

This was the idea: The [[Trail of interventions]].
-- [[User:RayBirks|RayBirks]] 05:19, 10 April 2011 (MSD)

== edit summaries ==

What does "+res" mean? --[[User:John James|John James]] 16:11, 1 June 2011 (MSD)
: :) "resource" [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 16:29, 1 June 2011 (MSD)

I would have never guessed that. Do you ever use a different abbreviation? I think that may get too easily confused with "response". I guess that may not really matter, but if we're using the summaries, it would make sense for them to be understandable/distinguishable. --[[User:John James|John James]] 02:24, 2 June 2011 (MSD)
:I made my way through all sorts of variations of "link added" and similar, but 'link' doesn't always seem like the best characterization of the page linked to, so I finally stuck with 'resource' and it eventually shrunk to 'res'. Seems pretty conclusive, and isn't hopefully confused for a response (which is used on a Talk page anyway). So it should be fine. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:17, 6 June 2011 (MSD)

== Quick notes ==

Technically, you're counting ''articles''...not pages ;) --[[User:John James|John James]] 05:40, 18 June 2011 (MSD)
:You do have a point sir, substitution performed. (Thanks!) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:24, 18 June 2011 (MSD)

Recommended...any images you have that are free license (like [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/File:Improvement_Barnstar.png barnstars]), you might go ahead and upload them to the [http://commons.wikimedia.org Wikimedia Commons] so that others might be able to use them on their wikis as well. All images at the commons [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/InstantCommons can be used on any wiki installation] just as if they were uploaded locally. --[[User:John James|John James]] 02:24, 18 October 2011 (MSD)

== Hello ==

Thank you for the welcome. Would you happen to know if it's possible for me to edit my username so both words are capitalized? I submitted it as "stephanie_herman" and ended up with "Stephanie herman" on screen. [[User:Stephanie herman|Stephanie Herman]] 00:01, 16 September 2011 (MSD)

:Hi Stephanie, that will require a bit of tinkering. I've requested the necessary functionality to be installed, hope it will be around fast. Best regards, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 02:34, 16 September 2011 (MSD)

:It's much easier to register again with the correct user name. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 02:52, 16 September 2011 (MSD)

::That's probably right, but now it's done. You are renamed! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 11:39, 17 September 2011 (MSD)

== Awards ==

{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="top" | {{#ifeq:{{{2}}}|alt|[[File:Megaphone Barnstar Hires.png|100px]]| [[Image:Barnstar-Megaphone.png|100px|Motivation Award]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''Mises Wiki Motivation Award'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | This Motivation [[wikipedia:WP:BARN|Award]] is presented to you in recognition of your work in promoting the Mises Wiki and rallying the troops to help move the project forward. Keep up the good work. --[[User:John James|John James]] 00:25, 7 October 2011 (MSD)
|}

Thank you very much. It can be very hard to stay motivated sometimes - and this helps! I only hope we can grow our user base some more and keep people coming back. Glad to see you coming back as well! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 02:24, 8 October 2011 (MSD)

{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | {{#ifeq:alt|alt|[[File:No Spam Barnstar Hires.png|100px]]| [[Image:No spam barnstar.png|100px]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Anti-Spam Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | This Anti-Spam [[wikipedia:WP:BARN|Barnstar]] is presented to you in recognition of your tremendous work in keeping the Mises Wiki free of unwanted solicitations disguised as annoying stories and pretentious informationals. Keep up the great work! --[[User:John James|John James]] 17:51, 18 January 2012 (MSK)
|}

:Thanks, man, these things can get boring quickly. Appreciate the award! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:26, 19 January 2012 (MSK)

{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | {{#ifeq:alt|alt|[[File:No Spam Barnstar Hires.png|100px]]| [[Image:No spam barnstar.png|100px]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Anti-Spam Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | You deserve another one of these. I can't imagine how messy this wiki would be without your diligent efforts. They are not unnoticed, and certainly not unappreciated. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 01:27, 7 July 2012 (MSD)}}
|}

:Thank you! I'm starting to think whether we should block new users completely and only allow them to post after an additional verification (say via the mailing list or the forums). Other than that I'm not sure what else we can do to discourage the spamming. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 10:52, 7 July 2012 (MSD)

==Question regarding re-directing==
I was wondering if you could help with re-directing a page; I just completed the stub for [[A priori proposition]] and was thinking that maybe also searches fom [[A priori knowledge]] should point there as I could have probably used either title. I am not sure how to re-direct a page, or whether all users can do so, so was wondering if you could help me out if you agree with my suggestion? Also thanks for the Barnstar! [[User:Matthew|Matthew]] 00:17, 24 October 2011 (MSD)

:Hi Matthew, redirects are actually quite easy and everyone should be able to create them - see [[Help:Editing|help]], all you need to do is put the redirect code into the page, nothing else is needed. (Check for example the code of [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=A_priori_knowledge&redirect=no this page].)

:And no need to thank for the barnstar (though you certainly deserve it!) - it was promised as a reward for the contest, it only took me a while to put it up. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:18, 24 October 2011 (MSD)

:: You are right redirects are pretty basic, thanks. [[User:Matthew|Matthew]] 17:29, 24 October 2011 (MSD)

== mises.org bio links ==

Why did you change the links to some of the bios? --[[User:John James|John James]] 00:23, 10 February 2012 (MSK)

:It was a side effect of fixes needed in [https://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/browse_thread/thread/e388b423fd7da9ba# this] thread, there was a page with some wrong names and links. Things should be better now, but if I got something wrong, please fix it (or tell me). [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 10:08, 10 February 2012 (MSK)

== helpful ==

Wanted to make sure you were aware of these. They make adding links a bit easier by handling the formatting autmatically:

* {{tlx|md}}
* {{tlx|mb}}

--[[User:John James|John James]] 02:50, 18 February 2012 (MSK)

Hi! I know about these two, just never got around to actually learning their use (once I copy the basic data from a MD, it's easier for me to shuffle it around and create a link). Sorry, will see if it can be done more efficiently. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 11:36, 18 February 2012 (MSK)

:That's what I'm saying...those templates were created to make it more efficient. Basically they just allow you to input the data without having to mess with formatting. Just check out the [[Template:Md#Parameters|parameters]]. You'll see. --[[User:John James|John James]] 19:41, 18 February 2012 (MSK)

::Since I'm too lazy to memorize those things, plus I needed a bit of coding exercise, I've made this [http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/126248 script]:

::# On a (daily) article or blog page of the Mises.org page, a "Remember Article..." or "Remember Blog..." button appears on the top right.
::# Clicking on it will let the script remember that specific page (no alert, add one if desired).
::# On a Mises Wiki page that is currently being edited, the buttons "Insert Reference..." and "Insert Link..." appear.
::# Clicking on them adds a reference to the remembered article or the corresponding link template.

::Hope it is useful for others as well! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 11:04, 20 February 2012 (MSK)

:::Now also supports the Circle Bastiat blog. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 10:45, 5 May 2012 (MSD)

== mises insert script ==

Such a brilliant little tool. Did you code this yourself?
One quick fix...the old blog articles (blog.mises.org/xxxxxx/) redirect to archive.mises.org, so you might update the script for that. It's literally just a find/replace for "blog.mises" with "archive.mises". --[[User:John James|John James]] 06:43, 29 June 2012 (MSD)

:Thanks! :) I've [https://userscripts.org/scripts/show/126248 updated the script] as recommended. Perhaps we should update the blog template as well? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:25, 29 June 2012 (MSD)

== Gold oxide? ==

I thought that one of the advantages of gold is that it never rusts or tarnishes. And yet here you are, [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Argumentation:Gold&curid=4591&diff=18221&oldid=17060 polishing it anyway]! [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 05:48, 10 July 2012 (MSD)

:badum-tss {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 12:12, 10 July 2012 (MSD)}}

::I'm trying more of a transmutation thing here - polish something enough and it might turn into a diamond. :D [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:12, 10 July 2012 (MSD)

== ReCaptcha, cont'd ==

I notice that it says [[mw:Extension:Confirmedit#ReCaptcha|here]], about the captcha: "Unfortunately, as of 2011, some spammers appear to have figured out a way to bypass it, either through character recognition or by using humans. For that reason, it is not necessarily recommended." Maybe a stronger anti-spam measure would be [[mw:Extension:Confirmedit#Asirra|Asirra]]? One way or another, the spammers have obviously figured out a way to edit the site despite the current Captcha. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 07:03, 13 July 2012 (MSD)

:They did, and we need to adapt. Thanks for the idea! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 09:13, 13 July 2012 (MSD)
::While you're at it, you may want to consider [[MisesWiki:Commons#Fighting_spam|these suggestions]] as well, to cut down on the amount of "friendly fire," so to speak, from ConfirmEdit. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 09:33, 13 July 2012 (MSD)

== Another recommended tweak ==

Changing the content of [[MediaWiki:Signature]] to <nowiki>[[{{ns:user}}:$1|$2]] ([[{{ns:user_talk}}:$1|talk]])</nowiki> (as it is at [http://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Signature&action=edit MediaWiki.org]) would give each user's signature by default a link to their talk page. Kinda like mine. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:41, 13 July 2012 (MSD)

== CategoryTree broken ==

FYI, [[Special:CategoryTree]] is broken. I googled the error message and didn't see anything (except for that google-indexed page on our wiki). Therefore, all I can recommend is [[mw:Download|downloading]] and [[mw:Manual:Upgrading|upgrading]] to the latest version of MediaWiki, which is currently [[mw:Release_notes/1.19|1.19.1]] (we have [[mw:Release_notes/1.18#MediaWiki_1.18.2|1.18.2]]); [[mw:Special:ExtensionDistributor/CategoryTree|downloading]] the latest version of [[mw:Extension:CategoryTree|CategoryTree]] and copying it over the old files; and seeing if that fixes it. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 01:31, 14 July 2012 (MSD)

:Good find! I've forwarded the issue to our support people. Thanks again for all your help and contributions! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 15:00, 14 July 2012 (MSD)
::You're welcome. And thank you! I'm having a lot of fun here, and seem to be making a lot of progress. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 18:35, 14 July 2012 (MSD)

== Student assignments ==

Do we know any professors who have assigned their students to write for Mises Wiki (or other wikis)? Perhaps we can have someone write a guide for other professors to crafting and managing these assignments in ways that will serve useful pedagogical goals, while adding value to the wiki. It would probably be much easier than having them write for Wikipedia (which some professors do), since we're a friendlier community to writers of the Austrian school. Maybe the student could be given a choice of assignments, one of which would be to write a wiki article of a certain length.

I'm not sure what other ways we could use to draw in participants. A lot of people have gotten turned off by Wikipedia's policies and those in charge of it, but haven't discovered or gotten involved in Mises Wiki yet. We've certainly advertised the wiki on mises.org plenty of times, and the reaction is often that it's a great resource with a lot of potential. But, despite all the well-wishers, not too many people get heavily involved.

In other news, I see this week's ''Time'' had a [http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/26/i-do-i-do-i-do-i-do-polygamy-raises-its-profile-in-america/ big article] about the growing acceptance of polygamy. I feel ahead of my time for writing about it here before I saw it anywhere in the mainstream press. Who knows, maybe we'll all think of ourselves as ahead of our time for being Austrian economists before it became the trendy ideology of the future. Right now, we're more like hipsters. (Bow ties are so ironic!) [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:56, 29 July 2012 (MSD)

: Damn! Sometimes things really need a set of new eyes. The idea of having students write their assignments for the wiki comes from Jeffrey Tucker who seemed to eagerly advertise it before his departure from the Institute. I thought "Cool!" and happily continued working on the content. I thought with the Mises Academy it was only a question of time until the teachers start using it. And then, of course... nothing happened.

: So we could complain about that, OR we could actually write a guide for teachers on how to use this resource. Why didn't we think of this before? :) Let's see what we can whip up... [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 12:09, 29 July 2012 (MSD)
::What about Mises University? Wouldn't that be a logical place to start? I sent pat@mises.org this message:

::Hi Pat,
::Over at the Mises Wiki, we have been trying to figure out ways to encourage more participation in writing articles. One possibility we are working on is inviting students to help:
::http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/MisesWiki:How_can_teachers_and_students_use_it%3F
::http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/MisesWiki:Handout_for_students

::We are still hashing out exactly what should go in both of those pages, by the way. But in the meantime, I was wondering, what ways, if any, there might be to get information about Mises Wiki to students, especially those who express interest in getting involved in helping further the Austrian School's goals. For instance, might there be an opportunity to give the Mises University students a handout on the subject, or for someone to deliver a quick speech explaining what the wiki is about, and how they can get involved?

::If we could get about 5 or 10 regular contributors, we might be able to double the number of articles within a year. It really does not take very many dedicated editors to greatly enhance a wiki's coverage and quality. But it's often hard to find them. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 12:12, 30 July 2012 (MSD)

:::For what it is worth, we previously discussed getting Mises Academy students to write articles as assignments. We got a few contributions but the idea didn't pick up steam with the professors. The help page describing this is at [[MisesWiki:Academy]]. [[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 20:33, 31 July 2012 (MSD)

::::Ah, dammit. :/ Do you see any real chance of pitching this anew? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 20:59, 31 July 2012 (MSD)

== Economies of scale ==

{{PostNutshell|Putting ourselves in students' (and others') shoes, what benefits are to be accrued from editing this wiki rather than Wikipedia or the smaller wikis out there that also compete with us?}}
Sometimes it seems that economics of scale crush the smaller wikis. There are a lot of advantages of editing at Wikipedia, rather than at a smaller wiki. For one thing, one can more thoroughly wikify articles. I can, for instance, put double brackets around [[Columbia Law Review]] in hopes that the article will someday exist. Maybe some subjects won't ever exist here, or if they do (as in the case of countries or U.S. states), it's difficult to make the coverage as comprehensive as Wikipedia's.

From the editor's perspective, perhaps even more important than the ''outgoing'' wikilinks from articles one creates are the ''incoming'' wikilinks. One can go to related articles all over Wikipedia and add wikilinks to the Wikipedia article one created. It drives traffic to the content one created. Therefore, those trying to get as much exposure as possible for the subject they're interested in have logical reasons to go to Wikipedia rather than Mises Wiki.

Then of course there is categorization, page existence detection, and so on, which haven't yet been integrated cross-wiki as the template and file transclusions have. Wikipedia is sort of like the Wal-Mart that drives most of the mom-and-pop companies out of business. The question always arises, What the heck do we offer that Wikipedia doesn't?

E.g., does Wikipedia really crush the Austrian point of the view to the point that Austrian writers have to find sanctuary here? Not really. [[Anarcho-capitalism]] was (and is) a featured article on Wikipedia, and there is a lot of coverage of Austrian School subjects, such as [[Murray Rothbard]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], and their books. Which is probably one of the reasons why even [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/DickClarkMises some of the editors who were enthusiastic about this wiki] spend most of their wikitime over there.

Yeah, there were some skirmishes, e.g. over the [[Stephan Kinsella]] article, but it ultimately survived. I have never had a topic on libertarianism deleted for lack of notability, except when it was about, say, a minor libertarian candidate, and we have competition from LPedia for the hosting of that sort of content. LPedia is the official wiki of the LP, so it would naturally tend to draw that sort of content there.

Sometimes I edit Libertapedia just because my ownership of it means that I can be a scofflaw and post a lot of copyrighted content (images and such) without worrying about it getting deleted. That site isn't affiliated with an organization like the LP or LvMI that has to worry about its reputation and about getting sued. I'm pretty much judgment-proof. And I don't allow BetacommandBot to operate on my wiki. Also, I liberally strew interwiki wikilinks to Wikipedia all over my articles (we have [[mw:Extension:RPED]] installed over there); that practice is frowned on at almost every other wiki I've ever been to.

Well, I'm rambling a bit, but basically the main question that comes to my mind is, What really sets us apart? We can compete on either cost or quality. Maybe in some ways, it's less costly to edit here, because users don't have to worry about the ArbCom and a host of other meddlers. On the other hand, it's more costly to duplicate work that's already been done on Wikipedia. As for quality, our scope is narrower than Wikipedia's, so it'll never be the same kind of one-stop information source for almost everything one could want to look up. The best-selling encyclopedias tend to be the more comprehensive ones.

I came up with a proposed solution to all these issues, which was my [[meta:Inclupedia|Inclupedia]] proposal for complete interwiki integration with Wikipedia. Now it's just a matter of coding it. I like editing these smaller wikis, but I've just never seen any of them be particularly viable. Even the Mises Wiki main page provides information that, for the most part, could be just as easily provided by a Wikipedia portal on Austrian economics. Ironically, if Wikipedia were not such a good wiki, Mises Wiki would probably have more activity. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 06:56, 1 August 2012 (MSD)

: Economies of scale are a killer. The smaller shops have to compete with the big guys and offer something they don't have (location, different focus etc.) or they might go out of business eventually (although hey - Walmart doesn't drive everybody out, many shops do survive and thrive - so there is hope out there :) ). For wikis, yeah, it is mostly about focus and quality.

: For MisesWiki, there are (hopefully) several factors in its favor: Since we do have a different '''focus''', we can go into more detail that just wouldn't fly on Wikipedia (I've got personally burned on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malinvestment Malinvestment] article by a deletionist faction - so it is there but it's a far cry from [[Malinvestment|ours]]). Wikipedia will have much of the same Austrian-focused articles we have, but they may just have less content and sometimes rather derogatory remarks about the relevance of the school. That is one thing I knew from the start - some things won't get through on Wikipedia, whether due to bias or the non-mainstream nature of the Austrian school (that part is understandable for a general encyclopedia - and offers space for alternatives). Also note our work on [[Financial crisis#History|crises]] or [[IP]] - you can't really do this sort of thing on Wikipedia due to the bias.

: The next major factor is '''quality'''. (Don't confuse it with quantity!) There is a large number of highly in-depth articles that offer a lot of information WP articles don't. It turns out that it's not hard to beat Wikipedia in length and quality, particularly if it comes to obscure topics. (This is also a reason why I'm so focused on quality and try to avoid editorializing.)

: The focus and quality is what makes these pages ideal for linking in debates - many debates spend a lot of time on definitorial issues. Austrians use many terms with a different emphasis than the mainstream (inflation, capital, etc) - and here the terms are just a click away, so you can always refer the opponent further. One goal for the wiki is to make it the ideal background material for most debates (an 'argumentation chain' where all the basics are covered as well), for which a wiki is the perfect format. Perhaps one day we'll get there. (As for the 'ragged edge', I totally get that, although I want to make MW more of a semi-official platform of the Austrian school. Hope my reasons are clearer by now!)

: At the same time, one of the covert goals is to infiltrate Wikipedia with high-quality Austrian content, which can be easily prepared here and moved when it becomes 'ready'. :-> So, perhaps one day most of the content here will simply become part of Wikipedia anyway... we'll see.

: Another point, if not as heavy, is '''distinction''' - there is a huge number of websites out there that simply repeat whatever content Wikipedia has. Most of the content here was built from scratch and can serve anyone as an alternative starting point for research (of course, pushing the Austrian line as well).

: Now, '''quantity''' is where we get squeezed by Wikipedia - you can really link to anything there and expect an article to exist sooner or later. Here we have to do with what we've got and hope our focus and quality will save us.

: The direct ''''cost'''', as you put it, is initially lower. However, the ultimate cost can be really high for most people in the end - most don't have the stomach for detailed research, adding footnotes and the like. Plus the ever-present lure or moralizing and inserting our own opinion is so hard to resist! :) That's also what works against us... it seems like you can have quality or fast growth, but not both. (Even WP seems to aim for the first now, so there you go.)

: Hope I got my point across! Some minor points:
:* Yeah, ideally we should create content that is already linked from other pages, and add links where suitable.
:* Dick Clark wasn't here that active from the start, so it's not that surprising.
:* If you want to create an article about Morris and Linda Tannehill, go for it. :) (Use e.g. [http://www.wikiberal.org/wiki/Linda_et_Morris_Tannehill this] for inspiration, may need to translate it first. Can't seem to find much info on them either... maybe [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/linda-tannehill/31/27a/b95 this] is her public profile? No idea. See also some wild speculations [http://anti-state.com/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=17834 here], it does quote some resources though.) Good luck with this one.

: Good thoughts. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 12:32, 1 August 2012 (MSD)

== Mob rule? ==

I guess content decisions on wikis basically boil down to mob rule, when there's not some central authority dictating. For example, [http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Austrian_school&curid=102359&diff=1062365&oldid=1062362 this edit]. I suppose it basically boils down to, "Anarcho-capitalism is an important contribution to economics!" "Is not!" "Is too!" And whichever side has enough interested editors to get in more "is nots" or "is toos" wins. Or if they're about equally divided, then maybe they compromise.

I notice the RW folk don't head over to our wiki to try to put forth their views. Maybe they only like to hang out on friendly turf, where they can call the shots? Wikipedia tries to get around it by saying "If you can cite a bunch of reliable sources saying that anarcho-capitalism is important, and the other guy can't find enough reliable sources to back up his view, then you win." Of course, in that case what's "reliable" usually is what you can find in academic databases, which is distorted by the issue of who is willing to fund scholars to put forth certain views.

RW seems to want to label whomever they don't agree with as "pseudoscientists," "cranks," etc. For that same reason, I'm not a big fan of ''Skeptic'' magazine anymore. They want to label certain religions they don't agree with as cults, when it's admittedly a somewhat arbitrary distinction. The skeptical community as a whole needs to get off its high horse and admit that any of us could turn out to be "cranks," depending on what evidence disproves in the future. It is quite easy for any of us to think we have very strong evidence proving a point of view right, and be totally wrong. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:45, 4 August 2012 (MSD)

: I guess it is only fortunate that this wiki is not a democracy. No mob rule around here. ;)

: On the other note, perhaps Mises Wiki is still not that famous for people of opposing schools to come here and start rewriting stuff to fit their views (barring the rare vandalism). Let's see what the future will bring as MW ''is'' being used in Internet discussions... [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:31, 5 August 2012 (MSD)

:: Speaking of the devil, MW is finally being noticed by [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute#Mises_Wiki Rational Wiki]. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 12:20, 6 August 2012 (MSD)
:::Is that the correct link? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 22:40, 16 October 2013 (MSK)
::::What the heck? Thanks, I've fixed the link! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:09, 17 October 2013 (MSK)

== Template problems ==

I recommend the following:
*Copy [[w:MediaWiki:Vector.css]] and paste to our [[MediaWiki:Vector.css]]
*Copy [[w:MediaWiki:Vector.js]] and paste to our [[MediaWiki:Vector.js]]

That should take care of some of our template problems. It appears that [[MediaWiki:Common.js]] and [[MediaWiki:Common.css]] are already taken care of. Oh yes, and when you go to check to see if the templates now work, hit Ctrl-F5 to reload everything in your browser. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 12:40, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

== Nebuchadnezzar remarks ==

Not sure how much interest (if any) you have in what goes on at RW, but [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Talk:Austrian_school#Definition_of_science this debate] had me a bit stumped as to what to say in rejoinder. Maybe if you can figure something out, that could provide some material to add to the [[science]] article here! Not to mention, I'm trying to find an excuse to restore [http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Austrian_school&action=history various edits] made (under my Tisane moniker) to the Austrian economics article over there (sometimes with rather colorful language in the edit comments, as you may notice). [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 13:41, 8 August 2012 (MSD)

:Not so much really, but let's see. :)

: A [http://libertarianstandard.com/2011/09/14/on-the-austrian-theory-of-money-a-reply-to-david-graeber/ good response] to Graeber might set some things straight.

:A: Perhaps the wiki page could use some improvements. ;) One should probably note that Austrians certainly do not ascribe all of a man's motivations to selfishness (at least in the narrow sense) - and there is plenty of material on voluntary association and altruism. There is the notion of psychological profit with uncounted motivations behind it. Yes, people have also other things on their mind than profit in the narrow sense... so what's the point? For Austrians, human action is ultimately taken as a given, whatever reasons and motivations lie behind it.

:B: Probably answered; it is perfectly valid to say that minimum wage does not have to create unemployment in each and every instance or right away; still, it needs to be asked what happens to the people on the margin in the long term...

:C: See before - both Graeber and the Austrians may be right here.

:D: We all do confirmation bias, brother. Amen. Now, looking solely at that article and its main graph, it would appear that the 1920s Depression did indeed have a faster recovery; although it did taper off at the end. There's also some articles out there that warn of using GNP data during the war, since the whole economy changed to a significant degree. It may have been a time of slower growth, but I don't quite see if more time was spent in recession after the 1920s one vs. the Great one... that it all culminates in possibly the worst economic situation is part of Woods' argument - that it was the evil regulators after all. Might be the confirmation bias, though.

:E: Natural resources are always limited, totally agree with him. And that people are not always 'rational' in the traditional sense (is that what Behavioral economics is about?) is part and parcel of AE. Minsky appears to be somewhat compatible to AE, although AE folks might have a beef with the notion that speculative investment bubbles are endogenous to financial markets. (Sorry but I don't know his work; only skipped through the Wikipedia page.) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 03:00, 9 August 2012 (MSD)

== Asirra ==

Well, it looks like [[Dave Veksler]] wasn't able to fix [[mw:Extension:Asirra]] for us, despite trying the suggestions I gave. At this point, I do not know what advice to give him for fixing it, because I'm not sure how I got it to work on my three wikis; each time, I just kept playing around with configuration settings, file locations, etc. until it [http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/355ovv/ inexplicably worked]. Well, now what?

The current situation can't continue. Our spam problem is fixed, but new users can't create accounts. We have to either get Asirra fixed or switch to a different spam solution. Unfortunately, most of the other ones have been defeated by spammers. [[mw:Extension:KittenAuth]] or [[mw:Extension:ConfirmEdit#QuestyCaptcha]] are possibilities, but would require extra labor to set up and wouldn't be that hard for a determined spammer to defeat.

Any thoughts? If you want, you can get your own MediaWiki installation and play around with it and see if you can figure out how one gets Asirra to work properly. But it sounded like you're pretty busy lately. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 08:00, 27 August 2012 (MSD)

== Test post ==

Test. [[User:DavidGilmartin|DavidGilmartin]] ([[User talk:DavidGilmartin|talk]]) 15:12, 1 September 2012 (MSD)

== Spammers ==

Either the spammers are operating manually now, or they've figured out a way to beat Asirra. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:24, 10 November 2012 (MSK)

:You can't beat the power of the Internet... for good or for bad. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:05, 14 November 2012 (MSK)

== Human Rights Watch ==

A cursory search through mises.org and by google revealed that some libertarians had badmouthed HRW, but upon further investigation, I couldn't find much to substantiate the claims that HRW is all that anti-liberty. Going back at least as far as the 1948 promulgation of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the libertarian movement seems to have had an uneasy relationship with the movement calling itself the "human rights" movement. Often, that latter movement has sought to establish [[human rights commission]]s and the like, which libertarians tend to distrust as more bureaucracy. (Then of course there's the fact that the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] was chaired by some countries with pretty bad human rights records.)

I suppose it's similar to the [[feminist]] movement; what started out as something beneficial got hijacked by those who turned it to statist ends, so that certain terms came to have anti-liberty connotations. Anyway, I was pretty impressed with HRW's [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/16/no-equal-justice-0 PLRA report], so I went ahead and joined for that reason. I guess it'll become evident pretty soon from their mailings whether they hold any objectionable views that weren't immediately apparent from their website. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 14:49, 27 November 2012 (MSK)

:Absolutely, we should stay open to all possibilities. Especially with NGOs like this, it is often the case that they are a mixed bag - they may be against the evils of capitalism, "moneyed interest" and so forth, but at the same time can be really good when pointing out corruption and human rights abuses. Their views can differ from that of the average libertarian - so of course there will be disagreements. Let's give credit, where credit is due, and criticism where necessary. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 15:16, 27 November 2012 (MSK)

== Configuration issue ==

OK, it should be fixed now. Please let me know if other issues arise. Thanks, [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:35, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

:Seems to work now, thanks! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:13, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

== Blocking and protecting ==

Have you noticed any issues when attempting to block users or protect pages? We've been getting hit by the Mimco Facebook vandalbot (which has also been hitting other sites all over the wikisphere) and I attempted to block the IP and semi-protect the Main Page, but every time, after it said that the action had succeeded, nothing showed up in the log. Other than the upgrade, I don't think any recent configuration changes would have had an effect on that.

It seems more like the kind of problem that I've been noticing for awhile here, which is that sometimes when one makes a change, it doesn't seem to take effect right away. Or sometimes the edit never takes effect. I disabled caching briefly, but that didn't accomplish anything. There may be some other caching that I don't know about, although I think Dave Veksler said that he disabled CloudFlare for the wiki. Anyway, if all else fails I may be able to find some workaround to accomplish page protection or blocking, but it's not the preferred solution, because it probably won't be very elegant. Anyway, if we confirm there is a glitch, then I'll start scouring through MediaWiki.org, Bugzilla, etc. and try to figure out what might be the cause. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:11, 2 December 2012 (MSK)

: The weird thing is I thought the main page was already protected; as of now I can see only the Template:New articles is protected. Maybe something went wrong during the update and the protection functionality is out of order? (I tried as well, protecting doesn't work for me either.) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:19, 2 December 2012 (MSK)
::To my recollection, the main page was not protected before. When I first noticed that, a few months ago, I thought it was due to some radical OpenEdit [[metawikipedia:wiki way|wiki way]] policy. Anyway, protection seems to be intermittently working, which is rather strange. I'm going to create a "twin" Mises Wiki installation and see if the problem occurs there as well. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:32, 2 December 2012 (MSK)
:::It's doing the same thing on my twin site. I uninstalled all the extensions and the issue didn't go away. Investigation continues... [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:51, 2 December 2012 (MSK)
Did anyone fix it, or did it get better on its own? I was going to continue working on resolving the issue but the state got in the way. Anyway, it's good to be back. I've always enjoyed working with you on this project. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:23, 3 October 2013 (MSK)
:The issue is still there. It doesn't have too much of an impact as the spambots love to create new accounts and IP blocking goes only that far. On the other hand, page protecting would be useful for some pages at least (like Corporate board, which is inexplicably a spam magnet). Welcome back! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:22, 5 October 2013 (MSK)
::Okay, it appears to be fixed now. Perhaps there was a glitch in MediaWiki 1.20.1 and it was fixed by the upgrade to 1.21.2. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 10:29, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== (2) IS better than (3) ==
On the Austrian preference between "bad" debt-free fiat money issuance to fund deficits and "badder" borrowing from a central bank to fund deficits, see Jo Salerno's article [http://lewrockwell.com/salerno/salerno14.1.html here]. Finally I have a reference to use to establish that a credible Austrian position could be the support of pure debt free fiat money issuance. I was waiting a long time ... [[User:Karmaisking|Karmaisking]] ([[User talk:Karmaisking|talk]]) 02:43, 1 February 2013 (MSK)

: Intriguing! I still have some difficulty with some of the arguments involved, but that's definitively legit. (You may want to link to [http://mises.org/daily/6350/The-Flipside-of-the-Trillion-Dollar-Coin this article], btw.) Please make sure to quote Salerno's assumptions, as they can have dramatic consequences on the result. I'm also not sure to what degree this would avoid the business cycle, but it's a valid speculation. Good find! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:17, 1 February 2013 (MSK)

::Salerno also gave a talk on the trillion dollar coin thing at the recent Mises Circle in Houston. I think it is essentially embodied in that Daily article [in fact he may have even been essentially reading it], but you might be on the lookout for that video when it gets uploaded to add as a reference. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] ([[User talk:John James|talk]]) 17:42, 1 February 2013 (MSK)}}

== Austrian predictions ==

I noticed at least one discrepancy between the list of Austrian predictions on the [[Austrian predictions|general page]], and the "[[Austrian predictions/Housing bubble|main page]]" for the housing bubble. It seems to be a problem to have a comprehensive list on both articles...as if forces every addition/subtraction from the list to have to be performed twice (i.e. in two different places), and if it isn't done, you end up with different lists. I think we need to either eliminate the "main page" for specific predictions altogether, or have the actual list of predictions located there, and removed from the general page. Thoughts? {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] ([[User talk:John James|talk]]) 00:23, 20 February 2013 (MSK)}}

Any thoughts? {{nowrap|--[[Special:Contributions/70.114.188.172|70.114.188.172]] 04:22, 20 February 2013 (MSK)}}

:Was that to me, or Pestergaines? {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] ([[User talk:John James|talk]]) 04:38, 20 February 2013 (MSK)}}

:: Looks like the big list is a bit of a problem. What complicates things are the HTML comments on the "main page" that describe each of the resources. Both pages have their place, but if we can't keep both perfectly synchronized (which, realistically, we can't), I'd prefer to keep the short summary with a few key predictions pointing to the main page which will include all the other predictions and all details. That should shorten the predictions page as well. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:28, 20 February 2013 (MSK)

== Access keys ==

Since you do a lot of anti-spam work, I thought I'd point out [[metawikipedia:Help:Keyboard shortcuts]] as potentially useful if you haven't seen it before. On my system, I can hit Alt-Shift-D and it will go to the <code>action=delete</code> page. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:27, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

:That... looks actually pretty useful for the occasional outbursts. Thank you! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:23, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== +res ==

These +res edits are potentially pretty helpful; I used to do [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AFully_Informed_Jury_Association&diff=359572679&oldid=228054658 the same thing]. It's better than just adding them to your favorites/bookmarks, because if you get hit by a bus tomorrow, you've already shared the information with the MW community (hmm, is there another acronym that would better disambiguate between Mises Wiki and MediaWiki, maybe MsW? I guess it doesn't matter; I think I'm the only MediaWiki dev here), despite the fact that it hasn't yet been incorporated into an article. For that matter, even if you don't get hit by a bus, the +res links are still beneficial because you are making the information available sooner than it would have been.

The only problem is that it's often easy to never get around to stuff that is put off till later (e.g. the incorporation of all information into the articles), but the perfect shouldn't become the enemy of the good. Those who are really interested in digging into a topic will appreciate the help. Of course, another option is to have an article, [[private schooling literature]] or the like, much like the [[wikipedia:anarcho-capitalist literature]] article. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 22:49, 16 October 2013 (MSK)

: Yeah, that's pretty much the reason I put them all up. Some of them deserve incorporation in some way, most don't (or would need pages of their own). About the one only thing we can rely on is the lack of time to do things properly, once and for all. :)

: But this is where I think the Mises Wiki comes close to a true encyclopedia - you can find some information in it about many a topic, even the very obscure ones, and some bonuses like countries. You want to learn about any of those? Dig in. Most of the links are (OK, should be) highly relevant.

: Oh, and we do have actual [[:Category:Reading lists|reading lists]], for those articles that are, and those that deserve the label due to sheer number of links. Then again, most pages are reading lists of a sort here. So if you want to make a separate reading list for [[private schools]], go ahead - the page itself is already half there. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:31, 17 October 2013 (MSK)
::If we expand that reading list category significantly, perhaps "Reading list" could become a sidebar item, or at least a main page item. See [[mw:Manual:Sidebar]] and [[MediaWiki:Sidebar]]. We might want to create a [[MisesWiki:Reading list]] page to summarize it more neatly than a category view could. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:54, 17 October 2013 (MSK)

== Archive box ==

May I suggest the introduction of a new piece of furniture for your talk page, an [[Template:Archive|archive box]]? It would not only be a practical storage solution but would go lovely with the rest of the decor. :) [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:06, 17 October 2013 (MSK)
:I guess I spoke too soon. The archive box probably won't work properly until we get [[mw:Extension:Scribunto]] working properly. I'm working with Dave Veksler on that right now.

:Wow, quite a lot of new MediaWiki extensions have been installed on Wikipedia in the past year or so. [[wikipedia:Special:Version]] shows [[mw:Extension:Echo]], [[mw:Extension:ExpandTemplates]], [[mw:Extension:GettingStarted]], [[mw:Extension:TemplateSandbox]], [[mw:Extension:EasyTimeline]], [[mw:Extension:ImageMap]], [[mw:Extension:InputBox]], etc. as extensions they have but we don't. I was going to finish listing the [[wikipedia:Complement (set theory)|relative complement]] of ''A'' in ''B'' (i.e. ''B'' ∖ ''A''), with ''A'' being Mises Wiki's extensions and ''B'' being Wikipedia's extensions, but I need to accomplish some other stuff today. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:44, 17 October 2013 (MSK)
I have some bad news... troubleshooting Scribunto could very well involve some disruption to the site, in that all the existing templates would need to be moved to another namespace, sorta like what's described at [[mw:Extension_talk:Scribunto#Difficulties_in_getting_this_extension_to_work_35539]], and re-imports would have to be done from Wikipedia. I haven't figured out any other way to fix it, though. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:10, 20 November 2013 (MSK)

==Immigration==
It seems to me that a lot of human rights organizations focus on trying to get tyrannical regimes to quit being so tyrannical, when the problem could be solved by opening the borders of freer countries to asylum seekers. Suppose, for example, that all a North Korean peasant had to do was make it across the border to South Korea, and he could be free from Kim Jong-Un's regime. Are Kim's border guards really that efficient that they'd be able to stop the refugees? Eventually, his regime would collapse as he lost more and more of his best and brightest overseas. I just wonder why the human rights groups don't devote almost 100 percent of their efforts to reforming the immigration laws, in light of what a comprehensive solution that would be. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:10, 20 November 2013 (MSK)

: Yeah, just look what happened in [[East Germany#Population|East Germany]] when the people had a (comparatively easy) choice and a way out. Now if it comes to human rights movements, it's for many people a very different beast from immigration reform. It's one thing to want people have a better life far away, and another to let them move in with you. It's a much tougher sell. (But note that a focus of immigration would not be enough without making emigration from those countries possible - if they devote a lot of focus on fencing off, setting mines and patrolling the borders, then yes, even otherwise inefficient regimes can stop most refugees from getting out. Again, East Germany comes to mind, once it was able to close the loopholes, see also [http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=668 here].) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:58, 20 November 2013 (MSK)
::I guess it depends partly on how long the border is and how much commerce in goods and tourism there is between the countries. The 3,145 km (1,954 mi) long U.S.-Mexico border has been famously difficult to secure from illegal immigrants. The Military Demarcation Line between the Koreas is roughly 248 km (155 mi) long. Also, there are a lot of cargo trucks and trains as well as tourists that travel between the U.S. and Mexico, while the border between the two Koreas is mostly closed. Insular states like North Korea that seek to close off their economies from their neighbors are probably better able to keep their people from escaping.

::Still, money talks; if private organizations were to fund the emigration of North Korean refugees (which could include digging tunnels, hiring professional smugglers, bribing border guards, etc. as well as helping the refugees get on their feet in their new country), it might make a difference. Hopefully, many of these refugees would pay it forward; if each were to fund, on average, the emigration of one more refugee, then it could be self-sustaining.

::I guess North Korea would probably tend to want to apply pressure to its neighbors to get them to put a stop to such active assistance of refugees, though. That becomes a matter of brinksmanship; North Korea can rattle its sabers, but so can the U.S. An existential threat might get Kim Jong-Un to actually do something desperate, however, whatever the risks. The U.S. can't attack pre-emptively either, to destroy the nukes, because China might object. Yes, it's a difficult situation.

::I wouldn't mind more North Korean refugees coming to the U.S.; I think I'd probably prefer a lot of them to some of the people currently here. Of course, Mises wrote "As conditions are today, the Americas and Australia in admitting German, Italian, and Japanese immigrants would merely open their doors to the vanguards of hostile armies." He probably based that on the experience of Austria, in which the immigration of certain Germans paved the way for the Anschluss. Likewise, the migration of Americans to Texas paved the way for taking over that territory from Mexico. I just don't see North Koreans as likely to take over the U.S., though, given the difference in population and wealth between the two countries. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:07, 20 November 2013 (MSK)

== Economics: science or philosophy? ==

"Austrian economists are not fooled, because they reject the idea of empirical data in the validation of theory in the social sciences. Reason is the only tool available for economic discovery."[http://mises.org/daily/3482/Only-Criminals-Use-Honest-Money] I thought sciences arrived at their conclusions by means of [[evidence]] gleaned through experimentation and observation ([[induction]]), while philosophies relied solely on reasoning that applies [[logic]] to some [[ultimate given]]s ([[deduction]]). Which should we consider economics to be? I guess the answer depends partly on [https://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae7_2_7.pdf whether philosophy is itself a science]. "Other German philosophers saw philosophy itself as a science, indeed as a rigorous science in something like the [[Menger]]ian sense."

But I guess Mises [http://mises.org/books/ufofes/prelim3.aspx regarded] economics as, although a science, one that must proceed according to a different pattern than other sciences. Then of course we have [http://classroom.mises.org/index.php?showtopic=5 this whole debate]. What perhaps confuses the issue is that Mises includes a lot of historical interpretation and political commentary only tangentially related to economics in books like ''Human Action''. That's part of what I love about those books, because otherwise several hundred pages of economics might get monotonous, but it probably contributes to the perception that Austrian economics is more a political philosophy than science. But, if the shoe fits... [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 01:54, 6 December 2013 (MSK)

==Barnstar==
{| style="background-color: #fdffe7; border: 2px solid #fceb92;"
|rowspan="2" style="vertical-align: middle; padding: 5px;" | [[File:Civility Barnstar Hires.png|100px]]
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 3px 3px 0 3px; height: 1.5em;" | '''Have some tea/coffee/hot chocolate on a star-shaped beverage coaster to celebrate our survival of the recent server move'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; padding: 3px;" | And thanks for your contributions to Mises Wiki. You make this a lot more of a fun (and less lonely) place to work for the advancement of liberty. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 03:20, 5 January 2014 (EST)
|}
For the most part, you quietly labour in your own spheres of interest and treat others with Misesian [[tolerance]], but also say what needs to be said when the times come to say it, yet in a very diplomatic way. I have to admire your skills and dedication to the project; I sometimes think that you are to Mises Wiki what Paul McCartney was to ''The Beatles''. But then, perhaps, I overly flatter myself by thinking of myself as the John Lennon. But that kind of narcissism is very typical of me, as indeed it [http://listverse.com/2012/05/12/top-10-unpleasant-facts-about-john-lennon/ apparently] was of Lennon too.

He was kind of a wikidragon before wikidragons even existed. A musicdragon, perhaps! A [http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323550604578410522536037666 diva], perhaps. [http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200512/field-guide-narcissism Whatever one may say about divas/narcissists], probably there's only room in society for a certain number because if everyone were that way, they would get in arguments about who's the most important. Even this thread shows manifestations of narcissism, since I turned a post that was about awarding a barnstar into being all about me. Might as well cue [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUuDPNbkJk the soundtrack]!

''The Beatles'' incidentally are to admired at least for not altruistically donating all their income to a regime that wanted to seize 99 percent of it, although I'm not sure they even could have operated under those financial constraints, so maybe it was a case of doing what they needed to do to survive. [[User:Leucosticte|Leucosticte]] ([[User talk:Leucosticte|talk]]) 03:20, 5 January 2014 (EST)

: Love that song! Thank you for the barnstar, and the narcissistic piece. :)

Georgia (nation)

2013-12-31T09:42:13Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

{{Stub}}

{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = T'bilisi
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Armenia]] 164 km, [[Azerbaijan]] 322 km, [[Russia]] 723 km, [[Turkey]] 252 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = republic
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 4,615,807 (July 2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_GE">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_gg.html "Georgia"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth
|Row 5 info = -0.325% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_GE" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 76.72 years<ref name="CIA_GE" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 16.4% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_GE" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 26<ref name="Heritage_GE">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/Georgia "Georgia"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 66<ref name="Transparency_GE">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "Georgia"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 11<ref name="Business_GE">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "Georgia"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
}}

The region of present day '''Georgia''' contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National Movement party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. After a series of Russian and separatist provocations in summer 2008, Georgian military action in South Ossetia in early August led to a Russian military response that not only occupied the breakaway areas, but large portions of Georgia proper as well. Russian troops pulled back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This action was strongly condemned by most of the world's nations and international organizations.<ref name="CIA_GE" />

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Lari (ლ) (ISO code: GEL)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': 8% (25 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_GE" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 22% (31 December 2009)<ref name="CIA_GE" />
* '''Stock of money''' ([[Money supply#M1|M1]]): $1.077 billion (31 December 2009)<ref name="CIA_GE" />
* '''Quasi money''' (with M1 makes [[Money supply#M2|M2]]): $1.606 billion (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_GE" />

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: 1991<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 365. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_GE">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ge/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "Georgia: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
| 2 800
| 3 057
| 3 219
| 3 396
| 3 991
| 5 126
| 6 411
| 7 762
| 10 173
| 12 791
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_GE">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ge/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Georgia: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
| 71.937
| 69.938
| 66.669
| 64.958
| 53.806
| 43.836
| 40.924
| 27.958
| 22.687
| 27.025
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_GE">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ge/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Georgia: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
| 11.530
| 10.357
| 10.372
| 10.463
| 10.333
| 16.009
| 18.144
| 22.475
| 24.038
| 25.699
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_GE">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/ge/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "Georgia: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-30.</ref>
| 14.416
| 11.557
| 10.812
| 11.262
| 10.691
| 14.578
| 17.320
| 20.305
| 22.891
| 29.129
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
| 6.239
| 6.753
| 6.428
| 6.209
| 5.207
| 2.738
| 2.255
| 1.244
| 0.944
| 1.052
|}

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:Georgia|Georgia]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.nbg.gov.ge Central bank] of Georgia
* [http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/documents/EnterpriseSurveys/Reports/Georgia-2008.pdf Country profile] (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
* [http://countrystudies.us/georgia/ Studies] from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1102477.stm country profile]
* [http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2013/11/13/rose-revolution-shows-the-results-of-freeing-markets Rose Revolution shows the results of freeing markets] by Neil Emerick and Gia Jandieri, November 2013

[[Category:Countries]]

Austrian Economics Wiki:Commons

2013-12-30T09:45:01Z

Pestergaines: /* Happy New Year! */ new section

<div class="messagebox" style="width:100%; padding:.5em;">Welcome to '''The Mises Commons''', the central discussion board where you can make announcements, propose new ideas, and ask questions of the entire community.

To add a new item, add a <code><nowiki>==Level two header==</nowiki></code> to introduce it.

For discussion related to long-term planning and development, also see the [https://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/topics Mises Wiki Google Group].</div>
__NEWSECTIONLINK__
[[Category:Mises Wiki|Commons]]
{{archive box collapsible|
*[[MisesWiki:Commons/Archives/2010|2010]]
*[[/Archives/2011|2011]]
*[[/Archives/2012|2012]]
}}

{{TOC right}}

For older discussions, enter the [[/Archives|archives]].

I see an issure with the money section of your ABCT page. What you're calling money i.e. the USD(FRN) and other fiat notes are not money it is a common mistake to call them that. What the FRN is, is a promissory note, or a money susbstitute. I don't know how you want to go about fixing it. Your call. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:39, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

So I made some changes to that section mentioned above feel free to change it back if you don't like them. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:52, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

: Hallo Diax! I have reverted the change after some consideration. The reason is that fiat notes ''are'' money (even if it's paper money). Check the definition of [[money]] for more details, but in short it is a commonly used [[medium of exchange]] - i.e. whatever is widely used for that purpose at the moment. But of course, the real question is whether fiat notes are a '''''good''''' form of money - and that's where we can put in some good arguments. :) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:18, 19 May 2013 (MSD)

Yes money is a medium of exchange but I'm also fairly sure that Mises talks about the promissary note being different from "pure" money in ''Human Action''. Of course it isn't a big deal. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:23, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
: I think he refers to a situation when there exists the 'pure' money (gold, silver, etc.) and there are also promissory notes. While only the first is 'actual' money, both can circulate side-by-side. Confusing the two can have dangerous consequences, as Mises shows.
: These days, the dominant form of money are fiat notes that are not backed by anything. No confusion there. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:44, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Red links ==

New issue for discussion...a user recently [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Austrian_School&curid=42&diff=11623&oldid=11614&rcid=11779 reverted an edit], removing an internal link, stating "Please add article then link. No point having dead internal links." Is this a policy we are going to agree on? No red links on the Mises Wiki?

I was under the impression that we were more or less going to follow along with a typical Wiki (no, not just Wikipedia, virtually all wikis do this) policy in which wiki-fying the article is encouraged, so long as common sense rationale is used, and only terms which will be created as pages soon or that should be created because they would be notable and verifiable and useful and in-line with the goal of the wiki, are linked. Obviously Wikipedia is the easiest place to go for [[Wikipedia:WP:RED|info and discussion]] on this, but that by no means means that that is the only place that has such a policy.

Of course, if this "add article then link/No point having dead internal links" is going to be the policy, a lot of pages are going to have to be revamped...including the [[Main Page]]. --[[User:John James|John James]] 18:05, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

:I would say that red links should be encouraged, within typical bounds (no links for common words, etc.). This has also been discussed in the email list and red links were supported by Jeff Tucker. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:56, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

::Yeah that's what I figured. That's virtually the policy of every wiki. And if you look at that page linked above it mentions how one study showed that red links helped Wikipedia grow. Let's have at least one more weigh-in and then I think we might go ahead write up a quick something for the guidelines. --[[User:John James|John James]] 01:12, 24 May 2011 (MSD)

:::I very much agree to encourage red links within reason. For the record, I think I can also understand the reversion - the 'Austrian School' is our showcase page of sorts, so it would look better if all links were blue. But that may take quite some more time. :)

:::Not sure if that needs to be in a guideline, but throwing it out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:59, 25 May 2011 (MSD)

First of all, the reason given for the reversion was not that it was a "showcase page", and should therefore be held in a special light where red links should be discouraged. It was made quite clear that there is "no point having dead internal links" [period]. So that defense doesn't hold much water. And second, I think it's actually ironic...We're going to encourage red links because they have been shown to help the project grow, yet we're going to discourage their inclusion on the very pages which are more likely to be seen by more people (and therefore are more likely to have red links actually ''turn'' blue, as well as being the pages where growth and development is most important)?

And third, call me crazy, but I was of the opinion that the [[Main Page]] is more of a "showcase page" than even the Austrian School page...did anyone bother to count the red links there??

In my opinion this "red links are encouraged, but 'showcase pages' should not have any" notion is a pretty poor defense, and an even worse guideline. I agree with virtually every other wiki project...that red links are a good thing, as they help the project grow, as well as encourage new users to get involved. A red link staring right in the face of someone knows something about it could be just the motivation a potential new user needs to throw his hat in the ring and try out some wiki-ing. I think that can be even more valuable than the particular instance of growth...because one new stub is one thing...but a new "Wikian" is something else all together. And it can make a world of difference not only for our Mises Wiki project here, but for virtually every other one in existence. I say that's a good thing. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 20:31, 25 May 2011 (MSD)}}

:It's worth remembering that while red links do encourage new contributors, they are not helpful to readers. It's reasonable to want to have a "showcase" article (like WP's featured articles) that represents what we'd like all our articles to look like in the future. Such an article would probably not have any red links: any red links that existed would be filled in by new articles.
:Eventually we might want to have no red links on the main page, but my goal there is to show new editors as many places as possible where they can jump in and start contributing. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:17, 2 June 2011 (MSD)

::Bingo. That's my whole point. That's what red links do, regardless of where they are located..."show new editors where they can jump in and start contributing." Yes, I understand the appeal of "featured articles"...but articles don't get that way because of some centralized regulation mandating that this article and that article be deemed "featured", and then every thing pertaining to those specific articles is treated in some special manner so as to "make" them featured simply by the fact that they are treated differently than other articles. It's quite the other way around. Articles get featured because they reach a certain level of quality, and are recognized to be good examples of the kind of product the project is working toward. Individuals making their own free choices about what articles to edit, what edits to make, and how much effort is put into each of those is what creates a wiki...not some central governing body telling everyone which articles will be "showcased" and which ones can be ignored.

::If editors of the Wiki wish for a certain article to be of a minimum level of quality, they can freely edit that article as much as they want to improve it to that point. (They can even form groups to organize and point out articles that need the most work and encourage others to help contribute to those. That's what [[wikipedia:WP:PJ|wikiprojects]] are all about.) And yes, part of what makes a quality wiki article is how well it connects to relevant and related articles. (This is why larger wikis like Wikipedia have some kind of "[[wikipedia:Template:Wikify|wikify]]" encouragement...because it improves the usefulness of the specific article, but also because it helps expand the wiki project.) And by the same token, that's why there is virtually no wiki that is in the practice of discouraging red links, let alone banning them...even if just on certain lionized pages.

::I really dislike the idea that articles need to be de-linked (i.e. weakened in their usefulness and diminished in their impact) because we want to showcase how great they are. That seems very contradictory in my view. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 23:47, 2 June 2011 (MSD)}}
:::This is a very interesting and important issue. There is sometimes a tension between what is good for the reader and what is good for the editor, but I think the reader quickly learns that redlinks don't go anywhere. By the way — another topic to consider is whether to allow non-logged-in editors to edit, since a lot of times the newbies just want to make a quick change (e.g. typo correction) to one article and never edit the wiki again.

:::With reference to the issue of redlinks, I have installed on my wikis (e.g. Libertapedia) [[mw:Extension:RPED|an extension I wrote]], which links to Wikipedia if the wikilinked page doesn't exist on the local wiki. I used to have it set up to actually detect the page existence on Wikipedia, as follows:

:::*IF the page exists on the local wiki, then bluelink to the page on the local wiki. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, but it exists on Wikipedia, then bluelink to Wikipedia. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, nor on Wikipedia, then redlink to the page on the local wiki.

:::Right now, the daemon I used to run to update the table of existing Wikipedia page titles is down, so I have simplified the extension to always bluelink to Wikipedia if the page doesn't exist on the local wiki. That extension needs some work before it's ready for prime time but you get the gist. It could be possible to make some other interesting and useful tweaks to it, to allow the reader to choose which wiki he wants to go to when he clicks on a redlink or bluelink. E.g., he might be notified that the page exists on both the local wiki AND Wikipedia, and given the option to choose. Or, in the event it exists on Wikipedia but not the local wiki, he could choose between visiting Wikipedia or creating the article on the local wiki. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:38, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

Keep the red links. I'm new here and I wouldn't even have bothered to join the project had it not had some obvious red links. I mean ya'll don't have a page on coercion I'm going to write it now. Anyway let me know what ya'll think about that. Peace be with you.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)Diax[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)

I expanded the Negative Rights and the Positive Rights articles. However I do not know how to add references. If someone could let me know I would appreciate it. Sorry for the inconvience. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:48, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: No problem! In short, check out other pages - see e.g. this [[Jay Cooke|recent one]]. Click on Edit and see what's in there - note the 'Reflist' section close to the end of the page, that's what will produce the whole references block. Then note the 'ref' sections that look like this:
::<nowiki><ref name="Britannica_Cooke">Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"], referenced 2013-05-21.</ref></nowiki>
: ([https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Footnotes Here's] the official documentation.)
: The 'name' part is only necessary if you reuse a reference. Often, you can get away with something like this:
::<nowiki><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"].</ref></nowiki>
: So it involves a little typing, but after you do it once or twice, references are easy. I've added them to the [[Negative right]] page. Check the changes I've made and try it for yourself - and let me know how it works out for you! (See also [[Essay:How to make good wiki pages|here]] for some more tips on how to make good pages.) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:32, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

So I saw that you said that the part about the founders pulling alot from John Locke needed to be cited (this is in the [[negative rights]] article). I'll agree that it would be nice if such a citiation existed but I'm not sure that it does. I put that in there because it's fairly obvious. "Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness" is essentially a direct quote from Locke; "life, liberty, and property". You know that's so obvious that someone has to have expressed it somewhere before... Just got to find it.[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:49, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Main page revamp ideas ==

As per [http://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/browse_thread/thread/f632e1305a0b4f4f# some discussion] on the group message board, I agree the main page could stand some new additions...

First off, I think it's pretty obvious if this [[MisesWiki:Bounty board|Bounty board]] incentive is going to be effective, we need to advertise. I think we should have either a section on the main page—perhaps replace one that is on there now, such as "this week in history"—or a prominent link to a full page that tells of all the projects going on, the articles that need creating and expanding, the promotions currently running, etc. And of course including all the useful links for that kind of thing (e.g. [[MisesWiki:2011 article improvement drive]], [[MisesWiki:Most wanted]], [[MisesWiki:Typos]], etc.)

I think it would be really nice to have a kind of quick overview of what's going on here and what specifically someone can do to help out. I think people would be more inclined to participate if they were aware of a requested article or some other project. Even aside from the prizes to be won, I think having a defined mission and objectives is really useful in helping someone feel like they're making a difference. Kind of like the "Operation Stub" drive. It's really motivating to see a request for a page that is currently a red link, and being able to see the instant result of having created a new stub and having the links go blue and seeing the article count increase...or seeing an article slowly but surely get more and more fleshed out as you collaborate with other editors and reach featured status. I think developing a sense of community would definitely entice editors to contribute as well as keep coming back, and a good way to do that is have a prominent display of what is currently being focused on.

Input? --[[User:John James|John James]] 16:26, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

:I very much agree. What about inserting a large "What can I do?" section into the middle of the main page, with links to the various projects and initiatives one can help out?

:And yes, we'll need to do a lot of advertising - at the latest when the 'improvement drive' is finalized. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:39, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

::I like the ideas, but I don't like removing the only part of the main page that ''is'' regularly updated. I'd prefer dropping "current events," perhaps incorporating it into the "this week in history" box.
::I think the Community Portal page should serve as the "full page" containing all the things going on. Go ahead and put together a box like [[Template:Current events]] (maybe call it [[Template:What can I do]] or [[Template:Get involved]]?) with a few of the important things you are talking about, along with a link to CP. The main page is very plug-and-chug, so you can just pull {{tl|Current events}} off the main page and substitute your new one. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 17:57, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

== Semantic wikis ==

Does anyone have experience with semantic wikis? I keep being recommended to introduce the feature to MisesWiki. I can see that it might be practical, but can't really tell what in the end the impact would be, besides a lot of work. Looking for some insight here. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 16:59, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

:I'll give an example of how this could be helpful. Let us say that we want a table that displays all countries by their indexes in the Infoboxes. In [[Template:Infobox Country]], you would find where they ask for each index, and put a property tag such as<nowiki>[[Economic Freedom Index::{{{row 10 info|}}}]]</nowiki> (that template needs to be more semanticly named). Then, you would use the following code (with templates from http://dnd-wiki.org/):

:<nowiki>{| style="text-align:left;" class="sortable"</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|-</nowiki>
:<nowiki>! Name !! Economic Freedom Index !! Corruption Perception Index !! Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>{{#ask: [[Category:Countries]]</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Economic Freedom Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Corruption Perception Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|format=template</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|template=Table Row</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|link=none</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|limit=9999</nowiki>
:<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|}</nowiki>

:And then the table would generate, and changing the facts on the individual pages would cause these tables to update (within 24 hours usually) automatically. It allows for Wikis to implement the policy of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). And as I've said a few times already, I've got quite a few templates for making SMW easier to deal with. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 23:05, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

::What would be the effort needed to migrate the wiki, and keep it updated? How much would our users need to learn about the syntax and what will it do to the readability of the page source code? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:17, 31 August 2011 (MSD)

:::The effort involved for migrating the wiki is as follows:
:::#Installation and configuration. I've never installed SMW (or any other Mediawiki extension), but I don't expect this to take very long. Configuration might need to be done for which namespaces it is enabled on. I cannot recall. One choice that has to be made is whether or not to show properties at the bottom of a page.
:::#Planning properties. This is where somebody (or a group of people) sit down and decide on the initial properties to have on the wiki. This can easily be streamlined by looking at the current category structure, and if there is the equivalent to a morpheme (for example, categories such as ''Books by Ludwig von Mises'', ''Books by Bastiat'', ect.) and turning those morphemes into properties (in this case, the property would be called Author).
:::#Implementing properties. This is where the above plan is realized. Using the example from planning, one would look at the book articles in general, and see if there is a template where the author is placed. If so, that template is edited so that it adds the property to it. If done correctly, a content editor won't have to deal with the properties themselves. Also, categories have to be renamed. ''Books by X'' would be renamed to ''Books''.
:::#Implement navigation. If you can think of a table that would help users find information, it takes all of five minutes to create generally. Some of the queries you can think of (the ones you want specific to a certain entity) can be templated.

:::For the syntax, just knowing how to set properties is enough. Taking [http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dungeons_and_Dragons_Wiki:Ask_Syntax the dnd-wiki help page] on it and modifying the examples at the bottom to fit this wiki should suffice. It doesn't go over tables, but copy & paste from a working table suffices for anybody who has needed to do so.

:::For the readability of the source code, it all looks like templates and links, and in many cases, is easier to read, since implementation details are hidden. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 17:35, 7 September 2011 (MSD)
Semantic MediaWiki has a number of advantages beyond making it easier for academics and others interesting in running queries to gather data. It can also be used for putting together dynamic tables within the wiki itself, creating more powerful templates, automating labor-intensive tasks, and more. I will offer the caveat, though, that as of a few years ago SMW had some troublesome bugs, and I'm not sure whether they have made a lot of progress since then.

A lot of sites that have SMW installed don't make much use of it. This may be partly because any templates imported from Wikipedia won't use it. To get the full benefit, you have to be willing to get creative in coming up with uses for it, and put in the work to implement those ideas.

The academic community is, of course, strongly in favor of SMW. I think it will do an important favor to the wikisphere and the world to be part of the effort to realize SMW's potential. That might have to include fixing some bugs. How much you want to focus on that, as opposed to more MisesWiki-specific concerns, is up to you. One last caveat — if you use caching, there may be some performance implications to consider.

Here are a couple examples of how I used SMW to make my life easier. On my wiki, we had a "Today's featured article" (TFA) page for each day. Perhaps you are familiar with how on the Wikipedia main page, the TFA blurb is followed by a list of three "Recently featured" articles — specifically, those from one, two, and three days ago.

It was a pain in the neck to enter those manually, and if I changed my mind and substituted a different featured article for a particular day, I had to edit three different featured article blurbs that referred to it as a recently featured article. To eliminate that chore, I put some sort of SMW code in each blurb — I think it was something along the lines of <code>featured::Libertarianism</code> if the article in question was [[libertarianism]] — and that associated that page with that featured article title. So then, all I had to do was use a bot to prepopulate a bunch of featured article blurbs with some SMW code telling it to grab the featured article title from the previous three days' blurbs. Specifically, <nowiki>Recently featured: {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 14, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 13, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 12, 2010]]|?featuring=}}</nowiki> I could do that for a year in advance if I wanted, and it would eliminate the need to edit the "Recently featured" wikitext later on for any reason.

Another example was when I had a bunch of articles on political prisoners, and wanted to enter various data (such as mailing address) just once per page. E.g., I could change the data in the infobox template and it would change it in the article text, or vice versa. Unfortunately, this didn't work. I sought support from the listserv and they said it was probably a bug in SMW. At that time, I didn't feel like familiarizing myself with the SMW code and hunting down and fixing that bug, so I abandoned that project. There is still enough functionality that works, though, for you to accomplish some useful tasks with it. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 03:27, 9 July 2012 (MSD)

== The Big One ==

It is coming... can you feel it? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 19:15, 30 January 2012 (MSK)
:You mean another Great Depression, or something even worse? I'm not sure if the conditions are ripe for that to happen. We have a lot of Keynesians in office, ready to worsen and prolong any economic slump that develops, but we don't have the equivalent of a Smoot-Hawley Tariff to destroy global trade. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

:: Sorry, didn't want to produce any panic. The Big One in question was the 1000th article on Mises Wiki. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 03:41, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

I had the misfortune to walk into the living room whilst the roomies were watching the news the other day and CBS was refering to the '08 bubble as the "Great Recession". I found that highly entertaining. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 20:11, 22 May 2013 (MSD)[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:51, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

==Sysop promotion request==
I request promotion to sysop so I can assist with maintenance of the MediaWiki namespace, vandalism cleanup, template importation, miscellaneous requests, etc.

We may want to consider being pretty liberal in giving out the sysop tools, since that is is accordance with the spirit of the "wiki way," which is to make mistakes easy to correct rather than hard to make. The more sysops you have, the faster vandalism gets deleted and so on. It tends to improve the quality of the wiki.

What makes sysops more of a detriment is when the rules of engagement are set up in ways that produce perverse incentives. E.g. if pages are allowed to be speedily deleted for questionable reasons, then the more sysops you have running around speedily deleting stuff, the more good content will tend to get deleted quickly. The sysops are similar to cops or security guards — if the laws (and overall system) are good, then these officers tend to be beneficial; but if the laws are bad, then the situation is similar to that described in the Declaration of Independence, of having "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." They can only harass and eat out the substance to the extent that the nature of the system allows and encourages that to happen. Here, our hierarchical system (ultimately reporting to the Mises Institute) and mistrust of mob rule prevents the kind of abuses we've seen on other wikis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

: Hallo Nathan,
: the Mises Wiki is a bit conservative with awarding the Administrator privileges. These days - *fingers crossed* - the wiki is actually quite stable and does not need much of an administrating effort. Most mistakes are easy to correct for most users, and even templates are easy to create (in case you want to make some more involved changes in this area, [[User:John James|John James]] is our template guru). We also don't tend to speedily delete pages, far from it! The biggest issue for admins has been the recent flood of spam, which was thankfully contained - in a large part also due to your help! I do not see a particular need to expand the ranks of Admins right now, I hope you understand.
: Best regards, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:38, 12 August 2012 (MSD)
::Yeah, on a wiki with the type of user behavior patterns (largely molded by the wiki's culture, which in turn is greatly affected by its rules, including the wiki mission) that are encountered here, the issues that require sysop intervention do indeed tend to be few and far between. That is assuming spam problems remain solved; those spammers are always innovating, making it necessary to find new countermeasures. It's a continual arms race. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

Do people seriously bother to create bots to put up nonsense pages? Seems a little ridiculous that someone would waste their time like that... Perhaps I'm just not cynical enough...[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:56, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: They do, but mostly it's just spam, where the motivation is cold hard cash. I assume most of the edits that are complete nonsense are simply the generation of 'plausible' traffic to cover up other spam. For some people this is clearly worth the effort. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

:: Then again, someone (or rather some''thing'') just posted a remarkably coherent and quite polished page about Essays. I have deleted the page, but actually hope that it ''was'' a spambot and not a misguided human (and that I just didn't fail the {{w|Turing test}}...).
:: So this may be the future of spamming - lots of crap with some well-written borderline cases that creep up on websites and sometimes slip through. Guess it's only gonna get worse. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:11, 29 May 2013 (MSD)
:::http://xkcd.com/810/ Wow, [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Essay&timestamp=20130528091338 that essay] on essays truly was a class act; it even used the word "learnt". I was very impressed at their subtlety. Also, it wasn't that long ago that an IP spammer hit the "undo" button on my revert of his spam. It made me take a second look at what was posted, because that's ordinarily behavior only humans have engaged in. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:03, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

==Wiki configuration issues==
Given our webmaster's other duties, does he have enough time to give wiki issues prompt service? I hope I'm not being too unreasonable by saying that and I apologize if I'm displaying lack of tact in how I'm addressing this. I just see certain issues, most notably the [[MisesWiki:Configuration#Asirra|CAPTCHA problem]] (which is of critical importance to the wiki), remain unresolved for long periods of time, despite reminders.

I don't know what level of priority the Mises Institute wants to give the wiki at this point. Being such a wiki enthusiast, my own sentiments toward waiting till other matters have been dealt with to resolve wiki configuration issues tends to be rather similar to [http://i.qkme.me/3q3j8b.jpg those expressed by Batman] concerning post-production fixes. But I realize the Mises Institute and those who seek to help it also have other matters on their plates besides the wiki. So I'm just going to throw that out there and leave it at that. I don't know whether it would be appropriate to lobby for more technical assistance resources, or how would be the best way to go about that. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

== Today in history ==

We could, if we wanted, have more than the a few entries available for each day's "Today in history". We could use [[mw:Extension:Random]] or a similar extension to select, say, two items out of a list for each day. That list could be hundreds long; the more the merrier, as long as they're high-quality, because that means more possibilities for users to see on different visits to the site. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 23:25, 5 October 2012 (MSD)

== Mass imports ==

A lot of wikis, in their early stages, have done mass imports of content. E.g., Wikipedia imported a bunch of Census data on various localities. I wonder if we might do well to import, say, the contents of ''[http://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier]'' as articles. Although they would be a bunch of stubs, it might be better than nothing. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:54, 20 October 2012 (MSD)

I actually signed up because I was couldn't work out what "catalactics" meant. It was only as I started trying to figure out how a wiki works that I found this reference to Mises Made Easier and found the answer there. Mises Made easier is more like a dictionary than an encyclopedia, but if it provides the stubs from which stuff branches out, mass importing it sounds like a great idea. [[User:Labcoat|Labcoat]] ([[User talk:Labcoat|talk]]) 02:49, 22 November 2013 (MSK)
:Someone will have to actually muster the initiative to actually implement this idea, though. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:06, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

:: For things like these I suggest to create a [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]]. Mises Made Easier was already considered at some point (see the [[MisesWiki talk:Call to Action|talk]] page) but other topics seemed more attractive at the time. @Labcoat - if you were equipped with tools that would make the import easier, would you be willing to work on it? (It would still involve going through all the topics manually and doing some editing, but the copying and pasting would be taken care of. That doesn't mean you have to ''do'' everything by yourself, the question is only if you are willing to do some of it.)

:: (And aside - if you've learned a bit about catalactics, feel free to create a page or at least a stub about it. ;) ) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:36, 24 November 2013 (MSK)
:::For the [[catallactics]] article, one could start by borrowing [[wikipedia:Catallactics|Wikipedia's content]]. I think an automated tool would be the best way to import ''Mises Made Easier''. We could program a bot to do it, or we could run a script on the server. It's probably better to use a bot; the code would then be more reusable for other purposes, because it's easy for bureaucrats to create bot accounts, but only a few people are going to have shell access to the server.

:::I see this as requiring a few steps: (1) convert the ''Mises Made Easy'' page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into [http://us3.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php an array] of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one. (2) Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.

:::(3) Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them. (4) Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names. (5) See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it. (6) Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

:::I mentioned below the possibility of switching to a new glossary system enabled by {{w|Semantic MediaWiki}} or [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]]. Prior to the importation of all those articles would be an excellent time to go that route, if we're going to do it. I've been pretty pleased with how it's been working out on my other wikis (PolyWiki.org, ChildWiki.net, and SuicideWiki.org) because it's such an efficient system for creating glossaries, quote lists, etc. and main page summaries simultaneously. However, those are all one-editor sites, and the extension was just created last month.

:::Also, I think we'd want to discuss what the templates should look like. E.g., should the parameters have names (like in [[:Template:Cite web]], which has parameters "url", "title", etc.) or should they be numbered (like in template [[:Template:Md]]? The latter is what I've been doing because it saves typing and is perhaps easier to read, but it makes it harder to change the parameters later, because you have to migrate all the transcluding pages over. One of MediaWiki's main weaknesses is that it doesn't have much metadata functionality; this is one way to solve that. The other alternative would be Semantic MediaWiki, which has a larger community of users.

:::[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=to+be+honest To be honest], if I were you, I'd go with SMW, because then you're not dependent on me for maintenance of the extension. MediaWiki upgrades are always breaking extensions, so that the developers have to write new versions. The idea BedellPenDragon embodies is a good and useful one, and there needs to be an extension with that functionality, but there are no other developers maintaining that extension, and I don't know how long I'm going to be around. Maybe for years, maybe not. Then again, we could say that about anyone.

:::I just noticed, some of this is going to need some manual intervention. E.g. [http://mises.org/easier/V.asp#4 Verstehen] should be a redirect to [[understanding]], not its own separate entry. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:29, 25 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: I was thinking of doing something smaller, since it will require some editing on every page (not just categories, but also linking to other pages, if no further editing is necessary). And if we have to pre-decide which article gets which category, it means we'll have to revisit each page at least two times anyway.

:::: That being said, having a universal import bot/script would be really neat, the significant time investment is my main concern here; I may not be able to help out with it much. Will we make use of it again?

:::: As for Semantic MediaWiki BedellPenDragon - the first is worrying as it is a one-way ticket that makes things more complex for new users (higher barriers to entry), the other is a indeed a new product with little support and no user base. I've been skeptical about these extensions for a while; then again, I'm mainly focused on (or to be honest, obsessed) with content and not as much with the presentation side of things.

:::: My general preference is to make things simple and easier to maintain. These days, I don't expect too much activity, more of steady slow growth with occasional bursts, which I'd like to accommodate. We'll see! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:37, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: And here's a link for the whole thing: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier]] [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:51, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:::::Yeah, it's easier (and in fact inevitable, to some extent) to follow Wikipedia's lead, as far as extensions are concerned. Then there's pretty much a guarantee that it will be well-supported and that it will be compatible with any content, templates, etc. we might import from Wikipedia.

:::::It is indeed a one-way ticket when we implement a metadata solution — theoretically. It could be undone and migrated to a different system using a sufficiently sophisticated bot. We don't have a lot of bot developers around here, though. I think once [[wikipedia:Wikidata|Wikidata]] comes fully online, we'll end up integrating with it (much as we already integrate with the [[wikipedia:Wikimedia Commons|Wikimedia Commons]]) and maybe setting up our own MisesData installation to supplement it. Unfortunately, it might be a long time before they get around to finishing the Wikidata implementation. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:10, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier|Updated]]. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:01, 10 December 2013 (MSK)

== MediaWiki 1.20 ==

MediaWiki 1.20 has been released. Here are the [https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/gitweb?p=mediawiki/core.git;a=blob;f=RELEASE-NOTES-1.20;hb=REL1_20 full release notes]. I didn't see anything major in there. MW 1.19 will continue to be supported for the next two years, so unless there is some capability v1.20 offers that we particularly need, it might be just as well to stick with what we have. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:20, 9 November 2012 (MSK)

== Asirra cracked ==

Word has it that the spammers are starting to crack Asirra. We seem to be getting a spam rate of about one a day. I forget what it was like before Asirra; wasn't it about five a day? Anyway, another option would be to use [[mw:Extension:QuestyCaptcha]]. We could ask [[Austrian school]]-related questions like "The Ludwig von Mises Institute motto is tu ne cede _____ (fill in the blank)" or "What was the first name of the wife of Ludwig von Mises?" People knowledgeable about the Austrian school would have the reward of not needing to google for the answers, and those who did have to look it up would learn something. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:44, 11 November 2012 (MSK)

You could always ask simple math problems but declare said equations as a string so that the bot won't be able to interpret the numbers.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 19:59, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
:I've seen that done. I forget which wiki it was. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:07, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

== WikiNode ==

Wikiindex has an interesting idea about wikinodes. See http://wikiindex.org/WikiProject:Wiki-Noding : "We think every wiki needs a page (called "WikiNode") that briefly describes the wiki and the top 7 or so closely related wikis." Here is [http://wikiindex.org/WikiIndex:WikiNode their wikinode]. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but apparently it never caught on. Maybe it should. But what would be the most closely related wikis to this one? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:33, 20 November 2012 (MSK)

== Voluntary Cooperation ==

I've created a new Call to Action: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]]. Let's see if anyone dares to join! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:10, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

: I hope to complete the project soon. There is now an index page called '''[[Privately supplied public goods]]''' - please check it out and let me know what you think. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:48, 25 February 2013 (MSK)

:: Moved project into the inactive ones, could certainly have more content but it is more or less complete. Anyone feel free to reopen it. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== Early spring cleaning ==

Having some time at hand, I started to make a long overdue cleanup of last year's pages. Some need to be overhauled completely, some polished, some moved into Essays. It is a lot of work, so help is invited, as always. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 18:57, 4 January 2013 (MSK)

I'd love to help ya mate just not sure how. I don't have any expierence working on wiki's etc... [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 23:35, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: The cleanup is basically finished. If you wanna help out with the messy bits, there is a whole [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]]. But if you want something more topical, check out the current project [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
: Learning how to use a wiki isn't hard - it's only matter of dilligence and finding the topics that really interest you and you want to learn about more. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

== Outreach ==

It is sometimes not easy to see what kind of impact these pages have. They may seem too obscure or not noticed by anyone. If that's the case, what's the point?

However, the Mises Wiki ''is'' being used as a resource, in arguments, debates and forum discussions all over the Internet. It could be certainly more, but it is out there. How can you find out? Google '''''"wiki.mises.org" -site:mises.org'''''. Then, with the search tools limit the results to last month or whatever criteria you prefer. Dig in.

The biggest hits can be surprising, like "Principle of non-aggression". :)

The wiki has also high Google rank on obscure keywords like [[regime uncertainty]] (#1!) and quite a few [[Financial crisis#History|19th century panics]]. Google ranks original content higher, and remixing of other content - instead of simply copying whatever is on Wikipedia or other articles. Diligent linking also pays off. Plus, for some articles - such as regime uncertainty or some of those panics, Wikipedia doesn't have anything or very little. It's not hard to be better than that.

So, don't get discouraged. This stuff is used by people out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:55, 2 February 2013 (MSK)

:As it turns out, Google is not the end-all resource to find out what links a page. There are websites better equipped for that - [https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer/backlinks-new/subdomains/wiki.mises.org/29-3-2013/all-all here's one] (allows only a few limited views a day though). Turns out there's way more sites using this wiki! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:33, 30 March 2013 (MSK)
::Just so you know, we have [[mw:Manual:$wgNoFollowLinks]] set to false on this wiki, so we are also giving a pagerank boost to the pages our articles link to. There was a debate about the wisdom of doing this throughout the wikisphere; virtually all developers said "hell no" when I [[bugzilla:42594|suggested]] changing the default for MediaWiki. However, I have always had that configuration settings switched off on all my other wikis, and have never had a spam problem. I suspect that Google may reward us for keeping it switched off, but it's hard to tell.

::Using your query as an example, I just did some similar searches involving my favorite wikis, essays, etc. that I've created/written. It was kinda depressing, almost as bad as when I've done [[wikipedia:Egosurfing|vanity searches]] of my name or looked up the code I've written (e.g. [[wikiapiary:Extension:InterwikiMap]]) on WikiApiary. I would say, it makes me feel small and uninfluential, except that could be construed as evidence of [[wikipedia:Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissism]].

::The only reason I would want to avoid that perception, though, is because of how the mainstream looks at vain people. I am fond of many narcissists and egomaniacs, and tend to agree with [[wikisource:The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin/Section One|Benjamin Franklin's sentiments]] concerning vanity (viz. that "it is often productive of Good to the Possessor & to others that are within his Sphere of Action"). People like Donald Trump make for great entertainment, IMO. Sigh, I just need to hurry and create Inclupedia, so that I will feel like I've accomplished something sufficiently important to justify incurred costs. I did [http://stats.grok.se/ grokse] some of the Wikipedia articles I spent hours/days painstakingly writing; some paid off much better than others. E.g., [[wikipedia:Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act]] gets a lot of hits, even though it needs to be updated to reflect [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/11-1265/11-1265-2013-01-22.html this decision]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== The Regression Theorem and Bitcoin ==

So I'm dong research for a paper and I can't seem to find a place which makes the arguments for why Bitcoin violates the regression therom etc... Was wondering if ya'll could direct me to where that argument is made? Also someone with more knowledge than I should probably add a "Critism" section to the Bitcoin page and talk about the regression therom there. Thanks for your time. Peace be with you all! - Diax

So what exactly is the argument about that Bitcoin violates the regression therom or some such? It would be nice to

: Don't know where that particular claim comes from, here's [http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/7761841-patrik-korda/1616371-bitcoin-bubble-2-0 one] article that comes close, and [https://smilingdavesblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/bitcoin-all-in-one-place/ this] list seems to be a good one to go by, but that's just two bloggers. [http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.de/2011/06/why-are-libertarians-against-bitcoin.html This] one links to many other articles where other critiques may be found.
: Otherwise, it seems like most articles speak about some anonymous 'Austrian economists' that keep doing that somewhere and fail to provide a link.
: If you find good articles about [[Bitcoin]], critiques or not, please add them to the page! (If they are not as good, but still contain valid points, throw them on the Talk page.) Someone may sort them out one day. Any Bitcoin experts out there? (Follow through with your research and may become one as well. :) ). Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

It's Mises that created the Regression Therom in [i] The Theory of Money and Credit[/i] (1912) It's him expanding on Menger's theory on the origin of moeny. The basic argument as far as I can tell is that in order to transition from a barter economy to a money economy it would be necessary for a commodity to have utility in trade beyond it's barter value and thus it becomes a medium of exchange.

I think the claim is that because bitcoin does not have a commodity backing it cannot be money (in the long run) and just like fiat is doomed to fail...[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 01:43, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

: The [[Regression theorem|concept]] is well-known (hmm, that page could also use some improvement...), the question is where the claim about Bitcoin violating it comes from. Need to do some more googling! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:20, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

:: As far as I can tell the claim that Bitcoin violates it comes from the idea that because the regression theorem says that money must be commodity backed and bitcoin violates this principle therefore Bitcoin is not money.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 21:58, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

::: As many of the articles about this topic explain, that is not what the regression theorem says. What I am wondering now though, seeing all that hoopla about it, is there any notable Austrian economist that claims this, or is it really just a few bloggers sniping at each other? One day we'll know it all. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 30 May 2013 (MSD)

== Where to contribute ==

The question has been asked repeatedly. Where should one add to or create more new pages?

The simplest answer is to find something you are really interested in, it's the most fun and you probably already know a lot about it. And if not, it's only natural to want to learn a bit more - and help others as well. But let's offer some inspiration:

* [[Special:WantedPages|Most wanted pages, by missing links]]: This list shows which nonexistent articles have the most links pointing to them (some are just obscure links from templates and the like).
* [[MisesWiki:Most wanted|Most wanted pages, by vote]].
* A long list of desired topics is [[Category talk:Economic concepts|here]].

* Check out the [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]] (and it's talk page) - it contains several projects and suggestions for more, and there's plenty of things that can be still added. [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]] is particularly wide. The current project is [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
* For those who don't mind to get their hands dirty, check out the [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]].

* If you are interested in a particular [[:Category:Countries|country or countries]], there is a good base to expand on. What is going on in that particular corner of the world anyway? How intrusive is the state? How's free is the life over there (and what's the quality of life)? What's of special interest to Austrians or libertarians?

* Are you more of a single-issue person, interested in a particular organization, person, or concept? Well, then see if a corresponding page already exists, how extensive is it, and what about all the related topics?

* Are you interested in a larger, overarching topic or a group of topics? See if there's a summary page and what subtopics can be created or brought up to the level.

* Are you into history? ([[Gilded Age]]? [[Great Depression]]? [[Financial crises]]? [[History of money and banking]]?) Writing a wiki page is a great way to learn about history.

* Are you more into the theoretical aspects of [[economics]] and [[praxeology]]? Create away whatever is still missing.

* Would you like to create good arguments for or against whatever discussion is currently raging on the Internet? There is [[Category:Argumentation|place for that]] as well!

And there's so much more...

(Anyone has more ideas? Add them here!) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:31, 3 June 2013 (MSD)
:People can also offer constructive criticism about what they would like to see changed or added to the site so that it will better serve their and others' needs. It's useful to get input even from those who don't edit the site on a regular basis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:00, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== 1400 pages ==

Rather quietly, the wiki has just reached 1400 pages with the [[‎Second Bank of the United States]]. Good news in what is otherwise a period of downtime. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:39, 10 July 2013 (MSD)

== Teaching Austrian Economics ==

Are there any Austrian School Textbooks that can be used to teach college leval Macro & Micro economics. Everything iv'e found teaches Keynesian Economics.

:I'd say if you start with [[Human Action]] and [[Man, Economy and State]] you should be well provided for a start (of an advanced education), but I've asked this question [http://libertyhq.freeforums.org/college-level-textbooks-t943.html elsewhere] to see if there's a better answer. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 15 July 2013 (MSD)

::Check out the link above, there are some good answers in the forum thread now. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:17, 17 July 2013 (MSD)

== Upgrade to MW 1.21 ==

If there is no objection, I will upgrade the site to [[mw:Release_notes/1.21#MediaWiki_1.21.2|MediaWiki 1.21]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:10, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:Upgrade complete. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 10:31, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== Debate -> Dialog, Fun -> Miscellany ==

I changed the namespace names from Debate: to Dialog: (see [[rationalwiki:Debate:Should_it_be_Dialogue]] for some thoughts on that) and from Fun: to Miscellany:. I figured Miscellany: would be a good repository for any off-topic or otherwise hard-to-classify stuff. Debate: and Fun: are still available as [[mw:Manual:$wgNamespaceAliases|namespace aliases]]. The main downside I can think of is that the name of the "Dialog talk:" namespace sounds slightly redundant. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:58, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:I'm going to retire the Dialog: namespace and move all the content to Miscellany: if there's no objection. Even RationalWiki: has found that the Debate: namespace is kinda pointless; [[rationalwiki:Help:Namespace|they write]], "For some reason this namespace is not very well used. The function is largely usurped by talk pages." [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 00:58, 29 December 2013 (MSK)

== Another libertarian wiki ==

For later study, found by chance: "[http://v.i4031.net/Home A Voluntaryist Wiki]", appears to be a rather private affair focused mainly on argumentation. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 23:44, 20 October 2013 (MSK)
:Added to the [[MisesWiki:Wikinode|wikinode]] (and to [[wikiindex:A Voluntaryist Wiki|wikiindex]]). [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:57, 21 October 2013 (MSK)

== [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]] ==

Hello, I've written [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]], which adds metadata, glossary, essay list, and quote list features to MediaWiki. Perhaps the best way to explain it is by example. All of these features you can see either displayed or available from the [http://polywiki.org/ PolyWiki main page].
*'''Articles:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FASummary Template:FASummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_articles Category:Featured articles], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_article Randomly featured article]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:Glossary Special:Glossary]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_articles Recently added articles]'''.
*'''Essays:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FESummary Template:FESummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_essays Category:Featured essays], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_essay Randomly featured essay]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:EssayList Special:EssayList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_essays Recently added essays]'''.
*'''Quotes:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FQSummary Template:FQSummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_quotes Category:Featured quotes], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_quote Randomly featured quote]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:QuoteList Special:QuoteList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_quotes Recently added quotes]'''.
Examples of how this is done:
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Values_within_polyamory&action=edit Article example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Essay:Friendship_as_the_foundation_of_romantic_relationships&action=edit Essay example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Quote:Security_comes_first_from_inside...&action=edit Quote example] (view source)
I was thinking this could be useful on Mises Wiki. Perhaps we could enhance the main page by showing new content as well as randomly selected content that's an unpredictable mix of the old and new. Also, this data could be queried by other parts of mises.org or even sites external to mises.org using [[mw:API:Properties#pageprops_.2F_pp|the API]]. Another advantage is that vandals and spammers almost certainly won't know to use the templates that will cause content to be seen on the main page. We could use this as a means of new page screening for the Mises Globe on the main mises.org page as well.

Also, we can create sidebars similar to RationalWiki's [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Template:Sex Template:Sex] that display a random list of x articles in a given category. So, for example, the article on [[fractional reserve banking]] could have a <nowiki>{{banking}}</nowiki> sidebar with a list of 12 randomly selected banking articles. This way, users who revisit the article will be exposed to new content each time.

There's other stuff that could be done with this extension too, such as creating "Did you know?" tidbits of information for display on the main page; we could then create another special page to display a master list of those items. It's not all that much different from what [[wikipedia:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]] was intended to do (except that SMW is more powerful); I just haven't had good experiences with SMW, or I would recommend using it, since it's the application that academicians tend to favor and to have more enthusiasm about. They've been fantasizing for a long time about what they could do if Wikipedia would switch to SMW.

To make BedellPenDragon be useful for us, we would need to (after installing the extension) start adding the featured summary and regular summary templates to pages we create. Since this would be a fairly significant change in how we do things, I wanted to see what your thoughts were and make sure there's a consensus before proceeding. Another option would be to use SMW; if we were to pick that option, I might switch my focus from improving BedellPenDragon to improving SMW, although I'm not sure how much success I would have getting that community to accept proposed changes. I have control over BedellPenDragon's development; I don't control SMW. I've often found than code review can be a bottleneck and that it can be quite hard for an outsider to get his changes approved due to inertia and lack of interested reviewers.

If we were to want to reverse this change later, it would not be too hard. We would just need to change the templates so that they either do nothing at all or so that they do nothing but display the text that is entered into them as parameters. Thanks, [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:27, 11 November 2013 (MSK)

== Script error on page ==

There is a script error [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Sweden#Links here] on what appear to be flags. Don't care much for the flags, but perhaps it can be fixed easily. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:Those red "script error" messages are clickable; that one informed me that we needed to import [[Module:Yesno]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:02, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== $wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges ==

Anyone care to be added to [[mw:Manual:$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges|$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges]]? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 03:17, 14 December 2013 (MSK)

: Is there anything in it that Recent Changes doesn't cover? Otherwise it seems like just getting more emails. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:11, 15 December 2013 (MSK)
::Nope, it's for people who want to get emailed everything that's in Recent Changes (except the changes they themselves make). But actually, at this point you can just use the preferences checkbox implemented by [[mw:Extension:EmailAllChanges]] if you want to be emailed all those notifications. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 14:15, 15 December 2013 (MSK)

== Happy New Year! ==

Haven't been much on recently but will come back for a spring cleaning. Meanwhile, enjoy Merry belated Christmas and especially a Happy New Year! Big thanks to everyone for holding the torch! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:45, 30 December 2013 (MSK)

Private road

2013-12-15T11:23:43Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res; carved out Walter Block

A '''private road''' is a road owned and maintained by a private individual, organization, or company rather than by a government.{{Fact|Summary taken over from Wikipedia as it seems the best one around.}}

{{See also|Private infrastructure}}

==Private roads in the UK==
===First private roads===
With the fall of Rome, Europe moved into a period dominated by very localized and largely self-sufficient agricultural communities. Direct knowledge of the process of development and maintenance of roads in Britain before the twelfth or thirteenth century is almost non-existent, but at least some parts of the road networks were in good condition is evidenced by the records of military marches, some averaging as much as fifty miles per day. There is substantial evidence that the kings and their courts "moved incessantly around the kingdom, occasionally with the army", requiring passable roads to carry a "very sizable company." The vast majority of road use involved local people traveling short distances, to markets, churches and courts. There was need for lanes to provide access to holdings in the fields; to take loaded wagons to the windmill or to the watermill in the meadows; to reach the woodland with its timber, its fruit and its pannage for swine; to take the flock to the common pastures and heaths. The course of the roads with a purpose so narrow would be determined only by local needs.

The land over which a road passed actually "belonged" to the owner of the land on either side of the road, so if a road was abandoned (e.g., because travelers began beating a different path), it would revert to that landowner. However, under Anglo-Saxon custom, one of the rights to part of the land (i.e., the road) was assigned to the extended community as an easement: "the right of passage was a communal right". Indeed, the concept of the "highway" initially referred to this customary right of passage rather than to the roadway or path itself. Individuals had customary obligations to other members of a community to remove any impediments to travel such as overhanging trees, hedges, logs, and perhaps water, through a drainage ditch, not to build roads. In fact, the word "road" apparently comes form the Anglo-Saxon word "ridan" (to ride) which may derive from the verb "rid," meaning to free or clear away any obstruction. Third, the members had a customary obligation to make sure that all members maintained the roadways over their lands. The actual need for enforcement was rare, however, due to the reciprocities that existed within these close-knit communities.<ref name="Benson_Roads">Bruce L. Benson. [http://www.coss.fsu.edu/economics/sites/coss.fsu.edu.economics/files/users/bbenson/roads_public.pdf "Are Roads Public Goods, Club Goods, Private Goods, or Common Pools?"] (pdf), 2002, referenced 2013-01-17.</ref>

===After the Norman conquest===
The road system that was in place through the middle of the eleventh century proved to be adequate enough to make "possible a centralization of national government to which there was no parallel in western Europe" following the Norman conquest in 1066. At the same time, however, many of the underlying incentives were undermined. For instance, William seized virtually all of the land in England, and while he held many large estates for his own use, he also granted use of large tracts to Barons and the Church in exchange for support. Enclosure of some land which had been controlled by local agricultural communities as open fields and common pastures soon followed. In particular, land granted to the aristocracy, called the demesne, could be enclosed (other types of land were controlled by freeholders who paid rent to the lord, and by the villiens who provided labor to the lords). The Statute of Merton (1236) also permitted the lords to enclose large portions of the "waste," the high woodlands and unimproved pastures that lay in clumps around the arable lands, at the expense of the freeholders and villiens who used such areas, and as noted in Darby, grazing was also significantly restricted in the vast royal forests and parks "in the interest of the chase." Then, in the 1400s, as wool prices rose relative to grain prices, the lords evicted large numbers of tenants and enclosed additional large tracts of land, converting it to sheep pasture from crops and stubble fields upon which cattle had grazed. Hundreds of local villages were abandoned. Many of the remaining kinship groups and tithing were broken apart as people were driven from their traditional homes.

While members of local communities probably still had incentives to maintain roads for local use, the breakdown of the voluntary hierarchical system apparently produced a growing problem of under-maintenance for some long-distance connections. At the same time that the demand for long distance travel was growing due to the activities of the king and his court. In addition, representatives of the church with its widespread holdings also traveled extensively. Trade also was expanding throughout eleventh and twelfth centuries. Most commercial retailing activities took place at fairs during this period, and merchants traveled from fair to fair in order to sell their wares and buy others, thus requiring increasingly intensive use of some roads.

Not surprisingly, it was not the royal government that took up the road-provision task; it was he religious and the merchant communities. Numerous examples of merchants and merchant organizations contributing to the construction and/or maintenance of roads, and especially bridges, can be found. Some guilds were particularly active in this regard, especially when much of the business of the country was conducted at local fairs, and this was the case until the establishment of more permanent markets in the sixteenth century. However, some guilds and wealthy merchant benefactors continued supporting bridges and roads well into eighteenth century.

Roads played a very significant role in determining the success of a market town and those trading with it, so other members of both the local community and the merchant community tended to be vary grateful to someone who aided the two communities in this way. Thus, building and maintaining roads and bridges was an investment in reputation. And for Christians, even more significant personal benefits were anticipated.

The medieval Church was a major trader, and in addition, many of the important fairs were held at priories and abbeys. Furthermore, the Church encouraged pilgrimages. The Church also maintained frequent tours by preachers and friars, but perhaps the most significant source of Church-related travel was the monasteries, whose scattered estates required constant visits. Therefore, the Church promulgated the belief that care of the roads was "a work of Christian beneficence, well pleasing to God". This created incentives for private citizens within the Christian community to aid in the maintenance of roads and bridges, and the Bishops' registers throughout the United Kingdom provide ample evidence of such activity. Indeed, such religious beliefs explain the development of the long-lasting customary obligation that local parishes accepted for road maintenance. The monks also accepted a customary obligation to maintain roads, willingly taking on the task because it "was a pious work highly to be commended".<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===After the dissolution of monasteries===
This system of voluntary road maintenance was also ultimately undermined, however, as a consequence of the almost continuous struggle for power between the English kings and the Church. Henry VIII finally dissolved the monasteries in 1536-39, divided their properties, and transferred them to "a class of rapacious landlords who would be slow to recognize any claim upon their rents for the maintenance of roads.... The inevitable result would be a rapid decadence of many highways which had hitherto been in common use".

Local parishes continued to maintain roads in many areas, particularly for local travel (probably 80 to 85 percent of the actual roads in Great Britain), and various merchants and guilds also continued to provide support for some roads and bridges near market towns, but the elimination of the monasteries and the undermining of the incentives of the Church to encourage its parishioners to maintain roads that were important for long-distant travel was apparently quite significant. The roads that had been maintained with the assistance and urging of the monasteries began to deteriorate (possibly 15 to 20 percent of the roads). Indeed, it is contended that the seizure of the monasteries was the primary factor leading to passage of the "Statute for Mending of Highways" in 1555 which mandated that parishes establish a very specific institutional arrangement for maintenance of ''all'' roads in each parish.

The local justices-of-the-peace were ordered to appoint surveyors and collect fines that arose as a result of the failure of individuals to contribute their required inputs. Both the justices and the surveyors were to perform their tasks without compensation. All of the manual labor, tools, horses and carts needed for repairing the roads were to be provided by the parishioners, also without any compensation. For the roads where travel remained largely local, the highway statute of 1555 was largely unnecessary, and for roads that were heavily used by travelers who did not live in the local community, they were largely unsuccessful. A long series of additional statutes attempted to create sufficient negative incentives for the parishioners and surveyors to do their mandated duties. Ultimately none worked and the system of fines evolved into commutations to be collected from individual parishioners that relieved their obligations to perform the statutorily mandated duties and allowed the justices to hire laborers to work under the supervision of the surveyors. These funds also proved inadequate for the heavily traveled arteries, however.

Thus, commutations were supplemented with a general highway tax from the mid-seventeenth century onward. However, an even more important source of funds was generated through the criminal law by fines levied by the royal courts through presentment or indictment of the parish as a whole for the non-repair of its highways. Some parishes were perpetually under indictment, and "At varying dates in the different Counties, but eventually ... nearly all over England, it became the regular thing for a parish periodically to find itself indicted at the Sessions for neglecting to keep its highways in repair" and to pay a substantial fine rather than repair the roads. Despite these sources of revenues, however, the quality of road and bridge construction and repair on the major arteries did not compare to what had been done under the supervision and encouragement of the monks in the previous centuries.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Turnpikes===
The right to charge a toll in the United Kingdom had been severely restricted, in part because tolls were an important source of royal revenues. These revenues were not earmarked for road maintenance, however, so they went into the general treasury. Kings, and later parliament, had the power to grant the right to collect tolls to private individuals or organizations. In fact, there is evidence that burgesses (merchants who formed local governments in market towns) in several communities had petitioned for and been granted the right to collect tolls as early as 1154. Furthermore, there was one situation under which tolls could be collected by a private citizen without getting government permission: land owners could charge for passage through private land as long as an easement (customary or mandated) had not already been established. Not surprisingly, there is considerable evidence that enterprising land owners began to establish new "private roads" that allowed travellers to avoid the "ill-repaired public highways".

A long series of parliamentary acts were passed beginning in 1663 enabling the establishment of local ad hoc bodies known as "Turnpike Trusts," however, these were not parliamentary innovations. The initiative was always at the local level, as parishioners had to petitioned parliament for each segment of road on which they wanted to establish tolls.

After about 1700 the turnpike-establishment process became fairly standardized. A group of local landowners and/or merchants would accumulate the money necessary to fund pursuit of a Turnpike Act in parliament and to carry the cost of the trust through its start-up period. Turnpike Acts established a Turnpike Trust and granted it an exclusive right to operate a road (generally for 21 years), but trustees did not have complete private rights to the roads they were to operate. They were responsible for erecting gates to collect tolls, appointing collectors and a surveyor to supervise repairs, and a Clerk and Treasurer to administer the trust, but they were required to be unpaid. The tolls to be charged for various types of traffic were often specified in the legislation, and the funds collected could only be applied to the road named in the Act. No revenues could be diverted to other uses or retained as profit. If the tolls were insufficient to cover costs at particular times (e.g., up front), trusts were allowed to borrow at a rate of interest fixed by the Act.

Turnpikes were usually existing highways, although new roads were also built, particularly after 1740, and more importantly, the extent of "usable" roads for heavy traffic expanded significantly. The early turnpikes were maintained using the same techniques as the monasteries and parishes had employed before, but much more intensively. However, Trusts employed paid surveyors who, thorough specialization, developed expertise in road maintenance, and after about 1750 there is considerable evidence of experimentation and innovation in construction and maintenance by some of these specialists.

Innovations in surfacing, road widening and banking, and later, improvements in administration all made travel in the United Kingdom faster and less expensive. Turnpike formation really accelerated during the 1750s (and actually, during the 1740s as well), and by 1770 Trusts controlled almost 16,000 miles of turnpikes. The period of rapid expansion in turnpikes (1740-1830) involved a dramatic increase in heavy long-distance traffic due to the [[industrial revolution]]. Indeed, the early period of the industrial revolution was supported by turnpike road (and to a degree, by water) transport, rather than by the railroad system that often seems to get credit for supplying the transportation needs of the revolution.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Decline of the Turnpike System===
Turnpike activity peaked in about 1830 when there were 1,116 Turnpike Trusts operating 22,000 miles of roads, and declined thereafter.

The mandated structure and characteristics of the trusts created significant principal-agent problems. The Trustees were not allowed to be paid or earn profits, so other income generating activities (farms, businesses) commanded most of their attention. Toll gates were farmed out, and while trustees were supposed to monitor the gate-keepers and surveyors, their incentives to do so were very weak. There was no threat of takeover when a trust was operated inefficiently. With little monitoring and no competitive threat, corruption was rampant "and only a small part of the money collected for the upkeep of the road was in fact used for that purpose".

The political limitations on trusts also led to significant complaints by shippers and travellers. While they probably did not want to pay tolls at all, that may not have been the most significant cost imposed by the turnpike system. A serious complaint was that there were too many toll booths, requiring too many stops, thereby slowing transportation services unnecessarily. While consolidation of small trusts was desirable, the trusts operated at the prerogative of parliament, and any formal consolidation required parliamentary approval. Some efforts were made to obtain parliamentary approval to combine small trusts into larger organizations, but parliament did not respond with necessary enabling legislation that might have led to widespread consolidation, choosing instead to deal with such proposals individually and quite slowly. The vast majority of the small trusts remained independent until their bankruptcy and demise.

There was also significant political opposition to the trusts themselves. Opposition came from those involved in competitive transportation modes such as the river and canal barges and railroads, from the trade centers that already had effective transportation connections and feared competition from other centers if their road connections were improved, from some landowners and farmers who feared that better roads would make it easier for their low-wage laborers to be attracted away, from farmers who supplied local markets and feared that improved roads would bring in competition from distant suppliers, from heavy road users who did not want to pay tolls for access even though they wanted the roads to be maintained, and so on. Therefore, in order to gain sufficient support for passage, Turnpike Acts always had to reflect significant political compromise, including long lists of toll exemptions for powerful individuals and groups who opposed each Act. Agricultural interests and in some areas, industrial groups, were particularly effective at obtaining exemptions. Often those with exemptions were some of the worst abusers of what to them remained a common pool resource. Exemptions also grew over time (individual Trust Acts were annually renewed, with revisions possible), seriously reducing trust revenues.

The Parliament also imposed steep tolls for steam carriages, despite their safety, cost advantages, speed, capacity, and reduced road damage. Many interests - corn merchants, harness makers, horse-copers, railway promoters, iron masters hoping to make rails, and those who were simply against change - would unite against steam carriages. As a result, the use of mechanical vehicles on Britain's roads was delayed for some 60 years. That was another reason why highways were not competitive with the developing railroads.

As chronic insolvency spread, the burden of maintenance for more and more turnpikes was shifted, once again, onto the parishes. This simply led to resistance which actually flared into a "conclusive popular rebellion known as the Rebecca Riots" in South Wales during 1842-43. This resulted in a royal Commission to inquire about the grievances in South Wales, and finally to the dismissal of all Turnpike Trustees throughout the area and the merger of all trusts into "County Road Boards" which took over the roads, their debts, and the tolls of the former trusts. A "General Superintendent of County Roads in South Wales" was appointed by the central government, putting the roads in the area "Under what was virtually Government control" which also loaned 218,000 Pounds to counties so they could pay off creditors and consolidated debts at low interest rates. These county organizations were able to substantial reduce the number of toll gates as well as the level of tolls that had led to the revolts. Furthermore, they actually were able to operate efficiently enough to pay off the accumulated debts over the next 30 years, suggesting that if Parliament had responded earlier to the need for consolidation, the riots and subsequent government control might have been avoided.

The Parliament started to gradually abolish more and more tolls. Most Trusts were renewed each year, although from 1864 onward, 20 to 30 trusts were dissolved annually, with the roads turned over to a local parish or a highway district. Dissolution accelerated, however, and in 1871 all tolls were ended in the London area. The number of trusts was down to 854 in 1871, 588 in 1875, 184 in 1881, 71 in 1883, 15 in 1887, and 2 in 1890. The last trust ended operations in November of 1895.

This rapidly placed thousands of miles of roads back into the care of the parishes, leading to increased local resistance. In order to mitigate some of the local opposition the central government began giving Grants in Aid in 1876 to help pay for maintenance. More and more aid from the central treasury was given to counties for road maintenance and the parishes were finally formally dissolved of their road maintenance liability in 1895. Funding shifted from tolls to county taxes along with subsidies from the central government, and government expenditures on roads increased rapidly. The average government expenditure per mile of county roads rose from 43 pounds in 1890 to 69 pounds in 1902, for instance while expenditures on urban roads increased from 49 to 207 pounds over the same period.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

==Private roads in the US==
Once the state of Pennsylvania chartered a private company in 1792 to build a road connecting Philadelphia and Lancaster, rival states felt impelled to follow. Private initiative was the only effective means of providing new highways, because state and county finances were almost nonexistent and town resources were meager.

The '''turnpikes''' were financed by private stock subscription and set up to pay dividends. Built with a surface of gravel and earth, turnpikes were usually 15 to 40 miles in length, and cost $2,000 per mile to build. They were massive undertakings and relied on widespread investment from the community. Stock purchased was more like a contribution to community improvement rather than a business investment. Some travelers objected to the idea of paying tolls, particularly to a corporate monopoly. Legislators, often suspicious of corporate motives, wrote extensive (and economically debilitating) restrictions into company charters, specifying conditions for construction, maintenance, and toll rates, and toll collection.

Only Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio subsidized their turnpike companies; New York chartered the most turnpikes. The opening decade of the nineteenth century saw the most charter activity, though roughly one-third of the companies chartered failed to construct a single mile of roadway.

The unprofitability of turnpikes soon became obvious. The vast majority of turnpikes paid only very small dividends or none at all. First, toll evasion was rampant, as people would circumvent tollgates, a practice known as "shunpiking." Second, many roads were built in advance of settlement and travel demand was low. Third, legal restrictions and regulations, limiting both toll rates and countermeasures to shunpiking, hamstrung the turnpikes’ abilities to improve their financial situation.

But poor financial returns did not necessarily mean unfruitfulness. Even an unprofitable turnpike stimulated commerce, raised land values, and aided expansion. Therefore, community leaders resorted to a fascinating array of tactics to boost the turnpike cause despite the sad prospects for dividends. Supporters used newspaper appeals, town meetings, door-to-door solicitations, and correspondence to apply social pressure. In this way as in others, American communities relied on voluntarism, as so elegantly described by [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], to meet local needs. "With but few exceptions, the vast majority of the stockholders in turnpike were either farmers, land speculators, merchants or individuals and firms interested in commerce."

In the late 1820s canals began competing with many of the major turnpikes. Railroads joined in a bit later. Between 1825 and 1845 turnpike mileage dropped considerably. At the same time, however, the canals and railroads changed the patterns of trade and development, and stimulated new demands for shorter toll roads that would serve as feeders. Turnpike activity by no means ceased with the advent of canals and rails.

The toll road idea endured to the end of the century. Discoveries of gold, silver, copper, and other minerals in California, Colorado, and Nevada sparked rushes of newcomers. Even before statehood for Colorado and Nevada entrepreneurs organized their own toll road enterprises to serve the mining communities, and some got rich in the process. Well over 360 toll roads were constructed in California, Colorado, and Nevada alone. This experience indicates that private initiative can provide infrastructure for economic development.

By the end of the nineteenth century, state and county governments had grown in capabilities and new agencies began setting goals for centralized highway management. Independent private toll roads were not thought appropriate in the era of progressive governance, and most of those remaining were bought out or shut down.<ref name="Klein_Private">Daniel Klein. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/private-highways-in-america-1792-1916/ "Private Highways in America, 1792-1916"] ([http://www.scu.edu/civilsocietyinstitute/articles/upload/PrivateHighways.pdf pdf]), ''The Freeman'', February 1994. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref><ref name="Klein_Voluntary">Daniel Klein. [http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/018.pdf "The Voluntary Provision of Public Goods? The Turnpike Companies of Early America"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics'', ''University of California'' at Irvine, Reprint No. 18, ''Economic Inquiry'', March 1990. Referenced 2012-12-08.</ref>

:'''Turnpike Incorporation, 1792-1845:<ref name="Klein_Toll">Daniel B. Klein and Gordon J. Fielding. [http://www.its.uci.edu/its/publications/papers/ITS/UCI-ITS-WP-91-14.pdf "Private Toll Roads: Learning From the Nineteenth Century"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics and Institute of Transportation Studies'', ''University of California, Irvine'', December 1991. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref>'''
:{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
!State
!1792-1800
!1801-10
!1811-20
!1821-30
!1831-40
!1841-45
!Total
|-
|New Hampshire
|4
|45
|5
|1
|4
|0
|59
|-
|Vermont
|9
|19
|15
|7
|4
|3
|57
|-
|Massachusetts
|9
|80
|8
|16
|1
|1
|115
|-
|Rhode Island
|3
|13
|8
|13
|3
|1
|41
|-
|Connecticut
|23
|37
|16
|24
|13
|0
|113
|-
|New York
|13
|126
|133
|75
|83
|27
|457
|-
|Pennsylvania
|5
|39
|101
|59
|101
|37
|342
|-
|New Jersey
|0
|22
|22
|3
|3
|0
|50
|-
|Virginia
|0
|6
|7
|8
|25
|0
|46
|-
|Maryland
|3
|9
|33
|12
|14
|7
|78
|-
|Ohio
|0
|2
|14
|12
|114
|62
|204
|-
!Total
|69
|398
|362
|230
|365
|138
!1562
|}

===Bridges and other infrastructure===
The first private toll-bridge company, the Charles-River Bridge, opened in 1786 was called "the greatest effect of private enterprise in the United States." Its investors were rewarded with a return of 10.5 percent annually for the first six years. Through 1798, about 59 bridge companies were chartered in the states under consideration, principally in New England. Many of them failed and some were unprofitable, but a considerable number, especially in the Boston area, had proven themselves lucrative by the end of the century. In contrast to the turnpikes, the bridges did not suffer from toll evasion and liberal exemptions, and when profits were low they commonly obtained toll increases.

Many enterprises were undertaken to make improvements, and it is debatable whether they can be counted as business corporations. There were marine and agricultural societies,
but then come corporations for land improvement, lumber cultivation, and inland navigation. For example, a "case near the line" is the River Machine Company, incorporated in 1790 to dredge the Providence River. "The merchants of Providence had agreed to raise $1,000 in forty ’equal shares’" for the project. The company was to collect tolls from certain vessels, but any surplus was to be used at the end of twenty years for other improvements. "Thus no dividends were contemplated."
<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

===Early 20th century===
In 1908 was opened the Long Island Motor Parkway, the first road built specifically for the automobile. Created by William Kissam Vanderbilt II (the great-grandson of [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]]), a car enthusiast who loved to race. His race came under fire after a spectator was killed in 1906, and Vanderbilt wanted a safe road on which to hold the race and on which other car lovers could hurl their new machines free of the dust common on roads made for horses. The parkway would also be free of "Interference from the authorities," he said in a speech. The toll road was built of reinforced concrete, had banked turns, guard rails and, by building bridges, eliminated intersections that would slow a driver down.

The motor parkway was open until 1938, but it could not compete with the public roads, even after the toll was reduced to 40 cents. The urban planner Robert Moses eventually gained control of the pioneering road for back taxes of about $80,000. The day of public roads had come, supplanting private highways.<ref name="Patton_Dream">Phil Patton. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/automobiles/12LIMP.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&_r=0 "A 100-Year-Old Dream: A Road Just for Cars"], ''The New York Times'', published: October 9, 2008. See also the {{w|Long Island Motor Parkway}} on Wikipedia. Referenced 2013-12-15</ref>

Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1912. Carl Fisher, father of the Indianapolis 500, envisioned a well-paved, reliable cross-country road to avoid urban congestion, encourage travel, promote the automobile industry, and build up the rural communities along the way. His idea was so popular and necessary, that droves of private citizens, fed up with muddy backcountry roads, paid $5 each to become members of the highway organization that Fisher founded with Frank Seiberling of Goodyear and Henry Joy of the Packard Motor Car Company. Local communities, in exchange for providing labor, received free road-building materials from the organization and, more important, a significant boost to local commerce. Automobile manufacturers saw the highway plan as an essential foundation for the growth of their industry and volunteered substantial funds.

Despite its lack of federal support, the highway plan was anything but uncoordinated. As a 1916 guidebook touted, the Lincoln Highway cut the time needed for cross-country travel by two-thirds and reduced the cost to an affordable $5 a day. Even when lack of funds threatened the future of the road, the association worked with local governments to build sections of the highway to connect with the “seedling miles” of concrete road built in strategic locations by the association.

The federal government realized too late the importance of what the Lincoln Highway Association was the first to promote, and by 1921 it was anxious to catch up. The private initiative symbolized by the highway association was crowded out by the Federal Highway Act.<ref name="Jenco_Freeing">Leigh Jenco. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/freeing-the-freeways/ "Freeing the Freeways], ''The Freeman'', November 01, 2000, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

===Current private roads===
By 2007, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels has auctioned the rights to operate the Indiana Toll Road — a 157-mile road linking the Chicago Skyway in the west to the Ohio Turnpike in the east — to a private group for $3.8 billion. Meantime, Chicago mayor Richard Daley has harvested $1.8 billion auctioning the Skyway to a private group, and another half-billion or so turning city-owned garages over to private operators. Across the country, cash-strapped governors and mayors were discovering that their airports, bridges, toll roads, water systems, and other revenue-generating operations are worth far more than they thought, and were eyeing auctions that might produce windfalls similar to those in Chicago and Indiana. They’re also looking to recruit private investors to build and operate new toll roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Confronting a $3 billion transportation-funding shortfall, Indiana decided to use an auction to extract the Toll Road’s long-term value. In effect, a private operator gave Indiana an up-front payment in exchange for the right to collect tolls on the road for 75 years. Like the Chicago deal, which hands over the Skyway for 99 years, the Indiana lease is basically a sale, since its term exceeds the road’s anticipated life. Each agreement requires the private operator to invest in rebuilding the road as it falls apart and to follow a lengthy list of operating standards, from how best to fill potholes to how quickly to clear roadkill.

In California, a private company was constructing a nearly ten-mile, $800 million extension of Route 125, south of San Diego, in exchange for a 35-year lease to manage the road and collect tolls.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization">Steven Malanga. [http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_privatization.html "The New Privatization"], ''City Journal'', Summer 2007, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref> The California Private Transportation Company provided, in the median of California’s State Route 91, the first "Express Toll Lanes" with variable tolls, electronically collected, designed to ensure congestion-free travel at all times.<ref name="Roth_Important">Gabriel Roth. [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1822 Roads Are Too Important to Be Left to Governments], ''The Independent Institute'', September 26, 2006, referenced 2013-02-17.</ref>

Utah contemplated private financing to build the Mountain View Corridor, a road connecting Salt Lake City Airport to towns in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, instead of raising its gas tax by up to 50 cents per gallon. Virginia has inked an agreement with Australian toll-road firm Transurban, which already leases the state’s nine-mile Pocahontas Parkway, to study expanding Interstate 95 with high-occupancy toll lanes. If approved, the project would cost nearly $1 billion. "These roads don’t exist and in many cases they won’t ever exist unless the private sector builds them," says Mark Florian, a Goldman Sachs investment banker and an advisor on several such transactions in Texas.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

A number of U.S. states have moved ahead with [[public-private partnerships]] (PPP) and privatization. The following projects from Virginia illustrate the possibilities of expanding the private role in infrastructure investment:
* Midtown Tunnel. Skanska and Macquarie are building, and will operate, a three-mile tolled tunnel under the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Private debt and equity are covering most of the project’s $2.1 billion cost.
* Capital Beltway. Transurban and Fluor have built and are now operating and maintaining new toll lanes along 14 miles of I-495. The firms used debt and equity to finance about $1.5 billion of the project’s $2 billion cost. The lanes opened in November 2012 after being completed on time and on budget. The same firms will be partnering with Virginia to finance, build, and manage new toll lanes south from the Beltway along I-95.
* Dulles Greenway. The Greenway is a privately owned toll highway in Northern Virginia completed in the mid-1990s with $350 million of private debt and equity, and without government aid.
* Jordan Bridge. FIGG Engineering Group and partners fully financed and constructed a $142 million highway bridge over the Elizabeth River between Chesapeake and Portsmouth. The cost of this handsome and soaring private bridge will be paid back by toll revenues over time. The bridge opened in 2012.<ref name="Edwards_Infrastructure">Chris Edwards. [http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/tbb_067.pdf "Infrastructure Investment: A State, Local, and Private Responsibility"] (pdf), ''Cato Institute'', No. 67, January 2013, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

==Europe==
Privately financed infrastructure has made another appearance in post–World War II Europe. Starting with 1955 legislation, France began to tap private investors to build and operate what eventually amounted to 3,400 miles of autoroutes between cities.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" /> For years there was a gap in the ring road surrounding Paris that created huge traffic problems. Then private developers made an unsolicited proposal to build a $2 billion toll tunnel in exchange for a 70-year lease to run it. They built a double-decker tunnel that fits six lanes of traffic in the space usually required for just two. The tunnel's profit-seeking owners have an incentive to keep traffic moving. They collect tolls based on congestion pricing, and tolls are collected electronically, so cars don't have to stop. The tunnel operators clear accidents quickly. Most are detected within 10 seconds -- thanks to 350 cameras inside the tunnel. The private road has cut a 45-minute trip to 10 minutes.<ref name="Stossel_Private">John Stossel. [http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/05/private-enterprise-does-it-bet "Private Enterprise Does It Better"], ''Reason.com'', August 5, 2010, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

Margaret Thatcher’s energetic [[privatization]] drive in 1980s England sold existing government assets and spawned scores of public-private construction projects. The Soviet Union’s collapse led to extensive privatization in former Eastern bloc countries during the nineties. As of 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated that worldwide, more than 1,100 public-private deals have taken place in the transportation field alone over the last two decades. Total value: approximately $360 billion.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==Analysis from a public goods perspective==
{{See also|Public goods}}
To what extent can we expect private initiative to have been successful in providing roads, as evidenced in early United States? Despite the large social benefits of the roads, it would seem that the individual could find no advantage in supporting them. Since citizens knew that turnpike stock was a poor investment, purchasing stock was much like paying for the road. Once stock subscriptions were sufficient to construct the road, there would be no way to withhold the benefits of the road from those who did not contribute. The input of a single individual would not make the difference, or so it would seem.

On the basis of narrow self-interest it would have been foolish for any one person to make a voluntary sacrifice. Turnpike stock subscription appears to have been a [[free rider problem]] ''par excellence''. In view of the apparent free rider problem, the success was striking. The movement built new roads at rates previously unknown in America. Over $11 million was invested in turnpikes in New York, some $6.5 million in New England, and over $4.5 million (excluding state investment) in Pennsylvania. (A turnpike typically had a construction cost of $700 to $3,000 per mile and a length of 15 to 40 miles.) Based on the population of 1830, per-capita turnpike investment was approximately $3.90 in Massachusetts. Between 1794 and 1840, 238 private New England turnpikes built and operated about 3,750 miles of road. New York led all other states in turnpike mileage with over 4,000 as of 1821. Pennsylvania was second, reaching a peak of about 2,400 miles in 1832. New Jersey companies operated 550 miles by 1821; Maryland’s operated 300 miles of private road in 1830. Turnpikes also represented a great improvement in road quality .

The local turnpike was supported by the more prominent citizens, but it is not as though a handful of affluent landowners paid for the project. Stock subscription was broad-based, In most cases upwards of 50 people contributed, usually over 100 for a larger turnpike, no one with more than 15 percent of the stock. After the most travelled routes had been converted to turnpikes, it became more difficult to raise money for their construction, but nonetheless turnpikes continued to be built, even though, by 1805, hope of direct remuneration had disappeared. Yet between 1805 and 1838 over 500 turnpikes were chartered and built, each one representing a separate instance of public good provision. Even though the turnpikes offered enormous nonexcludable benefits, far outweighing the costs of the project, a straight application of the simple public-goods model would lead us to doubt that many turnpikes were built and that a single one was built after 1805.

Daniel Klein points out that community isolation, citizen familiarity, and weak, decentralized government bred close social ties and a strong participatory ethic. Towns of the early nineteenth century were independent and strong, and in the first three decades of the republic, the township held almost all of the administrative power of government. [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], in his opus [[Democracy in America]], says the towns "are independent in all that concerns themselves alone; and among the inhabitants of New England I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the state has any right to interfere in their town affairs." The participatory nature of town government in early America has been well noted. This feature often makes it pointless to draw lines separating private and public works. At the same time, religious congregations often showed a penchant for making themselves busy in various improvement endeavors, such as schools, libraries, and poor relief. By generating the requisite social relations, or "social capital", as well as human capital, the religious and benevolent activities not only incited but empowered the application of voluntary efforts to community goals. The citizens’ cooperation with government efforts is noteworthy, but more significant is the willingness to forge public improvements by voluntary association.

Things have changed a lot since 1810. Neighbors are often strangers, so how can we expected social pressure and the like to curtail free riding? On this, Klein has two remarks: one, whether it be a street association or the [[American Cancer Society]], suasion tactics often yield results, as reported regularly in ''Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Ouarterly''. Second, if voluntary forces are deemed ineffective in providing public goods, that in itself is a policy issue. The ability of voluntary association to provide infrastructure, education, security, and poor relief depends on the exercise and spontaneous development of certain institutions, activities, and sentiments. Since governmental bodies dominate these services it is no surprise that the faculties of sodality remain degenerate. When a problem arises government is expected to deal with it. Participation does not become a personal responsibility and organizing leadership does not become a source of social esteem. Thus there is a lesson in the broader circumstances of early America which bred effective voluntary forces, as well as in the specific ways those forces established turnpikes.<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

In modern times, private contractors are much better than government at getting construction done on time and on budget. A 2002 government study in the United Kingdom, where public-private transactions are more common, found that 70 percent of public construction undertaken by the government ran late and that 73 percent of it finished over budget. But when government contracted projects to private firms, just 24 percent of them were late and only 20 percent were over budget. There’s no mystery here, since private contractors can’t start collecting revenues until properties are up and running.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* Walter Block
** [[The Privatization of Roads and Highways]], 2006; [https://mises.org/daily/3416 Introduction]; [http://mises.org/media/3539 panel discussion] (video), January 2009 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9kn1LKTHA YouTube], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUA4h8ctNWM abridged YouTube])
** [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/highway_safety.pdf Theories of Highway Safety] (pdf), July 2011
** [http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_2/3_2_7.pdf Free Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads] (pdf)
** [https://mises.org/document/5165/Rejoinder-to-Carnis-on-Private-Roads Rejoinder to Carnis on Private Roads] (pdf version), 2010
** [https://mises.org/journals/jls/4_3/4_3_6.pdf Congestion and Road Pricing] (pdf), 1980
** [http://www2.units.it/etica/2003_2/block.htm Overcoming difficulties in privatizing roads], 2003
** [https://mises.org/journals/jls/7_1/7_1_1.pdf Public Goods and Externalities: The Case of Roads] (pdf), 1983
** [http://www.mises.org/media/5270 "Privatization of Roads"] (audio) lecture, July 2010
** [http://www.mises.org/media/1440 Privatization: Roads, Eminent Domain] (audio) lecture, August 2004
** [[Lew Rockwell Show]]: [http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/08/20/23-road-socialism/ Road Socialism] (audio) interview, August 2008 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvY1aHAfX4w YouTube])
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPCk69X9AF8 Roads, Education, and Waterways: The Case Against Public Services] (video) lecture, January 2008

* Articles, essays and reviews
** {{md|5498|Privatize the Highways — and All Roads for That Matter|Zachary Slayback|August 2011}}
** {{md|3415|New Ideas for Roads|[[Jeffrey Tucker|Jeffrey A. Tucker]]|April 2009}}
** [[The Freeman]] Review: [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-privatization-of-roads-highways-human-and-economic-factors/ "The Privatization of Roads and Highways"] by Arthur E. Foulkes, April 2011
** {{mb|17360|A Step Closer to Privatizing Infrastructure?|Briggs Armstrong|June 2011}}
** [[The Free Market]]: [http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=202 "Private Roads"] by Eric Peters, February 1996
** "Management versus Ownership: The Road-Privatization Debate" ([http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae4_2_4.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis, Summer 2001
** "New Directions in Road Privatization" ([http://mises.org/journals/scholar/road.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis
** {{mb|17830|Road Shortage in Socialist Paradise|Per Bylund|July 2011}}
** [http://www.as.ua.edu/history/html/faculty/beitofromprivies.pdf ''From Privies to Boulevards: The Private Supply of Infrastructure in the United States during the Nineteenth Century''] (pdf) David T. Beito (in Jerry Jenkins and David Sisk, "Development by Consent: The Voluntary Supply of Public Goods and Services", 1993
** [http://www.transport-links.org/transport_links/filearea/documentstore/322_Swedish%20Private%20Roads%20Associations.pdf Private-Public Partnership for low volume roads: the Swedish Private Roads Associations] (pdf) by Sven Ivarsson, 2003
** [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-231.html Highway Aggravation: The Case For Privatizing The Highways] by Peter Samuel, June 1995
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/roads-without-the-state/ Roads Without the State] by Peter Samuel, January 1998
** [http://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=64 Street Smart: Competition, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Roads] ([http://www.independent.org/publications/books/summary.asp?id=64 summary], [http://books.google.de/books?id=sYAxKrpSjOsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Book preview]) by Gabriel Roth, 2006
** ''Roads in a Market Economy'' by Roth, G., 1996
** [http://reason.com/archives/1996/08/01/road-warrior Road Warrior] by Robert Poole, August 1996 (review of Roads in a Market Economy, by Gabriel Roth)
** [http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_2_1_benson.pdf#page=2 The Mythology of Holdout as a Justification for Eminent Domain and Public Provision of Roads] (pdf) by Bruce L. Benson, 2005
** [http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/frazier3.html Private Roads Work] by Bart Frazier, January 2009
** [http://reason.org/news/show/good-roads-sooner-public-priva Good Roads Sooner: Public-Private Partnerships in New South Wales] by Bob Carr, January 2010 (about private roads in Australia)
** [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2077 Adopt a Highway: The Case for Privatizing Our Roads] by John Semmens, November 2007
** [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3525878 Jim Peron: All roads do not lead to congestion] by Jim Peron, September 2003
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/government-highways-unsafe-at-any-speed/ Government Highways: Unsafe at Any Speed] by Richard Barbarick, June 1993
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn057.pdf Liberate the Roads! The Benefits That Will Come From Road Privatisation] (pdf) by Martin Ball, 1994
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn049.pdf The Private Ownership of Public Space: The New Age of Rationally Priced Road Use] (pdf) by Brian Micklethwait, 1993
** [http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/Mcchesneysnow.html Snow Jobs] by Fred S. McChesney, October 2001
** {{md|1704|Snowed by Road Statism|Paul Servodio|December 2004}}
** [http://www.voluntaryist.com/voluntaryist.pdf The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions: Voluntaryism and the Roads] (pdf) by Carl Watner (from ''I Must Speak Out''), p. 474-485, June 1998
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-myth-of-crumbling-highways The Myth of Crumbling Highways] by David Hartgen, April 2013
** [http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Klein.Majewski.Turnpikes Turnpikes and Toll Roads in Nineteenth-Century America] Daniel B. Klein and John Majewski, 2010
** {{mb|9736|Privately-repaired potholes: a good start|Ryan McMaken|April 2009}}

* Other media
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyPEgIDhj5s Taking Politics Out of Transportation: Economist Bruce Benson on Private Roads] news magazine by [[Reason.tv]], December 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUULDlMPFYU Tolls, Not Taxes: How Americans Want to Fix Traffic Jams] news magazine by Reason.tv, February 2012
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5DCmDXJun4 Private Roads] news magazine by [[John Stossel]], 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a2EhgADVFY The Case for Private Roads] segment from ''Stossel'', 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmAgSOgJ7NY Infrastructure Spending] segment from ''Stossel'', 2011
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKXLqvfy3II There Were Private Roads Before Government Roads]
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x6oosvWnRs "But What About the Roads?!": Road Provision in a Voluntary Society] August 2012

* [[Wikipedia:Free-market roads|Free-market roads]] and {{wplink}}

[[Category:Private alternatives to public goods]]
[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Reading lists]]

Private road

2013-12-15T10:47:46Z

Pestergaines: /* Early 20th century */ +example

A '''private road''' is a road owned and maintained by a private individual, organization, or company rather than by a government.{{Fact|Summary taken over from Wikipedia as it seems the best one around.}}

{{See also|Private infrastructure}}

==Private roads in the UK==
===First private roads===
With the fall of Rome, Europe moved into a period dominated by very localized and largely self-sufficient agricultural communities. Direct knowledge of the process of development and maintenance of roads in Britain before the twelfth or thirteenth century is almost non-existent, but at least some parts of the road networks were in good condition is evidenced by the records of military marches, some averaging as much as fifty miles per day. There is substantial evidence that the kings and their courts "moved incessantly around the kingdom, occasionally with the army", requiring passable roads to carry a "very sizable company." The vast majority of road use involved local people traveling short distances, to markets, churches and courts. There was need for lanes to provide access to holdings in the fields; to take loaded wagons to the windmill or to the watermill in the meadows; to reach the woodland with its timber, its fruit and its pannage for swine; to take the flock to the common pastures and heaths. The course of the roads with a purpose so narrow would be determined only by local needs.

The land over which a road passed actually "belonged" to the owner of the land on either side of the road, so if a road was abandoned (e.g., because travelers began beating a different path), it would revert to that landowner. However, under Anglo-Saxon custom, one of the rights to part of the land (i.e., the road) was assigned to the extended community as an easement: "the right of passage was a communal right". Indeed, the concept of the "highway" initially referred to this customary right of passage rather than to the roadway or path itself. Individuals had customary obligations to other members of a community to remove any impediments to travel such as overhanging trees, hedges, logs, and perhaps water, through a drainage ditch, not to build roads. In fact, the word "road" apparently comes form the Anglo-Saxon word "ridan" (to ride) which may derive from the verb "rid," meaning to free or clear away any obstruction. Third, the members had a customary obligation to make sure that all members maintained the roadways over their lands. The actual need for enforcement was rare, however, due to the reciprocities that existed within these close-knit communities.<ref name="Benson_Roads">Bruce L. Benson. [http://www.coss.fsu.edu/economics/sites/coss.fsu.edu.economics/files/users/bbenson/roads_public.pdf "Are Roads Public Goods, Club Goods, Private Goods, or Common Pools?"] (pdf), 2002, referenced 2013-01-17.</ref>

===After the Norman conquest===
The road system that was in place through the middle of the eleventh century proved to be adequate enough to make "possible a centralization of national government to which there was no parallel in western Europe" following the Norman conquest in 1066. At the same time, however, many of the underlying incentives were undermined. For instance, William seized virtually all of the land in England, and while he held many large estates for his own use, he also granted use of large tracts to Barons and the Church in exchange for support. Enclosure of some land which had been controlled by local agricultural communities as open fields and common pastures soon followed. In particular, land granted to the aristocracy, called the demesne, could be enclosed (other types of land were controlled by freeholders who paid rent to the lord, and by the villiens who provided labor to the lords). The Statute of Merton (1236) also permitted the lords to enclose large portions of the "waste," the high woodlands and unimproved pastures that lay in clumps around the arable lands, at the expense of the freeholders and villiens who used such areas, and as noted in Darby, grazing was also significantly restricted in the vast royal forests and parks "in the interest of the chase." Then, in the 1400s, as wool prices rose relative to grain prices, the lords evicted large numbers of tenants and enclosed additional large tracts of land, converting it to sheep pasture from crops and stubble fields upon which cattle had grazed. Hundreds of local villages were abandoned. Many of the remaining kinship groups and tithing were broken apart as people were driven from their traditional homes.

While members of local communities probably still had incentives to maintain roads for local use, the breakdown of the voluntary hierarchical system apparently produced a growing problem of under-maintenance for some long-distance connections. At the same time that the demand for long distance travel was growing due to the activities of the king and his court. In addition, representatives of the church with its widespread holdings also traveled extensively. Trade also was expanding throughout eleventh and twelfth centuries. Most commercial retailing activities took place at fairs during this period, and merchants traveled from fair to fair in order to sell their wares and buy others, thus requiring increasingly intensive use of some roads.

Not surprisingly, it was not the royal government that took up the road-provision task; it was he religious and the merchant communities. Numerous examples of merchants and merchant organizations contributing to the construction and/or maintenance of roads, and especially bridges, can be found. Some guilds were particularly active in this regard, especially when much of the business of the country was conducted at local fairs, and this was the case until the establishment of more permanent markets in the sixteenth century. However, some guilds and wealthy merchant benefactors continued supporting bridges and roads well into eighteenth century.

Roads played a very significant role in determining the success of a market town and those trading with it, so other members of both the local community and the merchant community tended to be vary grateful to someone who aided the two communities in this way. Thus, building and maintaining roads and bridges was an investment in reputation. And for Christians, even more significant personal benefits were anticipated.

The medieval Church was a major trader, and in addition, many of the important fairs were held at priories and abbeys. Furthermore, the Church encouraged pilgrimages. The Church also maintained frequent tours by preachers and friars, but perhaps the most significant source of Church-related travel was the monasteries, whose scattered estates required constant visits. Therefore, the Church promulgated the belief that care of the roads was "a work of Christian beneficence, well pleasing to God". This created incentives for private citizens within the Christian community to aid in the maintenance of roads and bridges, and the Bishops' registers throughout the United Kingdom provide ample evidence of such activity. Indeed, such religious beliefs explain the development of the long-lasting customary obligation that local parishes accepted for road maintenance. The monks also accepted a customary obligation to maintain roads, willingly taking on the task because it "was a pious work highly to be commended".<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===After the dissolution of monasteries===
This system of voluntary road maintenance was also ultimately undermined, however, as a consequence of the almost continuous struggle for power between the English kings and the Church. Henry VIII finally dissolved the monasteries in 1536-39, divided their properties, and transferred them to "a class of rapacious landlords who would be slow to recognize any claim upon their rents for the maintenance of roads.... The inevitable result would be a rapid decadence of many highways which had hitherto been in common use".

Local parishes continued to maintain roads in many areas, particularly for local travel (probably 80 to 85 percent of the actual roads in Great Britain), and various merchants and guilds also continued to provide support for some roads and bridges near market towns, but the elimination of the monasteries and the undermining of the incentives of the Church to encourage its parishioners to maintain roads that were important for long-distant travel was apparently quite significant. The roads that had been maintained with the assistance and urging of the monasteries began to deteriorate (possibly 15 to 20 percent of the roads). Indeed, it is contended that the seizure of the monasteries was the primary factor leading to passage of the "Statute for Mending of Highways" in 1555 which mandated that parishes establish a very specific institutional arrangement for maintenance of ''all'' roads in each parish.

The local justices-of-the-peace were ordered to appoint surveyors and collect fines that arose as a result of the failure of individuals to contribute their required inputs. Both the justices and the surveyors were to perform their tasks without compensation. All of the manual labor, tools, horses and carts needed for repairing the roads were to be provided by the parishioners, also without any compensation. For the roads where travel remained largely local, the highway statute of 1555 was largely unnecessary, and for roads that were heavily used by travelers who did not live in the local community, they were largely unsuccessful. A long series of additional statutes attempted to create sufficient negative incentives for the parishioners and surveyors to do their mandated duties. Ultimately none worked and the system of fines evolved into commutations to be collected from individual parishioners that relieved their obligations to perform the statutorily mandated duties and allowed the justices to hire laborers to work under the supervision of the surveyors. These funds also proved inadequate for the heavily traveled arteries, however.

Thus, commutations were supplemented with a general highway tax from the mid-seventeenth century onward. However, an even more important source of funds was generated through the criminal law by fines levied by the royal courts through presentment or indictment of the parish as a whole for the non-repair of its highways. Some parishes were perpetually under indictment, and "At varying dates in the different Counties, but eventually ... nearly all over England, it became the regular thing for a parish periodically to find itself indicted at the Sessions for neglecting to keep its highways in repair" and to pay a substantial fine rather than repair the roads. Despite these sources of revenues, however, the quality of road and bridge construction and repair on the major arteries did not compare to what had been done under the supervision and encouragement of the monks in the previous centuries.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Turnpikes===
The right to charge a toll in the United Kingdom had been severely restricted, in part because tolls were an important source of royal revenues. These revenues were not earmarked for road maintenance, however, so they went into the general treasury. Kings, and later parliament, had the power to grant the right to collect tolls to private individuals or organizations. In fact, there is evidence that burgesses (merchants who formed local governments in market towns) in several communities had petitioned for and been granted the right to collect tolls as early as 1154. Furthermore, there was one situation under which tolls could be collected by a private citizen without getting government permission: land owners could charge for passage through private land as long as an easement (customary or mandated) had not already been established. Not surprisingly, there is considerable evidence that enterprising land owners began to establish new "private roads" that allowed travellers to avoid the "ill-repaired public highways".

A long series of parliamentary acts were passed beginning in 1663 enabling the establishment of local ad hoc bodies known as "Turnpike Trusts," however, these were not parliamentary innovations. The initiative was always at the local level, as parishioners had to petitioned parliament for each segment of road on which they wanted to establish tolls.

After about 1700 the turnpike-establishment process became fairly standardized. A group of local landowners and/or merchants would accumulate the money necessary to fund pursuit of a Turnpike Act in parliament and to carry the cost of the trust through its start-up period. Turnpike Acts established a Turnpike Trust and granted it an exclusive right to operate a road (generally for 21 years), but trustees did not have complete private rights to the roads they were to operate. They were responsible for erecting gates to collect tolls, appointing collectors and a surveyor to supervise repairs, and a Clerk and Treasurer to administer the trust, but they were required to be unpaid. The tolls to be charged for various types of traffic were often specified in the legislation, and the funds collected could only be applied to the road named in the Act. No revenues could be diverted to other uses or retained as profit. If the tolls were insufficient to cover costs at particular times (e.g., up front), trusts were allowed to borrow at a rate of interest fixed by the Act.

Turnpikes were usually existing highways, although new roads were also built, particularly after 1740, and more importantly, the extent of "usable" roads for heavy traffic expanded significantly. The early turnpikes were maintained using the same techniques as the monasteries and parishes had employed before, but much more intensively. However, Trusts employed paid surveyors who, thorough specialization, developed expertise in road maintenance, and after about 1750 there is considerable evidence of experimentation and innovation in construction and maintenance by some of these specialists.

Innovations in surfacing, road widening and banking, and later, improvements in administration all made travel in the United Kingdom faster and less expensive. Turnpike formation really accelerated during the 1750s (and actually, during the 1740s as well), and by 1770 Trusts controlled almost 16,000 miles of turnpikes. The period of rapid expansion in turnpikes (1740-1830) involved a dramatic increase in heavy long-distance traffic due to the [[industrial revolution]]. Indeed, the early period of the industrial revolution was supported by turnpike road (and to a degree, by water) transport, rather than by the railroad system that often seems to get credit for supplying the transportation needs of the revolution.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

===Decline of the Turnpike System===
Turnpike activity peaked in about 1830 when there were 1,116 Turnpike Trusts operating 22,000 miles of roads, and declined thereafter.

The mandated structure and characteristics of the trusts created significant principal-agent problems. The Trustees were not allowed to be paid or earn profits, so other income generating activities (farms, businesses) commanded most of their attention. Toll gates were farmed out, and while trustees were supposed to monitor the gate-keepers and surveyors, their incentives to do so were very weak. There was no threat of takeover when a trust was operated inefficiently. With little monitoring and no competitive threat, corruption was rampant "and only a small part of the money collected for the upkeep of the road was in fact used for that purpose".

The political limitations on trusts also led to significant complaints by shippers and travellers. While they probably did not want to pay tolls at all, that may not have been the most significant cost imposed by the turnpike system. A serious complaint was that there were too many toll booths, requiring too many stops, thereby slowing transportation services unnecessarily. While consolidation of small trusts was desirable, the trusts operated at the prerogative of parliament, and any formal consolidation required parliamentary approval. Some efforts were made to obtain parliamentary approval to combine small trusts into larger organizations, but parliament did not respond with necessary enabling legislation that might have led to widespread consolidation, choosing instead to deal with such proposals individually and quite slowly. The vast majority of the small trusts remained independent until their bankruptcy and demise.

There was also significant political opposition to the trusts themselves. Opposition came from those involved in competitive transportation modes such as the river and canal barges and railroads, from the trade centers that already had effective transportation connections and feared competition from other centers if their road connections were improved, from some landowners and farmers who feared that better roads would make it easier for their low-wage laborers to be attracted away, from farmers who supplied local markets and feared that improved roads would bring in competition from distant suppliers, from heavy road users who did not want to pay tolls for access even though they wanted the roads to be maintained, and so on. Therefore, in order to gain sufficient support for passage, Turnpike Acts always had to reflect significant political compromise, including long lists of toll exemptions for powerful individuals and groups who opposed each Act. Agricultural interests and in some areas, industrial groups, were particularly effective at obtaining exemptions. Often those with exemptions were some of the worst abusers of what to them remained a common pool resource. Exemptions also grew over time (individual Trust Acts were annually renewed, with revisions possible), seriously reducing trust revenues.

The Parliament also imposed steep tolls for steam carriages, despite their safety, cost advantages, speed, capacity, and reduced road damage. Many interests - corn merchants, harness makers, horse-copers, railway promoters, iron masters hoping to make rails, and those who were simply against change - would unite against steam carriages. As a result, the use of mechanical vehicles on Britain's roads was delayed for some 60 years. That was another reason why highways were not competitive with the developing railroads.

As chronic insolvency spread, the burden of maintenance for more and more turnpikes was shifted, once again, onto the parishes. This simply led to resistance which actually flared into a "conclusive popular rebellion known as the Rebecca Riots" in South Wales during 1842-43. This resulted in a royal Commission to inquire about the grievances in South Wales, and finally to the dismissal of all Turnpike Trustees throughout the area and the merger of all trusts into "County Road Boards" which took over the roads, their debts, and the tolls of the former trusts. A "General Superintendent of County Roads in South Wales" was appointed by the central government, putting the roads in the area "Under what was virtually Government control" which also loaned 218,000 Pounds to counties so they could pay off creditors and consolidated debts at low interest rates. These county organizations were able to substantial reduce the number of toll gates as well as the level of tolls that had led to the revolts. Furthermore, they actually were able to operate efficiently enough to pay off the accumulated debts over the next 30 years, suggesting that if Parliament had responded earlier to the need for consolidation, the riots and subsequent government control might have been avoided.

The Parliament started to gradually abolish more and more tolls. Most Trusts were renewed each year, although from 1864 onward, 20 to 30 trusts were dissolved annually, with the roads turned over to a local parish or a highway district. Dissolution accelerated, however, and in 1871 all tolls were ended in the London area. The number of trusts was down to 854 in 1871, 588 in 1875, 184 in 1881, 71 in 1883, 15 in 1887, and 2 in 1890. The last trust ended operations in November of 1895.

This rapidly placed thousands of miles of roads back into the care of the parishes, leading to increased local resistance. In order to mitigate some of the local opposition the central government began giving Grants in Aid in 1876 to help pay for maintenance. More and more aid from the central treasury was given to counties for road maintenance and the parishes were finally formally dissolved of their road maintenance liability in 1895. Funding shifted from tolls to county taxes along with subsidies from the central government, and government expenditures on roads increased rapidly. The average government expenditure per mile of county roads rose from 43 pounds in 1890 to 69 pounds in 1902, for instance while expenditures on urban roads increased from 49 to 207 pounds over the same period.<ref name="Benson_Roads" />

==Private roads in the US==
Once the state of Pennsylvania chartered a private company in 1792 to build a road connecting Philadelphia and Lancaster, rival states felt impelled to follow. Private initiative was the only effective means of providing new highways, because state and county finances were almost nonexistent and town resources were meager.

The '''turnpikes''' were financed by private stock subscription and set up to pay dividends. Built with a surface of gravel and earth, turnpikes were usually 15 to 40 miles in length, and cost $2,000 per mile to build. They were massive undertakings and relied on widespread investment from the community. Stock purchased was more like a contribution to community improvement rather than a business investment. Some travelers objected to the idea of paying tolls, particularly to a corporate monopoly. Legislators, often suspicious of corporate motives, wrote extensive (and economically debilitating) restrictions into company charters, specifying conditions for construction, maintenance, and toll rates, and toll collection.

Only Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio subsidized their turnpike companies; New York chartered the most turnpikes. The opening decade of the nineteenth century saw the most charter activity, though roughly one-third of the companies chartered failed to construct a single mile of roadway.

The unprofitability of turnpikes soon became obvious. The vast majority of turnpikes paid only very small dividends or none at all. First, toll evasion was rampant, as people would circumvent tollgates, a practice known as "shunpiking." Second, many roads were built in advance of settlement and travel demand was low. Third, legal restrictions and regulations, limiting both toll rates and countermeasures to shunpiking, hamstrung the turnpikes’ abilities to improve their financial situation.

But poor financial returns did not necessarily mean unfruitfulness. Even an unprofitable turnpike stimulated commerce, raised land values, and aided expansion. Therefore, community leaders resorted to a fascinating array of tactics to boost the turnpike cause despite the sad prospects for dividends. Supporters used newspaper appeals, town meetings, door-to-door solicitations, and correspondence to apply social pressure. In this way as in others, American communities relied on voluntarism, as so elegantly described by [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], to meet local needs. "With but few exceptions, the vast majority of the stockholders in turnpike were either farmers, land speculators, merchants or individuals and firms interested in commerce."

In the late 1820s canals began competing with many of the major turnpikes. Railroads joined in a bit later. Between 1825 and 1845 turnpike mileage dropped considerably. At the same time, however, the canals and railroads changed the patterns of trade and development, and stimulated new demands for shorter toll roads that would serve as feeders. Turnpike activity by no means ceased with the advent of canals and rails.

The toll road idea endured to the end of the century. Discoveries of gold, silver, copper, and other minerals in California, Colorado, and Nevada sparked rushes of newcomers. Even before statehood for Colorado and Nevada entrepreneurs organized their own toll road enterprises to serve the mining communities, and some got rich in the process. Well over 360 toll roads were constructed in California, Colorado, and Nevada alone. This experience indicates that private initiative can provide infrastructure for economic development.

By the end of the nineteenth century, state and county governments had grown in capabilities and new agencies began setting goals for centralized highway management. Independent private toll roads were not thought appropriate in the era of progressive governance, and most of those remaining were bought out or shut down.<ref name="Klein_Private">Daniel Klein. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/private-highways-in-america-1792-1916/ "Private Highways in America, 1792-1916"] ([http://www.scu.edu/civilsocietyinstitute/articles/upload/PrivateHighways.pdf pdf]), ''The Freeman'', February 1994. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref><ref name="Klein_Voluntary">Daniel Klein. [http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/018.pdf "The Voluntary Provision of Public Goods? The Turnpike Companies of Early America"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics'', ''University of California'' at Irvine, Reprint No. 18, ''Economic Inquiry'', March 1990. Referenced 2012-12-08.</ref>

:'''Turnpike Incorporation, 1792-1845:<ref name="Klein_Toll">Daniel B. Klein and Gordon J. Fielding. [http://www.its.uci.edu/its/publications/papers/ITS/UCI-ITS-WP-91-14.pdf "Private Toll Roads: Learning From the Nineteenth Century"] (pdf), ''Department of Economics and Institute of Transportation Studies'', ''University of California, Irvine'', December 1991. Referenced 2012-12-06.</ref>'''
:{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
!State
!1792-1800
!1801-10
!1811-20
!1821-30
!1831-40
!1841-45
!Total
|-
|New Hampshire
|4
|45
|5
|1
|4
|0
|59
|-
|Vermont
|9
|19
|15
|7
|4
|3
|57
|-
|Massachusetts
|9
|80
|8
|16
|1
|1
|115
|-
|Rhode Island
|3
|13
|8
|13
|3
|1
|41
|-
|Connecticut
|23
|37
|16
|24
|13
|0
|113
|-
|New York
|13
|126
|133
|75
|83
|27
|457
|-
|Pennsylvania
|5
|39
|101
|59
|101
|37
|342
|-
|New Jersey
|0
|22
|22
|3
|3
|0
|50
|-
|Virginia
|0
|6
|7
|8
|25
|0
|46
|-
|Maryland
|3
|9
|33
|12
|14
|7
|78
|-
|Ohio
|0
|2
|14
|12
|114
|62
|204
|-
!Total
|69
|398
|362
|230
|365
|138
!1562
|}

===Bridges and other infrastructure===
The first private toll-bridge company, the Charles-River Bridge, opened in 1786 was called "the greatest effect of private enterprise in the United States." Its investors were rewarded with a return of 10.5 percent annually for the first six years. Through 1798, about 59 bridge companies were chartered in the states under consideration, principally in New England. Many of them failed and some were unprofitable, but a considerable number, especially in the Boston area, had proven themselves lucrative by the end of the century. In contrast to the turnpikes, the bridges did not suffer from toll evasion and liberal exemptions, and when profits were low they commonly obtained toll increases.

Many enterprises were undertaken to make improvements, and it is debatable whether they can be counted as business corporations. There were marine and agricultural societies,
but then come corporations for land improvement, lumber cultivation, and inland navigation. For example, a "case near the line" is the River Machine Company, incorporated in 1790 to dredge the Providence River. "The merchants of Providence had agreed to raise $1,000 in forty ’equal shares’" for the project. The company was to collect tolls from certain vessels, but any surplus was to be used at the end of twenty years for other improvements. "Thus no dividends were contemplated."
<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

===Early 20th century===
In 1908 was opened the Long Island Motor Parkway, the first road built specifically for the automobile. Created by William Kissam Vanderbilt II (the great-grandson of [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]]), a car enthusiast who loved to race. His race came under fire after a spectator was killed in 1906, and Vanderbilt wanted a safe road on which to hold the race and on which other car lovers could hurl their new machines free of the dust common on roads made for horses. The parkway would also be free of "Interference from the authorities," he said in a speech. The toll road was built of reinforced concrete, had banked turns, guard rails and, by building bridges, eliminated intersections that would slow a driver down.

The motor parkway was open until 1938, but it could not compete with the public roads, even after the toll was reduced to 40 cents. The urban planner Robert Moses eventually gained control of the pioneering road for back taxes of about $80,000. The day of public roads had come, supplanting private highways.<ref name="Patton_Dream">Phil Patton. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/automobiles/12LIMP.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&_r=0 "A 100-Year-Old Dream: A Road Just for Cars"], ''The New York Times'', published: October 9, 2008. See also the {{w|Long Island Motor Parkway}} on Wikipedia. Referenced 2013-12-15</ref>

Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1912. Carl Fisher, father of the Indianapolis 500, envisioned a well-paved, reliable cross-country road to avoid urban congestion, encourage travel, promote the automobile industry, and build up the rural communities along the way. His idea was so popular and necessary, that droves of private citizens, fed up with muddy backcountry roads, paid $5 each to become members of the highway organization that Fisher founded with Frank Seiberling of Goodyear and Henry Joy of the Packard Motor Car Company. Local communities, in exchange for providing labor, received free road-building materials from the organization and, more important, a significant boost to local commerce. Automobile manufacturers saw the highway plan as an essential foundation for the growth of their industry and volunteered substantial funds.

Despite its lack of federal support, the highway plan was anything but uncoordinated. As a 1916 guidebook touted, the Lincoln Highway cut the time needed for cross-country travel by two-thirds and reduced the cost to an affordable $5 a day. Even when lack of funds threatened the future of the road, the association worked with local governments to build sections of the highway to connect with the “seedling miles” of concrete road built in strategic locations by the association.

The federal government realized too late the importance of what the Lincoln Highway Association was the first to promote, and by 1921 it was anxious to catch up. The private initiative symbolized by the highway association was crowded out by the Federal Highway Act.<ref name="Jenco_Freeing">Leigh Jenco. [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/freeing-the-freeways/ "Freeing the Freeways], ''The Freeman'', November 01, 2000, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

===Current private roads===
By 2007, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels has auctioned the rights to operate the Indiana Toll Road — a 157-mile road linking the Chicago Skyway in the west to the Ohio Turnpike in the east — to a private group for $3.8 billion. Meantime, Chicago mayor Richard Daley has harvested $1.8 billion auctioning the Skyway to a private group, and another half-billion or so turning city-owned garages over to private operators. Across the country, cash-strapped governors and mayors were discovering that their airports, bridges, toll roads, water systems, and other revenue-generating operations are worth far more than they thought, and were eyeing auctions that might produce windfalls similar to those in Chicago and Indiana. They’re also looking to recruit private investors to build and operate new toll roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Confronting a $3 billion transportation-funding shortfall, Indiana decided to use an auction to extract the Toll Road’s long-term value. In effect, a private operator gave Indiana an up-front payment in exchange for the right to collect tolls on the road for 75 years. Like the Chicago deal, which hands over the Skyway for 99 years, the Indiana lease is basically a sale, since its term exceeds the road’s anticipated life. Each agreement requires the private operator to invest in rebuilding the road as it falls apart and to follow a lengthy list of operating standards, from how best to fill potholes to how quickly to clear roadkill.

In California, a private company was constructing a nearly ten-mile, $800 million extension of Route 125, south of San Diego, in exchange for a 35-year lease to manage the road and collect tolls.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization">Steven Malanga. [http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_privatization.html "The New Privatization"], ''City Journal'', Summer 2007, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref> The California Private Transportation Company provided, in the median of California’s State Route 91, the first "Express Toll Lanes" with variable tolls, electronically collected, designed to ensure congestion-free travel at all times.<ref name="Roth_Important">Gabriel Roth. [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1822 Roads Are Too Important to Be Left to Governments], ''The Independent Institute'', September 26, 2006, referenced 2013-02-17.</ref>

Utah contemplated private financing to build the Mountain View Corridor, a road connecting Salt Lake City Airport to towns in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, instead of raising its gas tax by up to 50 cents per gallon. Virginia has inked an agreement with Australian toll-road firm Transurban, which already leases the state’s nine-mile Pocahontas Parkway, to study expanding Interstate 95 with high-occupancy toll lanes. If approved, the project would cost nearly $1 billion. "These roads don’t exist and in many cases they won’t ever exist unless the private sector builds them," says Mark Florian, a Goldman Sachs investment banker and an advisor on several such transactions in Texas.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

A number of U.S. states have moved ahead with [[public-private partnerships]] (PPP) and privatization. The following projects from Virginia illustrate the possibilities of expanding the private role in infrastructure investment:
* Midtown Tunnel. Skanska and Macquarie are building, and will operate, a three-mile tolled tunnel under the Elizabeth River between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Private debt and equity are covering most of the project’s $2.1 billion cost.
* Capital Beltway. Transurban and Fluor have built and are now operating and maintaining new toll lanes along 14 miles of I-495. The firms used debt and equity to finance about $1.5 billion of the project’s $2 billion cost. The lanes opened in November 2012 after being completed on time and on budget. The same firms will be partnering with Virginia to finance, build, and manage new toll lanes south from the Beltway along I-95.
* Dulles Greenway. The Greenway is a privately owned toll highway in Northern Virginia completed in the mid-1990s with $350 million of private debt and equity, and without government aid.
* Jordan Bridge. FIGG Engineering Group and partners fully financed and constructed a $142 million highway bridge over the Elizabeth River between Chesapeake and Portsmouth. The cost of this handsome and soaring private bridge will be paid back by toll revenues over time. The bridge opened in 2012.<ref name="Edwards_Infrastructure">Chris Edwards. [http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/tbb_067.pdf "Infrastructure Investment: A State, Local, and Private Responsibility"] (pdf), ''Cato Institute'', No. 67, January 2013, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

==Europe==
Privately financed infrastructure has made another appearance in post–World War II Europe. Starting with 1955 legislation, France began to tap private investors to build and operate what eventually amounted to 3,400 miles of autoroutes between cities.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" /> For years there was a gap in the ring road surrounding Paris that created huge traffic problems. Then private developers made an unsolicited proposal to build a $2 billion toll tunnel in exchange for a 70-year lease to run it. They built a double-decker tunnel that fits six lanes of traffic in the space usually required for just two. The tunnel's profit-seeking owners have an incentive to keep traffic moving. They collect tolls based on congestion pricing, and tolls are collected electronically, so cars don't have to stop. The tunnel operators clear accidents quickly. Most are detected within 10 seconds -- thanks to 350 cameras inside the tunnel. The private road has cut a 45-minute trip to 10 minutes.<ref name="Stossel_Private">John Stossel. [http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/05/private-enterprise-does-it-bet "Private Enterprise Does It Better"], ''Reason.com'', August 5, 2010, referenced 2013-02-15.</ref>

Margaret Thatcher’s energetic [[privatization]] drive in 1980s England sold existing government assets and spawned scores of public-private construction projects. The Soviet Union’s collapse led to extensive privatization in former Eastern bloc countries during the nineties. As of 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated that worldwide, more than 1,100 public-private deals have taken place in the transportation field alone over the last two decades. Total value: approximately $360 billion.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==Analysis from a public goods perspective==
{{See also|Public goods}}
To what extent can we expect private initiative to have been successful in providing roads, as evidenced in early United States? Despite the large social benefits of the roads, it would seem that the individual could find no advantage in supporting them. Since citizens knew that turnpike stock was a poor investment, purchasing stock was much like paying for the road. Once stock subscriptions were sufficient to construct the road, there would be no way to withhold the benefits of the road from those who did not contribute. The input of a single individual would not make the difference, or so it would seem.

On the basis of narrow self-interest it would have been foolish for any one person to make a voluntary sacrifice. Turnpike stock subscription appears to have been a [[free rider problem]] ''par excellence''. In view of the apparent free rider problem, the success was striking. The movement built new roads at rates previously unknown in America. Over $11 million was invested in turnpikes in New York, some $6.5 million in New England, and over $4.5 million (excluding state investment) in Pennsylvania. (A turnpike typically had a construction cost of $700 to $3,000 per mile and a length of 15 to 40 miles.) Based on the population of 1830, per-capita turnpike investment was approximately $3.90 in Massachusetts. Between 1794 and 1840, 238 private New England turnpikes built and operated about 3,750 miles of road. New York led all other states in turnpike mileage with over 4,000 as of 1821. Pennsylvania was second, reaching a peak of about 2,400 miles in 1832. New Jersey companies operated 550 miles by 1821; Maryland’s operated 300 miles of private road in 1830. Turnpikes also represented a great improvement in road quality .

The local turnpike was supported by the more prominent citizens, but it is not as though a handful of affluent landowners paid for the project. Stock subscription was broad-based, In most cases upwards of 50 people contributed, usually over 100 for a larger turnpike, no one with more than 15 percent of the stock. After the most travelled routes had been converted to turnpikes, it became more difficult to raise money for their construction, but nonetheless turnpikes continued to be built, even though, by 1805, hope of direct remuneration had disappeared. Yet between 1805 and 1838 over 500 turnpikes were chartered and built, each one representing a separate instance of public good provision. Even though the turnpikes offered enormous nonexcludable benefits, far outweighing the costs of the project, a straight application of the simple public-goods model would lead us to doubt that many turnpikes were built and that a single one was built after 1805.

Daniel Klein points out that community isolation, citizen familiarity, and weak, decentralized government bred close social ties and a strong participatory ethic. Towns of the early nineteenth century were independent and strong, and in the first three decades of the republic, the township held almost all of the administrative power of government. [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], in his opus [[Democracy in America]], says the towns "are independent in all that concerns themselves alone; and among the inhabitants of New England I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the state has any right to interfere in their town affairs." The participatory nature of town government in early America has been well noted. This feature often makes it pointless to draw lines separating private and public works. At the same time, religious congregations often showed a penchant for making themselves busy in various improvement endeavors, such as schools, libraries, and poor relief. By generating the requisite social relations, or "social capital", as well as human capital, the religious and benevolent activities not only incited but empowered the application of voluntary efforts to community goals. The citizens’ cooperation with government efforts is noteworthy, but more significant is the willingness to forge public improvements by voluntary association.

Things have changed a lot since 1810. Neighbors are often strangers, so how can we expected social pressure and the like to curtail free riding? On this, Klein has two remarks: one, whether it be a street association or the [[American Cancer Society]], suasion tactics often yield results, as reported regularly in ''Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Ouarterly''. Second, if voluntary forces are deemed ineffective in providing public goods, that in itself is a policy issue. The ability of voluntary association to provide infrastructure, education, security, and poor relief depends on the exercise and spontaneous development of certain institutions, activities, and sentiments. Since governmental bodies dominate these services it is no surprise that the faculties of sodality remain degenerate. When a problem arises government is expected to deal with it. Participation does not become a personal responsibility and organizing leadership does not become a source of social esteem. Thus there is a lesson in the broader circumstances of early America which bred effective voluntary forces, as well as in the specific ways those forces established turnpikes.<ref name="Klein_Voluntary" />

In modern times, private contractors are much better than government at getting construction done on time and on budget. A 2002 government study in the United Kingdom, where public-private transactions are more common, found that 70 percent of public construction undertaken by the government ran late and that 73 percent of it finished over budget. But when government contracted projects to private firms, just 24 percent of them were late and only 20 percent were over budget. There’s no mystery here, since private contractors can’t start collecting revenues until properties are up and running.<ref name="Malanga_Privatization" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* Articles, essays and reviews
** [[The Privatization of Roads and Highways]] by Walter Block, 2006, [https://mises.org/daily/3416 Introduction]
** [http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/highway_safety.pdf Theories of Highway Safety] (pdf) by Walter E. Block, July 2011
** "Free Market Transportation: Denationalizing the Roads" ([http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_2/3_2_7.pdf PDF]) by Walter Block
** [https://mises.org/document/5165/Rejoinder-to-Carnis-on-Private-Roads Rejoinder to Carnis on Private Roads] (pdf version) by Walter Block, 2010
** [https://mises.org/journals/jls/4_3/4_3_6.pdf Congestion and Road Pricing] (pdf) by Walter Block, 1980
** [http://www2.units.it/etica/2003_2/block.htm Overcoming difficulties in privatizing roads] by Walter Block, 2003
** {{md|5498|Privatize the Highways — and All Roads for That Matter|Zachary Slayback|August 2011}}
** {{md|3415|New Ideas for Roads|[[Jeffrey Tucker|Jeffrey A. Tucker]]|April 2009}}
** [[The Freeman]] Review: [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-privatization-of-roads-highways-human-and-economic-factors/ "The Privatization of Roads and Highways"] by Arthur E. Foulkes, April 2011
** {{mb|17360|A Step Closer to Privatizing Infrastructure?|Briggs Armstrong|June 2011}}
** [[The Free Market]]: [http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=202 "Private Roads"] by Eric Peters, February 1996
** "Management versus Ownership: The Road-Privatization Debate" ([http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae4_2_4.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis, Summer 2001
** "New Directions in Road Privatization" ([http://mises.org/journals/scholar/road.pdf PDF]) by Laurent Carnis
** {{mb|17830|Road Shortage in Socialist Paradise|Per Bylund|July 2011}}
** [http://www.as.ua.edu/history/html/faculty/beitofromprivies.pdf ''From Privies to Boulevards: The Private Supply of Infrastructure in the United States during the Nineteenth Century''] (pdf) David T. Beito (in Jerry Jenkins and David Sisk, "Development by Consent: The Voluntary Supply of Public Goods and Services", 1993
** [http://www.transport-links.org/transport_links/filearea/documentstore/322_Swedish%20Private%20Roads%20Associations.pdf Private-Public Partnership for low volume roads: the Swedish Private Roads Associations] (pdf) by Sven Ivarsson, 2003
** [http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-231.html Highway Aggravation: The Case For Privatizing The Highways] by Peter Samuel, June 1995
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/roads-without-the-state/ Roads Without the State] by Peter Samuel, January 1998
** [http://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=64 Street Smart: Competition, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Roads] ([http://www.independent.org/publications/books/summary.asp?id=64 summary], [http://books.google.de/books?id=sYAxKrpSjOsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Book preview]) by Gabriel Roth, 2006
** ''Roads in a Market Economy'' by Roth, G., 1996
** [http://reason.com/archives/1996/08/01/road-warrior Road Warrior] by Robert Poole, August 1996 (review of Roads in a Market Economy, by Gabriel Roth)
** [http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_2_1_benson.pdf#page=2 The Mythology of Holdout as a Justification for Eminent Domain and Public Provision of Roads] (pdf) by Bruce L. Benson, 2005
** [http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/frazier3.html Private Roads Work] by Bart Frazier, January 2009
** [http://reason.org/news/show/good-roads-sooner-public-priva Good Roads Sooner: Public-Private Partnerships in New South Wales] by Bob Carr, January 2010 (about private roads in Australia)
** [http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2077 Adopt a Highway: The Case for Privatizing Our Roads] by John Semmens, November 2007
** [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3525878 Jim Peron: All roads do not lead to congestion] by Jim Peron, September 2003
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/government-highways-unsafe-at-any-speed/ Government Highways: Unsafe at Any Speed] by Richard Barbarick, June 1993
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn057.pdf Liberate the Roads! The Benefits That Will Come From Road Privatisation] (pdf) by Martin Ball, 1994
** [http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/econn/econn049.pdf The Private Ownership of Public Space: The New Age of Rationally Priced Road Use] (pdf) by Brian Micklethwait, 1993
** [http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/Mcchesneysnow.html Snow Jobs] by Fred S. McChesney, October 2001
** [http://www.voluntaryist.com/voluntaryist.pdf The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions: Voluntaryism and the Roads] (pdf) by Carl Watner (from ''I Must Speak Out''), p. 474-485, June 1998
** [http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/the-myth-of-crumbling-highways The Myth of Crumbling Highways] by David Hartgen, April 2013
** [http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Klein.Majewski.Turnpikes Turnpikes and Toll Roads in Nineteenth-Century America] Daniel B. Klein and John Majewski, 2010

* Other media
** [http://mises.org/media/3539 "The Privatization of Roads and Highways"] panel discussion with [[Walter Block]], January 2009 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9kn1LKTHA YouTube], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUA4h8ctNWM abridged YouTube])
** [http://www.mises.org/media/5270 "Privatization of Roads"] lecture by Walter Block, July 2010
** [http://www.mises.org/media/1440 Privatization: Roads, Eminent Domain] lecture by Walter Block, August 2004
** [[Lew Rockwell Show]]: [http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/08/20/23-road-socialism/ Road Socialism] interview with Walter Block, August 2008 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvY1aHAfX4w YouTube])
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyPEgIDhj5s Taking Politics Out of Transportation: Economist Bruce Benson on Private Roads] news magazine by [[Reason.tv]], December 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUULDlMPFYU Tolls, Not Taxes: How Americans Want to Fix Traffic Jams] news magazine by Reason.tv, February 2012
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5DCmDXJun4 Private Roads] news magazine by [[John Stossel]], 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a2EhgADVFY The Case for Private Roads] segment from ''Stossel'', 2010
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmAgSOgJ7NY Infrastructure Spending] segment from ''Stossel'', 2011
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKXLqvfy3II There Were Private Roads Before Government Roads]

* [[Wikipedia:Free-market roads|Free-market roads]] and {{wplink}}

[[Category:Private alternatives to public goods]]
[[Category:Concepts]]
[[Category:Reading lists]]

Austrian Economics Wiki:Commons

2013-12-15T10:11:17Z

Pestergaines: /* $wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges */ Re

<div class="messagebox" style="width:100%; padding:.5em;">Welcome to '''The Mises Commons''', the central discussion board where you can make announcements, propose new ideas, and ask questions of the entire community.

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__NEWSECTIONLINK__
[[Category:Mises Wiki|Commons]]
{{archive box collapsible|
*[[MisesWiki:Commons/Archives/2010|2010]]
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For older discussions, enter the [[/Archives|archives]].

I see an issure with the money section of your ABCT page. What you're calling money i.e. the USD(FRN) and other fiat notes are not money it is a common mistake to call them that. What the FRN is, is a promissory note, or a money susbstitute. I don't know how you want to go about fixing it. Your call. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:39, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

So I made some changes to that section mentioned above feel free to change it back if you don't like them. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:52, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

: Hallo Diax! I have reverted the change after some consideration. The reason is that fiat notes ''are'' money (even if it's paper money). Check the definition of [[money]] for more details, but in short it is a commonly used [[medium of exchange]] - i.e. whatever is widely used for that purpose at the moment. But of course, the real question is whether fiat notes are a '''''good''''' form of money - and that's where we can put in some good arguments. :) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:18, 19 May 2013 (MSD)

Yes money is a medium of exchange but I'm also fairly sure that Mises talks about the promissary note being different from "pure" money in ''Human Action''. Of course it isn't a big deal. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:23, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
: I think he refers to a situation when there exists the 'pure' money (gold, silver, etc.) and there are also promissory notes. While only the first is 'actual' money, both can circulate side-by-side. Confusing the two can have dangerous consequences, as Mises shows.
: These days, the dominant form of money are fiat notes that are not backed by anything. No confusion there. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:44, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Red links ==

New issue for discussion...a user recently [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Austrian_School&curid=42&diff=11623&oldid=11614&rcid=11779 reverted an edit], removing an internal link, stating "Please add article then link. No point having dead internal links." Is this a policy we are going to agree on? No red links on the Mises Wiki?

I was under the impression that we were more or less going to follow along with a typical Wiki (no, not just Wikipedia, virtually all wikis do this) policy in which wiki-fying the article is encouraged, so long as common sense rationale is used, and only terms which will be created as pages soon or that should be created because they would be notable and verifiable and useful and in-line with the goal of the wiki, are linked. Obviously Wikipedia is the easiest place to go for [[Wikipedia:WP:RED|info and discussion]] on this, but that by no means means that that is the only place that has such a policy.

Of course, if this "add article then link/No point having dead internal links" is going to be the policy, a lot of pages are going to have to be revamped...including the [[Main Page]]. --[[User:John James|John James]] 18:05, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

:I would say that red links should be encouraged, within typical bounds (no links for common words, etc.). This has also been discussed in the email list and red links were supported by Jeff Tucker. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:56, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

::Yeah that's what I figured. That's virtually the policy of every wiki. And if you look at that page linked above it mentions how one study showed that red links helped Wikipedia grow. Let's have at least one more weigh-in and then I think we might go ahead write up a quick something for the guidelines. --[[User:John James|John James]] 01:12, 24 May 2011 (MSD)

:::I very much agree to encourage red links within reason. For the record, I think I can also understand the reversion - the 'Austrian School' is our showcase page of sorts, so it would look better if all links were blue. But that may take quite some more time. :)

:::Not sure if that needs to be in a guideline, but throwing it out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:59, 25 May 2011 (MSD)

First of all, the reason given for the reversion was not that it was a "showcase page", and should therefore be held in a special light where red links should be discouraged. It was made quite clear that there is "no point having dead internal links" [period]. So that defense doesn't hold much water. And second, I think it's actually ironic...We're going to encourage red links because they have been shown to help the project grow, yet we're going to discourage their inclusion on the very pages which are more likely to be seen by more people (and therefore are more likely to have red links actually ''turn'' blue, as well as being the pages where growth and development is most important)?

And third, call me crazy, but I was of the opinion that the [[Main Page]] is more of a "showcase page" than even the Austrian School page...did anyone bother to count the red links there??

In my opinion this "red links are encouraged, but 'showcase pages' should not have any" notion is a pretty poor defense, and an even worse guideline. I agree with virtually every other wiki project...that red links are a good thing, as they help the project grow, as well as encourage new users to get involved. A red link staring right in the face of someone knows something about it could be just the motivation a potential new user needs to throw his hat in the ring and try out some wiki-ing. I think that can be even more valuable than the particular instance of growth...because one new stub is one thing...but a new "Wikian" is something else all together. And it can make a world of difference not only for our Mises Wiki project here, but for virtually every other one in existence. I say that's a good thing. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 20:31, 25 May 2011 (MSD)}}

:It's worth remembering that while red links do encourage new contributors, they are not helpful to readers. It's reasonable to want to have a "showcase" article (like WP's featured articles) that represents what we'd like all our articles to look like in the future. Such an article would probably not have any red links: any red links that existed would be filled in by new articles.
:Eventually we might want to have no red links on the main page, but my goal there is to show new editors as many places as possible where they can jump in and start contributing. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:17, 2 June 2011 (MSD)

::Bingo. That's my whole point. That's what red links do, regardless of where they are located..."show new editors where they can jump in and start contributing." Yes, I understand the appeal of "featured articles"...but articles don't get that way because of some centralized regulation mandating that this article and that article be deemed "featured", and then every thing pertaining to those specific articles is treated in some special manner so as to "make" them featured simply by the fact that they are treated differently than other articles. It's quite the other way around. Articles get featured because they reach a certain level of quality, and are recognized to be good examples of the kind of product the project is working toward. Individuals making their own free choices about what articles to edit, what edits to make, and how much effort is put into each of those is what creates a wiki...not some central governing body telling everyone which articles will be "showcased" and which ones can be ignored.

::If editors of the Wiki wish for a certain article to be of a minimum level of quality, they can freely edit that article as much as they want to improve it to that point. (They can even form groups to organize and point out articles that need the most work and encourage others to help contribute to those. That's what [[wikipedia:WP:PJ|wikiprojects]] are all about.) And yes, part of what makes a quality wiki article is how well it connects to relevant and related articles. (This is why larger wikis like Wikipedia have some kind of "[[wikipedia:Template:Wikify|wikify]]" encouragement...because it improves the usefulness of the specific article, but also because it helps expand the wiki project.) And by the same token, that's why there is virtually no wiki that is in the practice of discouraging red links, let alone banning them...even if just on certain lionized pages.

::I really dislike the idea that articles need to be de-linked (i.e. weakened in their usefulness and diminished in their impact) because we want to showcase how great they are. That seems very contradictory in my view. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 23:47, 2 June 2011 (MSD)}}
:::This is a very interesting and important issue. There is sometimes a tension between what is good for the reader and what is good for the editor, but I think the reader quickly learns that redlinks don't go anywhere. By the way — another topic to consider is whether to allow non-logged-in editors to edit, since a lot of times the newbies just want to make a quick change (e.g. typo correction) to one article and never edit the wiki again.

:::With reference to the issue of redlinks, I have installed on my wikis (e.g. Libertapedia) [[mw:Extension:RPED|an extension I wrote]], which links to Wikipedia if the wikilinked page doesn't exist on the local wiki. I used to have it set up to actually detect the page existence on Wikipedia, as follows:

:::*IF the page exists on the local wiki, then bluelink to the page on the local wiki. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, but it exists on Wikipedia, then bluelink to Wikipedia. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, nor on Wikipedia, then redlink to the page on the local wiki.

:::Right now, the daemon I used to run to update the table of existing Wikipedia page titles is down, so I have simplified the extension to always bluelink to Wikipedia if the page doesn't exist on the local wiki. That extension needs some work before it's ready for prime time but you get the gist. It could be possible to make some other interesting and useful tweaks to it, to allow the reader to choose which wiki he wants to go to when he clicks on a redlink or bluelink. E.g., he might be notified that the page exists on both the local wiki AND Wikipedia, and given the option to choose. Or, in the event it exists on Wikipedia but not the local wiki, he could choose between visiting Wikipedia or creating the article on the local wiki. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:38, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

Keep the red links. I'm new here and I wouldn't even have bothered to join the project had it not had some obvious red links. I mean ya'll don't have a page on coercion I'm going to write it now. Anyway let me know what ya'll think about that. Peace be with you.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)Diax[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)

I expanded the Negative Rights and the Positive Rights articles. However I do not know how to add references. If someone could let me know I would appreciate it. Sorry for the inconvience. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:48, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: No problem! In short, check out other pages - see e.g. this [[Jay Cooke|recent one]]. Click on Edit and see what's in there - note the 'Reflist' section close to the end of the page, that's what will produce the whole references block. Then note the 'ref' sections that look like this:
::<nowiki><ref name="Britannica_Cooke">Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"], referenced 2013-05-21.</ref></nowiki>
: ([https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Footnotes Here's] the official documentation.)
: The 'name' part is only necessary if you reuse a reference. Often, you can get away with something like this:
::<nowiki><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"].</ref></nowiki>
: So it involves a little typing, but after you do it once or twice, references are easy. I've added them to the [[Negative right]] page. Check the changes I've made and try it for yourself - and let me know how it works out for you! (See also [[Essay:How to make good wiki pages|here]] for some more tips on how to make good pages.) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:32, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

So I saw that you said that the part about the founders pulling alot from John Locke needed to be cited (this is in the [[negative rights]] article). I'll agree that it would be nice if such a citiation existed but I'm not sure that it does. I put that in there because it's fairly obvious. "Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness" is essentially a direct quote from Locke; "life, liberty, and property". You know that's so obvious that someone has to have expressed it somewhere before... Just got to find it.[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:49, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Main page revamp ideas ==

As per [http://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/browse_thread/thread/f632e1305a0b4f4f# some discussion] on the group message board, I agree the main page could stand some new additions...

First off, I think it's pretty obvious if this [[MisesWiki:Bounty board|Bounty board]] incentive is going to be effective, we need to advertise. I think we should have either a section on the main page—perhaps replace one that is on there now, such as "this week in history"—or a prominent link to a full page that tells of all the projects going on, the articles that need creating and expanding, the promotions currently running, etc. And of course including all the useful links for that kind of thing (e.g. [[MisesWiki:2011 article improvement drive]], [[MisesWiki:Most wanted]], [[MisesWiki:Typos]], etc.)

I think it would be really nice to have a kind of quick overview of what's going on here and what specifically someone can do to help out. I think people would be more inclined to participate if they were aware of a requested article or some other project. Even aside from the prizes to be won, I think having a defined mission and objectives is really useful in helping someone feel like they're making a difference. Kind of like the "Operation Stub" drive. It's really motivating to see a request for a page that is currently a red link, and being able to see the instant result of having created a new stub and having the links go blue and seeing the article count increase...or seeing an article slowly but surely get more and more fleshed out as you collaborate with other editors and reach featured status. I think developing a sense of community would definitely entice editors to contribute as well as keep coming back, and a good way to do that is have a prominent display of what is currently being focused on.

Input? --[[User:John James|John James]] 16:26, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

:I very much agree. What about inserting a large "What can I do?" section into the middle of the main page, with links to the various projects and initiatives one can help out?

:And yes, we'll need to do a lot of advertising - at the latest when the 'improvement drive' is finalized. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:39, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

::I like the ideas, but I don't like removing the only part of the main page that ''is'' regularly updated. I'd prefer dropping "current events," perhaps incorporating it into the "this week in history" box.
::I think the Community Portal page should serve as the "full page" containing all the things going on. Go ahead and put together a box like [[Template:Current events]] (maybe call it [[Template:What can I do]] or [[Template:Get involved]]?) with a few of the important things you are talking about, along with a link to CP. The main page is very plug-and-chug, so you can just pull {{tl|Current events}} off the main page and substitute your new one. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 17:57, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

== Semantic wikis ==

Does anyone have experience with semantic wikis? I keep being recommended to introduce the feature to MisesWiki. I can see that it might be practical, but can't really tell what in the end the impact would be, besides a lot of work. Looking for some insight here. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 16:59, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

:I'll give an example of how this could be helpful. Let us say that we want a table that displays all countries by their indexes in the Infoboxes. In [[Template:Infobox Country]], you would find where they ask for each index, and put a property tag such as<nowiki>[[Economic Freedom Index::{{{row 10 info|}}}]]</nowiki> (that template needs to be more semanticly named). Then, you would use the following code (with templates from http://dnd-wiki.org/):

:<nowiki>{| style="text-align:left;" class="sortable"</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|-</nowiki>
:<nowiki>! Name !! Economic Freedom Index !! Corruption Perception Index !! Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>{{#ask: [[Category:Countries]]</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Economic Freedom Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Corruption Perception Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|format=template</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|template=Table Row</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|link=none</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|limit=9999</nowiki>
:<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|}</nowiki>

:And then the table would generate, and changing the facts on the individual pages would cause these tables to update (within 24 hours usually) automatically. It allows for Wikis to implement the policy of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). And as I've said a few times already, I've got quite a few templates for making SMW easier to deal with. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 23:05, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

::What would be the effort needed to migrate the wiki, and keep it updated? How much would our users need to learn about the syntax and what will it do to the readability of the page source code? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:17, 31 August 2011 (MSD)

:::The effort involved for migrating the wiki is as follows:
:::#Installation and configuration. I've never installed SMW (or any other Mediawiki extension), but I don't expect this to take very long. Configuration might need to be done for which namespaces it is enabled on. I cannot recall. One choice that has to be made is whether or not to show properties at the bottom of a page.
:::#Planning properties. This is where somebody (or a group of people) sit down and decide on the initial properties to have on the wiki. This can easily be streamlined by looking at the current category structure, and if there is the equivalent to a morpheme (for example, categories such as ''Books by Ludwig von Mises'', ''Books by Bastiat'', ect.) and turning those morphemes into properties (in this case, the property would be called Author).
:::#Implementing properties. This is where the above plan is realized. Using the example from planning, one would look at the book articles in general, and see if there is a template where the author is placed. If so, that template is edited so that it adds the property to it. If done correctly, a content editor won't have to deal with the properties themselves. Also, categories have to be renamed. ''Books by X'' would be renamed to ''Books''.
:::#Implement navigation. If you can think of a table that would help users find information, it takes all of five minutes to create generally. Some of the queries you can think of (the ones you want specific to a certain entity) can be templated.

:::For the syntax, just knowing how to set properties is enough. Taking [http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dungeons_and_Dragons_Wiki:Ask_Syntax the dnd-wiki help page] on it and modifying the examples at the bottom to fit this wiki should suffice. It doesn't go over tables, but copy & paste from a working table suffices for anybody who has needed to do so.

:::For the readability of the source code, it all looks like templates and links, and in many cases, is easier to read, since implementation details are hidden. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 17:35, 7 September 2011 (MSD)
Semantic MediaWiki has a number of advantages beyond making it easier for academics and others interesting in running queries to gather data. It can also be used for putting together dynamic tables within the wiki itself, creating more powerful templates, automating labor-intensive tasks, and more. I will offer the caveat, though, that as of a few years ago SMW had some troublesome bugs, and I'm not sure whether they have made a lot of progress since then.

A lot of sites that have SMW installed don't make much use of it. This may be partly because any templates imported from Wikipedia won't use it. To get the full benefit, you have to be willing to get creative in coming up with uses for it, and put in the work to implement those ideas.

The academic community is, of course, strongly in favor of SMW. I think it will do an important favor to the wikisphere and the world to be part of the effort to realize SMW's potential. That might have to include fixing some bugs. How much you want to focus on that, as opposed to more MisesWiki-specific concerns, is up to you. One last caveat — if you use caching, there may be some performance implications to consider.

Here are a couple examples of how I used SMW to make my life easier. On my wiki, we had a "Today's featured article" (TFA) page for each day. Perhaps you are familiar with how on the Wikipedia main page, the TFA blurb is followed by a list of three "Recently featured" articles — specifically, those from one, two, and three days ago.

It was a pain in the neck to enter those manually, and if I changed my mind and substituted a different featured article for a particular day, I had to edit three different featured article blurbs that referred to it as a recently featured article. To eliminate that chore, I put some sort of SMW code in each blurb — I think it was something along the lines of <code>featured::Libertarianism</code> if the article in question was [[libertarianism]] — and that associated that page with that featured article title. So then, all I had to do was use a bot to prepopulate a bunch of featured article blurbs with some SMW code telling it to grab the featured article title from the previous three days' blurbs. Specifically, <nowiki>Recently featured: {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 14, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 13, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 12, 2010]]|?featuring=}}</nowiki> I could do that for a year in advance if I wanted, and it would eliminate the need to edit the "Recently featured" wikitext later on for any reason.

Another example was when I had a bunch of articles on political prisoners, and wanted to enter various data (such as mailing address) just once per page. E.g., I could change the data in the infobox template and it would change it in the article text, or vice versa. Unfortunately, this didn't work. I sought support from the listserv and they said it was probably a bug in SMW. At that time, I didn't feel like familiarizing myself with the SMW code and hunting down and fixing that bug, so I abandoned that project. There is still enough functionality that works, though, for you to accomplish some useful tasks with it. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 03:27, 9 July 2012 (MSD)

== The Big One ==

It is coming... can you feel it? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 19:15, 30 January 2012 (MSK)
:You mean another Great Depression, or something even worse? I'm not sure if the conditions are ripe for that to happen. We have a lot of Keynesians in office, ready to worsen and prolong any economic slump that develops, but we don't have the equivalent of a Smoot-Hawley Tariff to destroy global trade. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

:: Sorry, didn't want to produce any panic. The Big One in question was the 1000th article on Mises Wiki. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 03:41, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

I had the misfortune to walk into the living room whilst the roomies were watching the news the other day and CBS was refering to the '08 bubble as the "Great Recession". I found that highly entertaining. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 20:11, 22 May 2013 (MSD)[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:51, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

==Sysop promotion request==
I request promotion to sysop so I can assist with maintenance of the MediaWiki namespace, vandalism cleanup, template importation, miscellaneous requests, etc.

We may want to consider being pretty liberal in giving out the sysop tools, since that is is accordance with the spirit of the "wiki way," which is to make mistakes easy to correct rather than hard to make. The more sysops you have, the faster vandalism gets deleted and so on. It tends to improve the quality of the wiki.

What makes sysops more of a detriment is when the rules of engagement are set up in ways that produce perverse incentives. E.g. if pages are allowed to be speedily deleted for questionable reasons, then the more sysops you have running around speedily deleting stuff, the more good content will tend to get deleted quickly. The sysops are similar to cops or security guards — if the laws (and overall system) are good, then these officers tend to be beneficial; but if the laws are bad, then the situation is similar to that described in the Declaration of Independence, of having "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." They can only harass and eat out the substance to the extent that the nature of the system allows and encourages that to happen. Here, our hierarchical system (ultimately reporting to the Mises Institute) and mistrust of mob rule prevents the kind of abuses we've seen on other wikis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

: Hallo Nathan,
: the Mises Wiki is a bit conservative with awarding the Administrator privileges. These days - *fingers crossed* - the wiki is actually quite stable and does not need much of an administrating effort. Most mistakes are easy to correct for most users, and even templates are easy to create (in case you want to make some more involved changes in this area, [[User:John James|John James]] is our template guru). We also don't tend to speedily delete pages, far from it! The biggest issue for admins has been the recent flood of spam, which was thankfully contained - in a large part also due to your help! I do not see a particular need to expand the ranks of Admins right now, I hope you understand.
: Best regards, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:38, 12 August 2012 (MSD)
::Yeah, on a wiki with the type of user behavior patterns (largely molded by the wiki's culture, which in turn is greatly affected by its rules, including the wiki mission) that are encountered here, the issues that require sysop intervention do indeed tend to be few and far between. That is assuming spam problems remain solved; those spammers are always innovating, making it necessary to find new countermeasures. It's a continual arms race. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

Do people seriously bother to create bots to put up nonsense pages? Seems a little ridiculous that someone would waste their time like that... Perhaps I'm just not cynical enough...[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:56, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: They do, but mostly it's just spam, where the motivation is cold hard cash. I assume most of the edits that are complete nonsense are simply the generation of 'plausible' traffic to cover up other spam. For some people this is clearly worth the effort. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

:: Then again, someone (or rather some''thing'') just posted a remarkably coherent and quite polished page about Essays. I have deleted the page, but actually hope that it ''was'' a spambot and not a misguided human (and that I just didn't fail the {{w|Turing test}}...).
:: So this may be the future of spamming - lots of crap with some well-written borderline cases that creep up on websites and sometimes slip through. Guess it's only gonna get worse. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:11, 29 May 2013 (MSD)
:::http://xkcd.com/810/ Wow, [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Essay&timestamp=20130528091338 that essay] on essays truly was a class act; it even used the word "learnt". I was very impressed at their subtlety. Also, it wasn't that long ago that an IP spammer hit the "undo" button on my revert of his spam. It made me take a second look at what was posted, because that's ordinarily behavior only humans have engaged in. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:03, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

==Wiki configuration issues==
Given our webmaster's other duties, does he have enough time to give wiki issues prompt service? I hope I'm not being too unreasonable by saying that and I apologize if I'm displaying lack of tact in how I'm addressing this. I just see certain issues, most notably the [[MisesWiki:Configuration#Asirra|CAPTCHA problem]] (which is of critical importance to the wiki), remain unresolved for long periods of time, despite reminders.

I don't know what level of priority the Mises Institute wants to give the wiki at this point. Being such a wiki enthusiast, my own sentiments toward waiting till other matters have been dealt with to resolve wiki configuration issues tends to be rather similar to [http://i.qkme.me/3q3j8b.jpg those expressed by Batman] concerning post-production fixes. But I realize the Mises Institute and those who seek to help it also have other matters on their plates besides the wiki. So I'm just going to throw that out there and leave it at that. I don't know whether it would be appropriate to lobby for more technical assistance resources, or how would be the best way to go about that. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

== Today in history ==

We could, if we wanted, have more than the a few entries available for each day's "Today in history". We could use [[mw:Extension:Random]] or a similar extension to select, say, two items out of a list for each day. That list could be hundreds long; the more the merrier, as long as they're high-quality, because that means more possibilities for users to see on different visits to the site. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 23:25, 5 October 2012 (MSD)

== Mass imports ==

A lot of wikis, in their early stages, have done mass imports of content. E.g., Wikipedia imported a bunch of Census data on various localities. I wonder if we might do well to import, say, the contents of ''[http://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier]'' as articles. Although they would be a bunch of stubs, it might be better than nothing. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:54, 20 October 2012 (MSD)

I actually signed up because I was couldn't work out what "catalactics" meant. It was only as I started trying to figure out how a wiki works that I found this reference to Mises Made Easier and found the answer there. Mises Made easier is more like a dictionary than an encyclopedia, but if it provides the stubs from which stuff branches out, mass importing it sounds like a great idea. [[User:Labcoat|Labcoat]] ([[User talk:Labcoat|talk]]) 02:49, 22 November 2013 (MSK)
:Someone will have to actually muster the initiative to actually implement this idea, though. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:06, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

:: For things like these I suggest to create a [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]]. Mises Made Easier was already considered at some point (see the [[MisesWiki talk:Call to Action|talk]] page) but other topics seemed more attractive at the time. @Labcoat - if you were equipped with tools that would make the import easier, would you be willing to work on it? (It would still involve going through all the topics manually and doing some editing, but the copying and pasting would be taken care of. That doesn't mean you have to ''do'' everything by yourself, the question is only if you are willing to do some of it.)

:: (And aside - if you've learned a bit about catalactics, feel free to create a page or at least a stub about it. ;) ) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:36, 24 November 2013 (MSK)
:::For the [[catallactics]] article, one could start by borrowing [[wikipedia:Catallactics|Wikipedia's content]]. I think an automated tool would be the best way to import ''Mises Made Easier''. We could program a bot to do it, or we could run a script on the server. It's probably better to use a bot; the code would then be more reusable for other purposes, because it's easy for bureaucrats to create bot accounts, but only a few people are going to have shell access to the server.

:::I see this as requiring a few steps: (1) convert the ''Mises Made Easy'' page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into [http://us3.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php an array] of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one. (2) Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.

:::(3) Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them. (4) Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names. (5) See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it. (6) Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

:::I mentioned below the possibility of switching to a new glossary system enabled by {{w|Semantic MediaWiki}} or [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]]. Prior to the importation of all those articles would be an excellent time to go that route, if we're going to do it. I've been pretty pleased with how it's been working out on my other wikis (PolyWiki.org, ChildWiki.net, and SuicideWiki.org) because it's such an efficient system for creating glossaries, quote lists, etc. and main page summaries simultaneously. However, those are all one-editor sites, and the extension was just created last month.

:::Also, I think we'd want to discuss what the templates should look like. E.g., should the parameters have names (like in [[:Template:Cite web]], which has parameters "url", "title", etc.) or should they be numbered (like in template [[:Template:Md]]? The latter is what I've been doing because it saves typing and is perhaps easier to read, but it makes it harder to change the parameters later, because you have to migrate all the transcluding pages over. One of MediaWiki's main weaknesses is that it doesn't have much metadata functionality; this is one way to solve that. The other alternative would be Semantic MediaWiki, which has a larger community of users.

:::[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=to+be+honest To be honest], if I were you, I'd go with SMW, because then you're not dependent on me for maintenance of the extension. MediaWiki upgrades are always breaking extensions, so that the developers have to write new versions. The idea BedellPenDragon embodies is a good and useful one, and there needs to be an extension with that functionality, but there are no other developers maintaining that extension, and I don't know how long I'm going to be around. Maybe for years, maybe not. Then again, we could say that about anyone.

:::I just noticed, some of this is going to need some manual intervention. E.g. [http://mises.org/easier/V.asp#4 Verstehen] should be a redirect to [[understanding]], not its own separate entry. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:29, 25 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: I was thinking of doing something smaller, since it will require some editing on every page (not just categories, but also linking to other pages, if no further editing is necessary). And if we have to pre-decide which article gets which category, it means we'll have to revisit each page at least two times anyway.

:::: That being said, having a universal import bot/script would be really neat, the significant time investment is my main concern here; I may not be able to help out with it much. Will we make use of it again?

:::: As for Semantic MediaWiki BedellPenDragon - the first is worrying as it is a one-way ticket that makes things more complex for new users (higher barriers to entry), the other is a indeed a new product with little support and no user base. I've been skeptical about these extensions for a while; then again, I'm mainly focused on (or to be honest, obsessed) with content and not as much with the presentation side of things.

:::: My general preference is to make things simple and easier to maintain. These days, I don't expect too much activity, more of steady slow growth with occasional bursts, which I'd like to accommodate. We'll see! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:37, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: And here's a link for the whole thing: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier]] [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:51, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:::::Yeah, it's easier (and in fact inevitable, to some extent) to follow Wikipedia's lead, as far as extensions are concerned. Then there's pretty much a guarantee that it will be well-supported and that it will be compatible with any content, templates, etc. we might import from Wikipedia.

:::::It is indeed a one-way ticket when we implement a metadata solution — theoretically. It could be undone and migrated to a different system using a sufficiently sophisticated bot. We don't have a lot of bot developers around here, though. I think once [[wikipedia:Wikidata|Wikidata]] comes fully online, we'll end up integrating with it (much as we already integrate with the [[wikipedia:Wikimedia Commons|Wikimedia Commons]]) and maybe setting up our own MisesData installation to supplement it. Unfortunately, it might be a long time before they get around to finishing the Wikidata implementation. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:10, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier|Updated]]. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:01, 10 December 2013 (MSK)

== MediaWiki 1.20 ==

MediaWiki 1.20 has been released. Here are the [https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/gitweb?p=mediawiki/core.git;a=blob;f=RELEASE-NOTES-1.20;hb=REL1_20 full release notes]. I didn't see anything major in there. MW 1.19 will continue to be supported for the next two years, so unless there is some capability v1.20 offers that we particularly need, it might be just as well to stick with what we have. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:20, 9 November 2012 (MSK)

== Asirra cracked ==

Word has it that the spammers are starting to crack Asirra. We seem to be getting a spam rate of about one a day. I forget what it was like before Asirra; wasn't it about five a day? Anyway, another option would be to use [[mw:Extension:QuestyCaptcha]]. We could ask [[Austrian school]]-related questions like "The Ludwig von Mises Institute motto is tu ne cede _____ (fill in the blank)" or "What was the first name of the wife of Ludwig von Mises?" People knowledgeable about the Austrian school would have the reward of not needing to google for the answers, and those who did have to look it up would learn something. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:44, 11 November 2012 (MSK)

You could always ask simple math problems but declare said equations as a string so that the bot won't be able to interpret the numbers.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 19:59, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
:I've seen that done. I forget which wiki it was. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:07, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

== WikiNode ==

Wikiindex has an interesting idea about wikinodes. See http://wikiindex.org/WikiProject:Wiki-Noding : "We think every wiki needs a page (called "WikiNode") that briefly describes the wiki and the top 7 or so closely related wikis." Here is [http://wikiindex.org/WikiIndex:WikiNode their wikinode]. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but apparently it never caught on. Maybe it should. But what would be the most closely related wikis to this one? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:33, 20 November 2012 (MSK)

== Voluntary Cooperation ==

I've created a new Call to Action: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]]. Let's see if anyone dares to join! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:10, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

: I hope to complete the project soon. There is now an index page called '''[[Privately supplied public goods]]''' - please check it out and let me know what you think. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:48, 25 February 2013 (MSK)

:: Moved project into the inactive ones, could certainly have more content but it is more or less complete. Anyone feel free to reopen it. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== Early spring cleaning ==

Having some time at hand, I started to make a long overdue cleanup of last year's pages. Some need to be overhauled completely, some polished, some moved into Essays. It is a lot of work, so help is invited, as always. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 18:57, 4 January 2013 (MSK)

I'd love to help ya mate just not sure how. I don't have any expierence working on wiki's etc... [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 23:35, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: The cleanup is basically finished. If you wanna help out with the messy bits, there is a whole [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]]. But if you want something more topical, check out the current project [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
: Learning how to use a wiki isn't hard - it's only matter of dilligence and finding the topics that really interest you and you want to learn about more. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

== Outreach ==

It is sometimes not easy to see what kind of impact these pages have. They may seem too obscure or not noticed by anyone. If that's the case, what's the point?

However, the Mises Wiki ''is'' being used as a resource, in arguments, debates and forum discussions all over the Internet. It could be certainly more, but it is out there. How can you find out? Google '''''"wiki.mises.org" -site:mises.org'''''. Then, with the search tools limit the results to last month or whatever criteria you prefer. Dig in.

The biggest hits can be surprising, like "Principle of non-aggression". :)

The wiki has also high Google rank on obscure keywords like [[regime uncertainty]] (#1!) and quite a few [[Financial crisis#History|19th century panics]]. Google ranks original content higher, and remixing of other content - instead of simply copying whatever is on Wikipedia or other articles. Diligent linking also pays off. Plus, for some articles - such as regime uncertainty or some of those panics, Wikipedia doesn't have anything or very little. It's not hard to be better than that.

So, don't get discouraged. This stuff is used by people out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:55, 2 February 2013 (MSK)

:As it turns out, Google is not the end-all resource to find out what links a page. There are websites better equipped for that - [https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer/backlinks-new/subdomains/wiki.mises.org/29-3-2013/all-all here's one] (allows only a few limited views a day though). Turns out there's way more sites using this wiki! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:33, 30 March 2013 (MSK)
::Just so you know, we have [[mw:Manual:$wgNoFollowLinks]] set to false on this wiki, so we are also giving a pagerank boost to the pages our articles link to. There was a debate about the wisdom of doing this throughout the wikisphere; virtually all developers said "hell no" when I [[bugzilla:42594|suggested]] changing the default for MediaWiki. However, I have always had that configuration settings switched off on all my other wikis, and have never had a spam problem. I suspect that Google may reward us for keeping it switched off, but it's hard to tell.

::Using your query as an example, I just did some similar searches involving my favorite wikis, essays, etc. that I've created/written. It was kinda depressing, almost as bad as when I've done [[wikipedia:Egosurfing|vanity searches]] of my name or looked up the code I've written (e.g. [[wikiapiary:Extension:InterwikiMap]]) on WikiApiary. I would say, it makes me feel small and uninfluential, except that could be construed as evidence of [[wikipedia:Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissism]].

::The only reason I would want to avoid that perception, though, is because of how the mainstream looks at vain people. I am fond of many narcissists and egomaniacs, and tend to agree with [[wikisource:The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin/Section One|Benjamin Franklin's sentiments]] concerning vanity (viz. that "it is often productive of Good to the Possessor & to others that are within his Sphere of Action"). People like Donald Trump make for great entertainment, IMO. Sigh, I just need to hurry and create Inclupedia, so that I will feel like I've accomplished something sufficiently important to justify incurred costs. I did [http://stats.grok.se/ grokse] some of the Wikipedia articles I spent hours/days painstakingly writing; some paid off much better than others. E.g., [[wikipedia:Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act]] gets a lot of hits, even though it needs to be updated to reflect [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/11-1265/11-1265-2013-01-22.html this decision]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== The Regression Theorem and Bitcoin ==

So I'm dong research for a paper and I can't seem to find a place which makes the arguments for why Bitcoin violates the regression therom etc... Was wondering if ya'll could direct me to where that argument is made? Also someone with more knowledge than I should probably add a "Critism" section to the Bitcoin page and talk about the regression therom there. Thanks for your time. Peace be with you all! - Diax

So what exactly is the argument about that Bitcoin violates the regression therom or some such? It would be nice to

: Don't know where that particular claim comes from, here's [http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/7761841-patrik-korda/1616371-bitcoin-bubble-2-0 one] article that comes close, and [https://smilingdavesblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/bitcoin-all-in-one-place/ this] list seems to be a good one to go by, but that's just two bloggers. [http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.de/2011/06/why-are-libertarians-against-bitcoin.html This] one links to many other articles where other critiques may be found.
: Otherwise, it seems like most articles speak about some anonymous 'Austrian economists' that keep doing that somewhere and fail to provide a link.
: If you find good articles about [[Bitcoin]], critiques or not, please add them to the page! (If they are not as good, but still contain valid points, throw them on the Talk page.) Someone may sort them out one day. Any Bitcoin experts out there? (Follow through with your research and may become one as well. :) ). Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

It's Mises that created the Regression Therom in [i] The Theory of Money and Credit[/i] (1912) It's him expanding on Menger's theory on the origin of moeny. The basic argument as far as I can tell is that in order to transition from a barter economy to a money economy it would be necessary for a commodity to have utility in trade beyond it's barter value and thus it becomes a medium of exchange.

I think the claim is that because bitcoin does not have a commodity backing it cannot be money (in the long run) and just like fiat is doomed to fail...[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 01:43, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

: The [[Regression theorem|concept]] is well-known (hmm, that page could also use some improvement...), the question is where the claim about Bitcoin violating it comes from. Need to do some more googling! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:20, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

:: As far as I can tell the claim that Bitcoin violates it comes from the idea that because the regression theorem says that money must be commodity backed and bitcoin violates this principle therefore Bitcoin is not money.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 21:58, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

::: As many of the articles about this topic explain, that is not what the regression theorem says. What I am wondering now though, seeing all that hoopla about it, is there any notable Austrian economist that claims this, or is it really just a few bloggers sniping at each other? One day we'll know it all. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 30 May 2013 (MSD)

== Where to contribute ==

The question has been asked repeatedly. Where should one add to or create more new pages?

The simplest answer is to find something you are really interested in, it's the most fun and you probably already know a lot about it. And if not, it's only natural to want to learn a bit more - and help others as well. But let's offer some inspiration:

* [[Special:WantedPages|Most wanted pages, by missing links]]: This list shows which nonexistent articles have the most links pointing to them (some are just obscure links from templates and the like).
* [[MisesWiki:Most wanted|Most wanted pages, by vote]].
* A long list of desired topics is [[Category talk:Economic concepts|here]].

* Check out the [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]] (and it's talk page) - it contains several projects and suggestions for more, and there's plenty of things that can be still added. [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]] is particularly wide. The current project is [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
* For those who don't mind to get their hands dirty, check out the [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]].

* If you are interested in a particular [[:Category:Countries|country or countries]], there is a good base to expand on. What is going on in that particular corner of the world anyway? How intrusive is the state? How's free is the life over there (and what's the quality of life)? What's of special interest to Austrians or libertarians?

* Are you more of a single-issue person, interested in a particular organization, person, or concept? Well, then see if a corresponding page already exists, how extensive is it, and what about all the related topics?

* Are you interested in a larger, overarching topic or a group of topics? See if there's a summary page and what subtopics can be created or brought up to the level.

* Are you into history? ([[Gilded Age]]? [[Great Depression]]? [[Financial crises]]? [[History of money and banking]]?) Writing a wiki page is a great way to learn about history.

* Are you more into the theoretical aspects of [[economics]] and [[praxeology]]? Create away whatever is still missing.

* Would you like to create good arguments for or against whatever discussion is currently raging on the Internet? There is [[Category:Argumentation|place for that]] as well!

And there's so much more...

(Anyone has more ideas? Add them here!) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:31, 3 June 2013 (MSD)
:People can also offer constructive criticism about what they would like to see changed or added to the site so that it will better serve their and others' needs. It's useful to get input even from those who don't edit the site on a regular basis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:00, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== 1400 pages ==

Rather quietly, the wiki has just reached 1400 pages with the [[‎Second Bank of the United States]]. Good news in what is otherwise a period of downtime. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:39, 10 July 2013 (MSD)

== Teaching Austrian Economics ==

Are there any Austrian School Textbooks that can be used to teach college leval Macro & Micro economics. Everything iv'e found teaches Keynesian Economics.

:I'd say if you start with [[Human Action]] and [[Man, Economy and State]] you should be well provided for a start (of an advanced education), but I've asked this question [http://libertyhq.freeforums.org/college-level-textbooks-t943.html elsewhere] to see if there's a better answer. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 15 July 2013 (MSD)

::Check out the link above, there are some good answers in the forum thread now. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:17, 17 July 2013 (MSD)

== Upgrade to MW 1.21 ==

If there is no objection, I will upgrade the site to [[mw:Release_notes/1.21#MediaWiki_1.21.2|MediaWiki 1.21]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:10, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:Upgrade complete. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 10:31, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== Debate -> Dialog, Fun -> Miscellany ==

I changed the namespace names from Debate: to Dialog: (see [[rationalwiki:Debate:Should_it_be_Dialogue]] for some thoughts on that) and from Fun: to Miscellany:. I figured Miscellany: would be a good repository for any off-topic or otherwise hard-to-classify stuff. Debate: and Fun: are still available as [[mw:Manual:$wgNamespaceAliases|namespace aliases]]. The main downside I can think of is that the name of the "Dialog talk:" namespace sounds slightly redundant. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:58, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== Another libertarian wiki ==

For later study, found by chance: "[http://v.i4031.net/Home A Voluntaryist Wiki]", appears to be a rather private affair focused mainly on argumentation. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 23:44, 20 October 2013 (MSK)
:Added to the [[MisesWiki:Wikinode|wikinode]] (and to [[wikiindex:A Voluntaryist Wiki|wikiindex]]). [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:57, 21 October 2013 (MSK)

== [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]] ==

Hello, I've written [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]], which adds metadata, glossary, essay list, and quote list features to MediaWiki. Perhaps the best way to explain it is by example. All of these features you can see either displayed or available from the [http://polywiki.org/ PolyWiki main page].
*'''Articles:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FASummary Template:FASummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_articles Category:Featured articles], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_article Randomly featured article]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:Glossary Special:Glossary]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_articles Recently added articles]'''.
*'''Essays:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FESummary Template:FESummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_essays Category:Featured essays], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_essay Randomly featured essay]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:EssayList Special:EssayList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_essays Recently added essays]'''.
*'''Quotes:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FQSummary Template:FQSummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_quotes Category:Featured quotes], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_quote Randomly featured quote]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:QuoteList Special:QuoteList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_quotes Recently added quotes]'''.
Examples of how this is done:
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Values_within_polyamory&action=edit Article example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Essay:Friendship_as_the_foundation_of_romantic_relationships&action=edit Essay example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Quote:Security_comes_first_from_inside...&action=edit Quote example] (view source)
I was thinking this could be useful on Mises Wiki. Perhaps we could enhance the main page by showing new content as well as randomly selected content that's an unpredictable mix of the old and new. Also, this data could be queried by other parts of mises.org or even sites external to mises.org using [[mw:API:Properties#pageprops_.2F_pp|the API]]. Another advantage is that vandals and spammers almost certainly won't know to use the templates that will cause content to be seen on the main page. We could use this as a means of new page screening for the Mises Globe on the main mises.org page as well.

Also, we can create sidebars similar to RationalWiki's [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Template:Sex Template:Sex] that display a random list of x articles in a given category. So, for example, the article on [[fractional reserve banking]] could have a <nowiki>{{banking}}</nowiki> sidebar with a list of 12 randomly selected banking articles. This way, users who revisit the article will be exposed to new content each time.

There's other stuff that could be done with this extension too, such as creating "Did you know?" tidbits of information for display on the main page; we could then create another special page to display a master list of those items. It's not all that much different from what [[wikipedia:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]] was intended to do (except that SMW is more powerful); I just haven't had good experiences with SMW, or I would recommend using it, since it's the application that academicians tend to favor and to have more enthusiasm about. They've been fantasizing for a long time about what they could do if Wikipedia would switch to SMW.

To make BedellPenDragon be useful for us, we would need to (after installing the extension) start adding the featured summary and regular summary templates to pages we create. Since this would be a fairly significant change in how we do things, I wanted to see what your thoughts were and make sure there's a consensus before proceeding. Another option would be to use SMW; if we were to pick that option, I might switch my focus from improving BedellPenDragon to improving SMW, although I'm not sure how much success I would have getting that community to accept proposed changes. I have control over BedellPenDragon's development; I don't control SMW. I've often found than code review can be a bottleneck and that it can be quite hard for an outsider to get his changes approved due to inertia and lack of interested reviewers.

If we were to want to reverse this change later, it would not be too hard. We would just need to change the templates so that they either do nothing at all or so that they do nothing but display the text that is entered into them as parameters. Thanks, [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:27, 11 November 2013 (MSK)

== Script error on page ==

There is a script error [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Sweden#Links here] on what appear to be flags. Don't care much for the flags, but perhaps it can be fixed easily. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:Those red "script error" messages are clickable; that one informed me that we needed to import [[Module:Yesno]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:02, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== $wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges ==

Anyone care to be added to [[mw:Manual:$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges|$wgUsersNotifiedOnAllChanges]]? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 03:17, 14 December 2013 (MSK)

: Is there anything in it that Recent Changes doesn't cover? Otherwise it seems like just getting more emails. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:11, 15 December 2013 (MSK)

Minimum wage

2013-12-14T18:16:36Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

War

2013-12-14T17:36:12Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

'''War''' is armed conflict among sovereigns or between sovereigns and those they govern.{{Fact}}

==Just war==
The conditions that make a war a "just war" are disputed. One proposed criterion is that a belligerent should have a reasonable chance of winning. Otherwise, it would be merely a futile gesture that would not change anything.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/just/success.shtml|title=Ethics Guide|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The term "reasonable" is, of course, vague, and different people may have different ideas of what it means.

Libertarians have sometimes recognized that a person who tries and fails to overthrow tyranny should not be punished for it, if there is a way to protect him. [[Thomas Jefferson]] writes, "The unsuccessful Struggles against Tyranny have been the chief Martyrs of Treason laws in all countries. . . . [W]e should not wish then to give up to the Executioner the Patriot who fails, and flees to us." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit noted that political offense exceptions were written into extradition treaties "to protect those people who justly fought back against their government oppressors to secure political change."<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Ordinola v. Hackman|url=http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/478/478.F3d.588.06-6126.html|vol=478|reporter=F3d|opinion=588|court=4th Cir.|date=22 February 2007}}</ref>

Lew Rockwell argues that the U.S. won wars in the past because "it fought far poorer governments. Today it loses because it fights populations – people acting on their own, forming their own associations, using their brains to outwit bureaucrats, and cobbling together resources from underground markets. The market always outruns the planners for the same reason that guerilla armies usually win over regular armies. Decentralized and spontaneous associations of dedicated individuals are smarter and wiser and more committed than centralized and planned bureaucrats who follow their rule books."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mises.org/daily/2148/Iraq-and-the-Democratic-Empire|title=Iraq and the Democratic Empire|author=Rockwell, Lew|date=17 February 2006}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Links==
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html Steven Pinker: The surprising decline in violence] (video) with Steven Pinker, September 2007
* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Concepts]]

Greed

2013-12-12T19:29:14Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

'''Greed''' is the excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.<ref name="Dictionary_Greed">[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/greed "Greed"], ''Dictionary.com'', referenced 2013-01-14.</ref>

==Views==
[[Joseph Sobran]] writes, "'Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own. And 'Compassion' is when a politician arranges the transfer."<ref>{{cite web|title=A Screed on Need and Greed|url=http://mises.org/daily/1565|author=Galles, Gary|date=22 July 2004}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Links==
* [http://www.turningpointusa.net/greed-ultimate-enemy-racism/ Greed: The Ultimate Enemy of Racism] by Michael Tontchev, December 2013
* {{md|5934|The Irrelevance of Worker Need and Employer Greed in Determining Wages|George Reisman|February 2012}}
* [https://mises.org/media/7483/Greed-in-Public-and-Private-Institutions Greed in Public and Private Institutions] by Paul Cwik, March 2012
* {{md|1371|The Problem of Corporate Greed|Edmond S. Bradley|November 2003}}
* [http://archive.mises.org/5464/greed-and-katrina/ Greed and Katrina] by Ralph Reiland, August 2006
* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Concepts]]

Minimum wage

2013-12-12T19:18:08Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

Austrian Economics Wiki talk:Upgrading

2013-12-12T19:12:49Z

Pestergaines: Deleting not working?

I upgraded MediaWiki to v1.20.1 today. I also upgraded the following extensions to the latest version from Git:
*CategoryTree
*CharInsert
*CheckUser
*Cite
*Collection
I'm delaying upgrading the others till I hear back on [[mw:Thread:Talk:Download_from_Git/Keeping_up_to_date/reply_(3)|this question]]. In the meantime, please let me know if you encounter any issues. Thanks. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:03, 28 November 2012 (MSK)
:Upgrade complete. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:17, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== MediaWiki 1.22 released ==

[[mw:MediaWiki 1.22|MediaWiki 1.22]] was released today. I think what we will do is upgrade to [[mw:MediaWiki 1.23|MediaWiki 1.23alpha]] and then upgrade all of the extensions to their latest development versions. That way, we'll have the most cutting-edge software, albeit at slightly greater risk of glitches. If we run into problems, in most cases those can be resolved by upgrading again to a version that fixes them. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 03:09, 7 December 2013 (MSK)
:The upgrade is done. The problem is, Mises Wiki has a customized skin that isn't interacting well with the new MediaWiki version, which made a number of changes to how the Vector skin works. E.g., [[mw:Extension:Vector]] has been merged into the core. We were going to have to eventually upgrade, so it's inevitable that we would need to deal with these issues at some point. I'll try to find some workarounds for the problems we're having.

:Specifically, I want to tone down the "Navigation", "Tools", etc. labels on the sidebar; they're kinda distracting. If anything, we need to go in the opposite direction and use [http://filament.wikiwonders.net/ Filament] and [http://foreground.wikiwonders.net/ Foreground] to focus on our content and put it in the foreground. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:26, 7 December 2013 (MSK)

==Outage==
Sorry about that Mises Wiki outage that was corrected a few moments ago. I didn't happen to notice it until just then. You can always text me at 540-808-7473 or shoot me an email at nathanlarson3141@gmail.com if you think I might have overlooked something like that. Hmm, the problem is, if the site is down, you won't be able to read this message. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:45, 7 December 2013 (MSK)

==Deleting pages==
It looks like we have lost the ability to delete pages - see e.g. [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/User:Optimopro this]. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 23:12, 12 December 2013 (MSK)

Austrian Economics Wiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier

2013-12-10T22:37:53Z

Pestergaines: about the cat

Create pages, or at least neat stubs from the [https://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier] glossary, wherever they are missing. Also consider adding the entries to existing pages where useful.

====Things to do:====
* find the optimal way to import the entries
* do it
* simple, huh? :)

* each entry needs a category, preferably some links to other pages and a review (most categories will be Concepts or Economic concepts)
* optionally, look for more resources and make it a proper page - if interested, go for it!
* some pages ('Verstehen') will need to be redirects ('Understanding')
* do we really need all of them (Zeus, anyone?) - a few might be better off left out

====Options====
'''Mass conversion with a bot''' (suggested by Nathan Larson [[MisesWiki:Commons#Mass imports|here]]):
# convert the Mises Made Easy page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into an array of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one.
# Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.
# Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them.
# Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names.
# See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it.
# Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

Advantages:
* Comprehensive, will do the whole editing at once.
* Possible reusability for other imports

Disadvantages:
* Extensive preparations are necessary

'''Sequential processing with a script''' (by Pestergaines)
# Create a script that will pull the dictionary entry out of a page based on the link (e.g. [https://mises.org/easier/A.asp#1 this]). (I'd use {{w|Greasemonkey}} for this, but then that's what I have used quite a few times before.)
# The user(s) would visit each dictionary link in turn. The script will open a new window or tab with a Mises Wiki editing page for the dictionary item in question. It will also pre-format the page (title, reference, stub link, part of the category).
# Things to do: add category and links. If necessary, rename page on the spot. (The page can be easily redirected by moving after it is created.) Add other formatting if needed. If the page already exists, the script will add the content at the end and the user can move it where desired, or just close the window if there's already enough content or the entry wouldn't bring anything new to the page.
# Save.

Advantages:
* Users can easily divide the work (e.g. by letter) and proceed as fast or as slow as they want.
* Easier preparation.
* Don't have to go through every page twice.

Disadvantages:
* Results can be uneven with multiple users.

====Done:====
* ...

Austrian Economics Wiki:Commons

2013-12-09T22:01:34Z

Pestergaines: /* Mass imports */ Update

<div class="messagebox" style="width:100%; padding:.5em;">Welcome to '''The Mises Commons''', the central discussion board where you can make announcements, propose new ideas, and ask questions of the entire community.

To add a new item, add a <code><nowiki>==Level two header==</nowiki></code> to introduce it.

For discussion related to long-term planning and development, also see the [https://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/topics Mises Wiki Google Group].</div>
__NEWSECTIONLINK__
[[Category:Mises Wiki|Commons]]
{{archive box collapsible|
*[[MisesWiki:Commons/Archives/2010|2010]]
*[[/Archives/2011|2011]]
*[[/Archives/2012|2012]]
}}

{{TOC right}}

For older discussions, enter the [[/Archives|archives]].

I see an issure with the money section of your ABCT page. What you're calling money i.e. the USD(FRN) and other fiat notes are not money it is a common mistake to call them that. What the FRN is, is a promissory note, or a money susbstitute. I don't know how you want to go about fixing it. Your call. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:39, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

So I made some changes to that section mentioned above feel free to change it back if you don't like them. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 09:52, 17 May 2013 (MSD)

: Hallo Diax! I have reverted the change after some consideration. The reason is that fiat notes ''are'' money (even if it's paper money). Check the definition of [[money]] for more details, but in short it is a commonly used [[medium of exchange]] - i.e. whatever is widely used for that purpose at the moment. But of course, the real question is whether fiat notes are a '''''good''''' form of money - and that's where we can put in some good arguments. :) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 14:18, 19 May 2013 (MSD)

Yes money is a medium of exchange but I'm also fairly sure that Mises talks about the promissary note being different from "pure" money in ''Human Action''. Of course it isn't a big deal. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:23, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
: I think he refers to a situation when there exists the 'pure' money (gold, silver, etc.) and there are also promissory notes. While only the first is 'actual' money, both can circulate side-by-side. Confusing the two can have dangerous consequences, as Mises shows.
: These days, the dominant form of money are fiat notes that are not backed by anything. No confusion there. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:44, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Red links ==

New issue for discussion...a user recently [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Austrian_School&curid=42&diff=11623&oldid=11614&rcid=11779 reverted an edit], removing an internal link, stating "Please add article then link. No point having dead internal links." Is this a policy we are going to agree on? No red links on the Mises Wiki?

I was under the impression that we were more or less going to follow along with a typical Wiki (no, not just Wikipedia, virtually all wikis do this) policy in which wiki-fying the article is encouraged, so long as common sense rationale is used, and only terms which will be created as pages soon or that should be created because they would be notable and verifiable and useful and in-line with the goal of the wiki, are linked. Obviously Wikipedia is the easiest place to go for [[Wikipedia:WP:RED|info and discussion]] on this, but that by no means means that that is the only place that has such a policy.

Of course, if this "add article then link/No point having dead internal links" is going to be the policy, a lot of pages are going to have to be revamped...including the [[Main Page]]. --[[User:John James|John James]] 18:05, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

:I would say that red links should be encouraged, within typical bounds (no links for common words, etc.). This has also been discussed in the email list and red links were supported by Jeff Tucker. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:56, 23 May 2011 (MSD)

::Yeah that's what I figured. That's virtually the policy of every wiki. And if you look at that page linked above it mentions how one study showed that red links helped Wikipedia grow. Let's have at least one more weigh-in and then I think we might go ahead write up a quick something for the guidelines. --[[User:John James|John James]] 01:12, 24 May 2011 (MSD)

:::I very much agree to encourage red links within reason. For the record, I think I can also understand the reversion - the 'Austrian School' is our showcase page of sorts, so it would look better if all links were blue. But that may take quite some more time. :)

:::Not sure if that needs to be in a guideline, but throwing it out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:59, 25 May 2011 (MSD)

First of all, the reason given for the reversion was not that it was a "showcase page", and should therefore be held in a special light where red links should be discouraged. It was made quite clear that there is "no point having dead internal links" [period]. So that defense doesn't hold much water. And second, I think it's actually ironic...We're going to encourage red links because they have been shown to help the project grow, yet we're going to discourage their inclusion on the very pages which are more likely to be seen by more people (and therefore are more likely to have red links actually ''turn'' blue, as well as being the pages where growth and development is most important)?

And third, call me crazy, but I was of the opinion that the [[Main Page]] is more of a "showcase page" than even the Austrian School page...did anyone bother to count the red links there??

In my opinion this "red links are encouraged, but 'showcase pages' should not have any" notion is a pretty poor defense, and an even worse guideline. I agree with virtually every other wiki project...that red links are a good thing, as they help the project grow, as well as encourage new users to get involved. A red link staring right in the face of someone knows something about it could be just the motivation a potential new user needs to throw his hat in the ring and try out some wiki-ing. I think that can be even more valuable than the particular instance of growth...because one new stub is one thing...but a new "Wikian" is something else all together. And it can make a world of difference not only for our Mises Wiki project here, but for virtually every other one in existence. I say that's a good thing. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 20:31, 25 May 2011 (MSD)}}

:It's worth remembering that while red links do encourage new contributors, they are not helpful to readers. It's reasonable to want to have a "showcase" article (like WP's featured articles) that represents what we'd like all our articles to look like in the future. Such an article would probably not have any red links: any red links that existed would be filled in by new articles.
:Eventually we might want to have no red links on the main page, but my goal there is to show new editors as many places as possible where they can jump in and start contributing. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 19:17, 2 June 2011 (MSD)

::Bingo. That's my whole point. That's what red links do, regardless of where they are located..."show new editors where they can jump in and start contributing." Yes, I understand the appeal of "featured articles"...but articles don't get that way because of some centralized regulation mandating that this article and that article be deemed "featured", and then every thing pertaining to those specific articles is treated in some special manner so as to "make" them featured simply by the fact that they are treated differently than other articles. It's quite the other way around. Articles get featured because they reach a certain level of quality, and are recognized to be good examples of the kind of product the project is working toward. Individuals making their own free choices about what articles to edit, what edits to make, and how much effort is put into each of those is what creates a wiki...not some central governing body telling everyone which articles will be "showcased" and which ones can be ignored.

::If editors of the Wiki wish for a certain article to be of a minimum level of quality, they can freely edit that article as much as they want to improve it to that point. (They can even form groups to organize and point out articles that need the most work and encourage others to help contribute to those. That's what [[wikipedia:WP:PJ|wikiprojects]] are all about.) And yes, part of what makes a quality wiki article is how well it connects to relevant and related articles. (This is why larger wikis like Wikipedia have some kind of "[[wikipedia:Template:Wikify|wikify]]" encouragement...because it improves the usefulness of the specific article, but also because it helps expand the wiki project.) And by the same token, that's why there is virtually no wiki that is in the practice of discouraging red links, let alone banning them...even if just on certain lionized pages.

::I really dislike the idea that articles need to be de-linked (i.e. weakened in their usefulness and diminished in their impact) because we want to showcase how great they are. That seems very contradictory in my view. {{nowrap|--[[User:John James|John James]] 23:47, 2 June 2011 (MSD)}}
:::This is a very interesting and important issue. There is sometimes a tension between what is good for the reader and what is good for the editor, but I think the reader quickly learns that redlinks don't go anywhere. By the way — another topic to consider is whether to allow non-logged-in editors to edit, since a lot of times the newbies just want to make a quick change (e.g. typo correction) to one article and never edit the wiki again.

:::With reference to the issue of redlinks, I have installed on my wikis (e.g. Libertapedia) [[mw:Extension:RPED|an extension I wrote]], which links to Wikipedia if the wikilinked page doesn't exist on the local wiki. I used to have it set up to actually detect the page existence on Wikipedia, as follows:

:::*IF the page exists on the local wiki, then bluelink to the page on the local wiki. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, but it exists on Wikipedia, then bluelink to Wikipedia. Otherwise,
:::*IF the page does NOT exist on the local wiki, nor on Wikipedia, then redlink to the page on the local wiki.

:::Right now, the daemon I used to run to update the table of existing Wikipedia page titles is down, so I have simplified the extension to always bluelink to Wikipedia if the page doesn't exist on the local wiki. That extension needs some work before it's ready for prime time but you get the gist. It could be possible to make some other interesting and useful tweaks to it, to allow the reader to choose which wiki he wants to go to when he clicks on a redlink or bluelink. E.g., he might be notified that the page exists on both the local wiki AND Wikipedia, and given the option to choose. Or, in the event it exists on Wikipedia but not the local wiki, he could choose between visiting Wikipedia or creating the article on the local wiki. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:38, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

Keep the red links. I'm new here and I wouldn't even have bothered to join the project had it not had some obvious red links. I mean ya'll don't have a page on coercion I'm going to write it now. Anyway let me know what ya'll think about that. Peace be with you.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)Diax[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 06:17, 15 May 2013 (MSD)

I expanded the Negative Rights and the Positive Rights articles. However I do not know how to add references. If someone could let me know I would appreciate it. Sorry for the inconvience. Peace be with you! [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 04:48, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: No problem! In short, check out other pages - see e.g. this [[Jay Cooke|recent one]]. Click on Edit and see what's in there - note the 'Reflist' section close to the end of the page, that's what will produce the whole references block. Then note the 'ref' sections that look like this:
::<nowiki><ref name="Britannica_Cooke">Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"], referenced 2013-05-21.</ref></nowiki>
: ([https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Footnotes Here's] the official documentation.)
: The 'name' part is only necessary if you reuse a reference. Often, you can get away with something like this:
::<nowiki><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica Online. [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136088/Jay-Cooke "Jay Cooke"].</ref></nowiki>
: So it involves a little typing, but after you do it once or twice, references are easy. I've added them to the [[Negative right]] page. Check the changes I've made and try it for yourself - and let me know how it works out for you! (See also [[Essay:How to make good wiki pages|here]] for some more tips on how to make good pages.) Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:32, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

So I saw that you said that the part about the founders pulling alot from John Locke needed to be cited (this is in the [[negative rights]] article). I'll agree that it would be nice if such a citiation existed but I'm not sure that it does. I put that in there because it's fairly obvious. "Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness" is essentially a direct quote from Locke; "life, liberty, and property". You know that's so obvious that someone has to have expressed it somewhere before... Just got to find it.[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:49, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

== Main page revamp ideas ==

As per [http://groups.google.com/a/mises.com/group/wiki/browse_thread/thread/f632e1305a0b4f4f# some discussion] on the group message board, I agree the main page could stand some new additions...

First off, I think it's pretty obvious if this [[MisesWiki:Bounty board|Bounty board]] incentive is going to be effective, we need to advertise. I think we should have either a section on the main page—perhaps replace one that is on there now, such as "this week in history"—or a prominent link to a full page that tells of all the projects going on, the articles that need creating and expanding, the promotions currently running, etc. And of course including all the useful links for that kind of thing (e.g. [[MisesWiki:2011 article improvement drive]], [[MisesWiki:Most wanted]], [[MisesWiki:Typos]], etc.)

I think it would be really nice to have a kind of quick overview of what's going on here and what specifically someone can do to help out. I think people would be more inclined to participate if they were aware of a requested article or some other project. Even aside from the prizes to be won, I think having a defined mission and objectives is really useful in helping someone feel like they're making a difference. Kind of like the "Operation Stub" drive. It's really motivating to see a request for a page that is currently a red link, and being able to see the instant result of having created a new stub and having the links go blue and seeing the article count increase...or seeing an article slowly but surely get more and more fleshed out as you collaborate with other editors and reach featured status. I think developing a sense of community would definitely entice editors to contribute as well as keep coming back, and a good way to do that is have a prominent display of what is currently being focused on.

Input? --[[User:John James|John James]] 16:26, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

:I very much agree. What about inserting a large "What can I do?" section into the middle of the main page, with links to the various projects and initiatives one can help out?

:And yes, we'll need to do a lot of advertising - at the latest when the 'improvement drive' is finalized. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 17:39, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

::I like the ideas, but I don't like removing the only part of the main page that ''is'' regularly updated. I'd prefer dropping "current events," perhaps incorporating it into the "this week in history" box.
::I think the Community Portal page should serve as the "full page" containing all the things going on. Go ahead and put together a box like [[Template:Current events]] (maybe call it [[Template:What can I do]] or [[Template:Get involved]]?) with a few of the important things you are talking about, along with a link to CP. The main page is very plug-and-chug, so you can just pull {{tl|Current events}} off the main page and substitute your new one. --[[User:Forgottenman|Forgottenman]] ([[User talk:Forgottenman|talk]]) 17:57, 29 July 2011 (MSD)

== Semantic wikis ==

Does anyone have experience with semantic wikis? I keep being recommended to introduce the feature to MisesWiki. I can see that it might be practical, but can't really tell what in the end the impact would be, besides a lot of work. Looking for some insight here. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 16:59, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

:I'll give an example of how this could be helpful. Let us say that we want a table that displays all countries by their indexes in the Infoboxes. In [[Template:Infobox Country]], you would find where they ask for each index, and put a property tag such as<nowiki>[[Economic Freedom Index::{{{row 10 info|}}}]]</nowiki> (that template needs to be more semanticly named). Then, you would use the following code (with templates from http://dnd-wiki.org/):

:<nowiki>{| style="text-align:left;" class="sortable"</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|-</nowiki>
:<nowiki>! Name !! Economic Freedom Index !! Corruption Perception Index !! Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>{{#ask: [[Category:Countries]]</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Economic Freedom Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Corruption Perception Index</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|?Doing Business Ranking</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|format=template</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|template=Table Row</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|link=none</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|limit=9999</nowiki>
:<nowiki>}}</nowiki>
:<nowiki>|}</nowiki>

:And then the table would generate, and changing the facts on the individual pages would cause these tables to update (within 24 hours usually) automatically. It allows for Wikis to implement the policy of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). And as I've said a few times already, I've got quite a few templates for making SMW easier to deal with. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 23:05, 26 August 2011 (MSD)

::What would be the effort needed to migrate the wiki, and keep it updated? How much would our users need to learn about the syntax and what will it do to the readability of the page source code? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 14:17, 31 August 2011 (MSD)

:::The effort involved for migrating the wiki is as follows:
:::#Installation and configuration. I've never installed SMW (or any other Mediawiki extension), but I don't expect this to take very long. Configuration might need to be done for which namespaces it is enabled on. I cannot recall. One choice that has to be made is whether or not to show properties at the bottom of a page.
:::#Planning properties. This is where somebody (or a group of people) sit down and decide on the initial properties to have on the wiki. This can easily be streamlined by looking at the current category structure, and if there is the equivalent to a morpheme (for example, categories such as ''Books by Ludwig von Mises'', ''Books by Bastiat'', ect.) and turning those morphemes into properties (in this case, the property would be called Author).
:::#Implementing properties. This is where the above plan is realized. Using the example from planning, one would look at the book articles in general, and see if there is a template where the author is placed. If so, that template is edited so that it adds the property to it. If done correctly, a content editor won't have to deal with the properties themselves. Also, categories have to be renamed. ''Books by X'' would be renamed to ''Books''.
:::#Implement navigation. If you can think of a table that would help users find information, it takes all of five minutes to create generally. Some of the queries you can think of (the ones you want specific to a certain entity) can be templated.

:::For the syntax, just knowing how to set properties is enough. Taking [http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dungeons_and_Dragons_Wiki:Ask_Syntax the dnd-wiki help page] on it and modifying the examples at the bottom to fit this wiki should suffice. It doesn't go over tables, but copy & paste from a working table suffices for anybody who has needed to do so.

:::For the readability of the source code, it all looks like templates and links, and in many cases, is easier to read, since implementation details are hidden. --[[User:Havvy|Havvy]] 17:35, 7 September 2011 (MSD)
Semantic MediaWiki has a number of advantages beyond making it easier for academics and others interesting in running queries to gather data. It can also be used for putting together dynamic tables within the wiki itself, creating more powerful templates, automating labor-intensive tasks, and more. I will offer the caveat, though, that as of a few years ago SMW had some troublesome bugs, and I'm not sure whether they have made a lot of progress since then.

A lot of sites that have SMW installed don't make much use of it. This may be partly because any templates imported from Wikipedia won't use it. To get the full benefit, you have to be willing to get creative in coming up with uses for it, and put in the work to implement those ideas.

The academic community is, of course, strongly in favor of SMW. I think it will do an important favor to the wikisphere and the world to be part of the effort to realize SMW's potential. That might have to include fixing some bugs. How much you want to focus on that, as opposed to more MisesWiki-specific concerns, is up to you. One last caveat — if you use caching, there may be some performance implications to consider.

Here are a couple examples of how I used SMW to make my life easier. On my wiki, we had a "Today's featured article" (TFA) page for each day. Perhaps you are familiar with how on the Wikipedia main page, the TFA blurb is followed by a list of three "Recently featured" articles — specifically, those from one, two, and three days ago.

It was a pain in the neck to enter those manually, and if I changed my mind and substituted a different featured article for a particular day, I had to edit three different featured article blurbs that referred to it as a recently featured article. To eliminate that chore, I put some sort of SMW code in each blurb — I think it was something along the lines of <code>featured::Libertarianism</code> if the article in question was [[libertarianism]] — and that associated that page with that featured article title. So then, all I had to do was use a bot to prepopulate a bunch of featured article blurbs with some SMW code telling it to grab the featured article title from the previous three days' blurbs. Specifically, <nowiki>Recently featured: {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 14, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 13, 2010]]|?featuring=}} – {{#ask: [[Libertapedia:Today's featured article/May 12, 2010]]|?featuring=}}</nowiki> I could do that for a year in advance if I wanted, and it would eliminate the need to edit the "Recently featured" wikitext later on for any reason.

Another example was when I had a bunch of articles on political prisoners, and wanted to enter various data (such as mailing address) just once per page. E.g., I could change the data in the infobox template and it would change it in the article text, or vice versa. Unfortunately, this didn't work. I sought support from the listserv and they said it was probably a bug in SMW. At that time, I didn't feel like familiarizing myself with the SMW code and hunting down and fixing that bug, so I abandoned that project. There is still enough functionality that works, though, for you to accomplish some useful tasks with it. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] 03:27, 9 July 2012 (MSD)

== The Big One ==

It is coming... can you feel it? [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] 19:15, 30 January 2012 (MSK)
:You mean another Great Depression, or something even worse? I'm not sure if the conditions are ripe for that to happen. We have a lot of Keynesians in office, ready to worsen and prolong any economic slump that develops, but we don't have the equivalent of a Smoot-Hawley Tariff to destroy global trade. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

:: Sorry, didn't want to produce any panic. The Big One in question was the 1000th article on Mises Wiki. :) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 03:41, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

I had the misfortune to walk into the living room whilst the roomies were watching the news the other day and CBS was refering to the '08 bubble as the "Great Recession". I found that highly entertaining. [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 20:11, 22 May 2013 (MSD)[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:51, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

==Sysop promotion request==
I request promotion to sysop so I can assist with maintenance of the MediaWiki namespace, vandalism cleanup, template importation, miscellaneous requests, etc.

We may want to consider being pretty liberal in giving out the sysop tools, since that is is accordance with the spirit of the "wiki way," which is to make mistakes easy to correct rather than hard to make. The more sysops you have, the faster vandalism gets deleted and so on. It tends to improve the quality of the wiki.

What makes sysops more of a detriment is when the rules of engagement are set up in ways that produce perverse incentives. E.g. if pages are allowed to be speedily deleted for questionable reasons, then the more sysops you have running around speedily deleting stuff, the more good content will tend to get deleted quickly. The sysops are similar to cops or security guards — if the laws (and overall system) are good, then these officers tend to be beneficial; but if the laws are bad, then the situation is similar to that described in the Declaration of Independence, of having "erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." They can only harass and eat out the substance to the extent that the nature of the system allows and encourages that to happen. Here, our hierarchical system (ultimately reporting to the Mises Institute) and mistrust of mob rule prevents the kind of abuses we've seen on other wikis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:25, 7 August 2012 (MSD)

: Hallo Nathan,
: the Mises Wiki is a bit conservative with awarding the Administrator privileges. These days - *fingers crossed* - the wiki is actually quite stable and does not need much of an administrating effort. Most mistakes are easy to correct for most users, and even templates are easy to create (in case you want to make some more involved changes in this area, [[User:John James|John James]] is our template guru). We also don't tend to speedily delete pages, far from it! The biggest issue for admins has been the recent flood of spam, which was thankfully contained - in a large part also due to your help! I do not see a particular need to expand the ranks of Admins right now, I hope you understand.
: Best regards, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:38, 12 August 2012 (MSD)
::Yeah, on a wiki with the type of user behavior patterns (largely molded by the wiki's culture, which in turn is greatly affected by its rules, including the wiki mission) that are encountered here, the issues that require sysop intervention do indeed tend to be few and far between. That is assuming spam problems remain solved; those spammers are always innovating, making it necessary to find new countermeasures. It's a continual arms race. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

Do people seriously bother to create bots to put up nonsense pages? Seems a little ridiculous that someone would waste their time like that... Perhaps I'm just not cynical enough...[[Special:Contributions/70.59.102.81|70.59.102.81]] 19:56, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: They do, but mostly it's just spam, where the motivation is cold hard cash. I assume most of the edits that are complete nonsense are simply the generation of 'plausible' traffic to cover up other spam. For some people this is clearly worth the effort. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

:: Then again, someone (or rather some''thing'') just posted a remarkably coherent and quite polished page about Essays. I have deleted the page, but actually hope that it ''was'' a spambot and not a misguided human (and that I just didn't fail the {{w|Turing test}}...).
:: So this may be the future of spamming - lots of crap with some well-written borderline cases that creep up on websites and sometimes slip through. Guess it's only gonna get worse. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:11, 29 May 2013 (MSD)
:::http://xkcd.com/810/ Wow, [http://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Essay&timestamp=20130528091338 that essay] on essays truly was a class act; it even used the word "learnt". I was very impressed at their subtlety. Also, it wasn't that long ago that an IP spammer hit the "undo" button on my revert of his spam. It made me take a second look at what was posted, because that's ordinarily behavior only humans have engaged in. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:03, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

==Wiki configuration issues==
Given our webmaster's other duties, does he have enough time to give wiki issues prompt service? I hope I'm not being too unreasonable by saying that and I apologize if I'm displaying lack of tact in how I'm addressing this. I just see certain issues, most notably the [[MisesWiki:Configuration#Asirra|CAPTCHA problem]] (which is of critical importance to the wiki), remain unresolved for long periods of time, despite reminders.

I don't know what level of priority the Mises Institute wants to give the wiki at this point. Being such a wiki enthusiast, my own sentiments toward waiting till other matters have been dealt with to resolve wiki configuration issues tends to be rather similar to [http://i.qkme.me/3q3j8b.jpg those expressed by Batman] concerning post-production fixes. But I realize the Mises Institute and those who seek to help it also have other matters on their plates besides the wiki. So I'm just going to throw that out there and leave it at that. I don't know whether it would be appropriate to lobby for more technical assistance resources, or how would be the best way to go about that. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:23, 12 August 2012 (MSD)

== Today in history ==

We could, if we wanted, have more than the a few entries available for each day's "Today in history". We could use [[mw:Extension:Random]] or a similar extension to select, say, two items out of a list for each day. That list could be hundreds long; the more the merrier, as long as they're high-quality, because that means more possibilities for users to see on different visits to the site. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 23:25, 5 October 2012 (MSD)

== Mass imports ==

A lot of wikis, in their early stages, have done mass imports of content. E.g., Wikipedia imported a bunch of Census data on various localities. I wonder if we might do well to import, say, the contents of ''[http://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier]'' as articles. Although they would be a bunch of stubs, it might be better than nothing. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:54, 20 October 2012 (MSD)

I actually signed up because I was couldn't work out what "catalactics" meant. It was only as I started trying to figure out how a wiki works that I found this reference to Mises Made Easier and found the answer there. Mises Made easier is more like a dictionary than an encyclopedia, but if it provides the stubs from which stuff branches out, mass importing it sounds like a great idea. [[User:Labcoat|Labcoat]] ([[User talk:Labcoat|talk]]) 02:49, 22 November 2013 (MSK)
:Someone will have to actually muster the initiative to actually implement this idea, though. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:06, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

:: For things like these I suggest to create a [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]]. Mises Made Easier was already considered at some point (see the [[MisesWiki talk:Call to Action|talk]] page) but other topics seemed more attractive at the time. @Labcoat - if you were equipped with tools that would make the import easier, would you be willing to work on it? (It would still involve going through all the topics manually and doing some editing, but the copying and pasting would be taken care of. That doesn't mean you have to ''do'' everything by yourself, the question is only if you are willing to do some of it.)

:: (And aside - if you've learned a bit about catalactics, feel free to create a page or at least a stub about it. ;) ) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:36, 24 November 2013 (MSK)
:::For the [[catallactics]] article, one could start by borrowing [[wikipedia:Catallactics|Wikipedia's content]]. I think an automated tool would be the best way to import ''Mises Made Easier''. We could program a bot to do it, or we could run a script on the server. It's probably better to use a bot; the code would then be more reusable for other purposes, because it's easy for bureaucrats to create bot accounts, but only a few people are going to have shell access to the server.

:::I see this as requiring a few steps: (1) convert the ''Mises Made Easy'' page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into [http://us3.php.net/manual/en/language.types.array.php an array] of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one. (2) Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.

:::(3) Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them. (4) Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names. (5) See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it. (6) Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

:::I mentioned below the possibility of switching to a new glossary system enabled by {{w|Semantic MediaWiki}} or [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]]. Prior to the importation of all those articles would be an excellent time to go that route, if we're going to do it. I've been pretty pleased with how it's been working out on my other wikis (PolyWiki.org, ChildWiki.net, and SuicideWiki.org) because it's such an efficient system for creating glossaries, quote lists, etc. and main page summaries simultaneously. However, those are all one-editor sites, and the extension was just created last month.

:::Also, I think we'd want to discuss what the templates should look like. E.g., should the parameters have names (like in [[:Template:Cite web]], which has parameters "url", "title", etc.) or should they be numbered (like in template [[:Template:Md]]? The latter is what I've been doing because it saves typing and is perhaps easier to read, but it makes it harder to change the parameters later, because you have to migrate all the transcluding pages over. One of MediaWiki's main weaknesses is that it doesn't have much metadata functionality; this is one way to solve that. The other alternative would be Semantic MediaWiki, which has a larger community of users.

:::[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=to+be+honest To be honest], if I were you, I'd go with SMW, because then you're not dependent on me for maintenance of the extension. MediaWiki upgrades are always breaking extensions, so that the developers have to write new versions. The idea BedellPenDragon embodies is a good and useful one, and there needs to be an extension with that functionality, but there are no other developers maintaining that extension, and I don't know how long I'm going to be around. Maybe for years, maybe not. Then again, we could say that about anyone.

:::I just noticed, some of this is going to need some manual intervention. E.g. [http://mises.org/easier/V.asp#4 Verstehen] should be a redirect to [[understanding]], not its own separate entry. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:29, 25 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: I was thinking of doing something smaller, since it will require some editing on every page (not just categories, but also linking to other pages, if no further editing is necessary). And if we have to pre-decide which article gets which category, it means we'll have to revisit each page at least two times anyway.

:::: That being said, having a universal import bot/script would be really neat, the significant time investment is my main concern here; I may not be able to help out with it much. Will we make use of it again?

:::: As for Semantic MediaWiki BedellPenDragon - the first is worrying as it is a one-way ticket that makes things more complex for new users (higher barriers to entry), the other is a indeed a new product with little support and no user base. I've been skeptical about these extensions for a while; then again, I'm mainly focused on (or to be honest, obsessed) with content and not as much with the presentation side of things.

:::: My general preference is to make things simple and easier to maintain. These days, I don't expect too much activity, more of steady slow growth with occasional bursts, which I'd like to accommodate. We'll see! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:37, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: And here's a link for the whole thing: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier]] [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:51, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:::::Yeah, it's easier (and in fact inevitable, to some extent) to follow Wikipedia's lead, as far as extensions are concerned. Then there's pretty much a guarantee that it will be well-supported and that it will be compatible with any content, templates, etc. we might import from Wikipedia.

:::::It is indeed a one-way ticket when we implement a metadata solution — theoretically. It could be undone and migrated to a different system using a sufficiently sophisticated bot. We don't have a lot of bot developers around here, though. I think once [[wikipedia:Wikidata|Wikidata]] comes fully online, we'll end up integrating with it (much as we already integrate with the [[wikipedia:Wikimedia Commons|Wikimedia Commons]]) and maybe setting up our own MisesData installation to supplement it. Unfortunately, it might be a long time before they get around to finishing the Wikidata implementation. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:10, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

:::: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier|Updated]]. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:01, 10 December 2013 (MSK)

== MediaWiki 1.20 ==

MediaWiki 1.20 has been released. Here are the [https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/gitweb?p=mediawiki/core.git;a=blob;f=RELEASE-NOTES-1.20;hb=REL1_20 full release notes]. I didn't see anything major in there. MW 1.19 will continue to be supported for the next two years, so unless there is some capability v1.20 offers that we particularly need, it might be just as well to stick with what we have. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 20:20, 9 November 2012 (MSK)

== Asirra cracked ==

Word has it that the spammers are starting to crack Asirra. We seem to be getting a spam rate of about one a day. I forget what it was like before Asirra; wasn't it about five a day? Anyway, another option would be to use [[mw:Extension:QuestyCaptcha]]. We could ask [[Austrian school]]-related questions like "The Ludwig von Mises Institute motto is tu ne cede _____ (fill in the blank)" or "What was the first name of the wife of Ludwig von Mises?" People knowledgeable about the Austrian school would have the reward of not needing to google for the answers, and those who did have to look it up would learn something. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:44, 11 November 2012 (MSK)

You could always ask simple math problems but declare said equations as a string so that the bot won't be able to interpret the numbers.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 19:59, 22 May 2013 (MSD)
:I've seen that done. I forget which wiki it was. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 05:07, 22 November 2013 (MSK)

== WikiNode ==

Wikiindex has an interesting idea about wikinodes. See http://wikiindex.org/WikiProject:Wiki-Noding : "We think every wiki needs a page (called "WikiNode") that briefly describes the wiki and the top 7 or so closely related wikis." Here is [http://wikiindex.org/WikiIndex:WikiNode their wikinode]. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but apparently it never caught on. Maybe it should. But what would be the most closely related wikis to this one? [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 19:33, 20 November 2012 (MSK)

== Voluntary Cooperation ==

I've created a new Call to Action: [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]]. Let's see if anyone dares to join! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 17:10, 30 November 2012 (MSK)

: I hope to complete the project soon. There is now an index page called '''[[Privately supplied public goods]]''' - please check it out and let me know what you think. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:48, 25 February 2013 (MSK)

:: Moved project into the inactive ones, could certainly have more content but it is more or less complete. Anyone feel free to reopen it. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== Early spring cleaning ==

Having some time at hand, I started to make a long overdue cleanup of last year's pages. Some need to be overhauled completely, some polished, some moved into Essays. It is a lot of work, so help is invited, as always. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 18:57, 4 January 2013 (MSK)

I'd love to help ya mate just not sure how. I don't have any expierence working on wiki's etc... [[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 23:35, 22 May 2013 (MSD)

: The cleanup is basically finished. If you wanna help out with the messy bits, there is a whole [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]]. But if you want something more topical, check out the current project [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
: Learning how to use a wiki isn't hard - it's only matter of dilligence and finding the topics that really interest you and you want to learn about more. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 24 May 2013 (MSD)

== Outreach ==

It is sometimes not easy to see what kind of impact these pages have. They may seem too obscure or not noticed by anyone. If that's the case, what's the point?

However, the Mises Wiki ''is'' being used as a resource, in arguments, debates and forum discussions all over the Internet. It could be certainly more, but it is out there. How can you find out? Google '''''"wiki.mises.org" -site:mises.org'''''. Then, with the search tools limit the results to last month or whatever criteria you prefer. Dig in.

The biggest hits can be surprising, like "Principle of non-aggression". :)

The wiki has also high Google rank on obscure keywords like [[regime uncertainty]] (#1!) and quite a few [[Financial crisis#History|19th century panics]]. Google ranks original content higher, and remixing of other content - instead of simply copying whatever is on Wikipedia or other articles. Diligent linking also pays off. Plus, for some articles - such as regime uncertainty or some of those panics, Wikipedia doesn't have anything or very little. It's not hard to be better than that.

So, don't get discouraged. This stuff is used by people out there. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:55, 2 February 2013 (MSK)

:As it turns out, Google is not the end-all resource to find out what links a page. There are websites better equipped for that - [https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer/backlinks-new/subdomains/wiki.mises.org/29-3-2013/all-all here's one] (allows only a few limited views a day though). Turns out there's way more sites using this wiki! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 16:33, 30 March 2013 (MSK)
::Just so you know, we have [[mw:Manual:$wgNoFollowLinks]] set to false on this wiki, so we are also giving a pagerank boost to the pages our articles link to. There was a debate about the wisdom of doing this throughout the wikisphere; virtually all developers said "hell no" when I [[bugzilla:42594|suggested]] changing the default for MediaWiki. However, I have always had that configuration settings switched off on all my other wikis, and have never had a spam problem. I suspect that Google may reward us for keeping it switched off, but it's hard to tell.

::Using your query as an example, I just did some similar searches involving my favorite wikis, essays, etc. that I've created/written. It was kinda depressing, almost as bad as when I've done [[wikipedia:Egosurfing|vanity searches]] of my name or looked up the code I've written (e.g. [[wikiapiary:Extension:InterwikiMap]]) on WikiApiary. I would say, it makes me feel small and uninfluential, except that could be construed as evidence of [[wikipedia:Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissism]].

::The only reason I would want to avoid that perception, though, is because of how the mainstream looks at vain people. I am fond of many narcissists and egomaniacs, and tend to agree with [[wikisource:The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin/Section One|Benjamin Franklin's sentiments]] concerning vanity (viz. that "it is often productive of Good to the Possessor & to others that are within his Sphere of Action"). People like Donald Trump make for great entertainment, IMO. Sigh, I just need to hurry and create Inclupedia, so that I will feel like I've accomplished something sufficiently important to justify incurred costs. I did [http://stats.grok.se/ grokse] some of the Wikipedia articles I spent hours/days painstakingly writing; some paid off much better than others. E.g., [[wikipedia:Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act]] gets a lot of hits, even though it needs to be updated to reflect [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/11-1265/11-1265-2013-01-22.html this decision]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:23, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

== The Regression Theorem and Bitcoin ==

So I'm dong research for a paper and I can't seem to find a place which makes the arguments for why Bitcoin violates the regression therom etc... Was wondering if ya'll could direct me to where that argument is made? Also someone with more knowledge than I should probably add a "Critism" section to the Bitcoin page and talk about the regression therom there. Thanks for your time. Peace be with you all! - Diax

So what exactly is the argument about that Bitcoin violates the regression therom or some such? It would be nice to

: Don't know where that particular claim comes from, here's [http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/7761841-patrik-korda/1616371-bitcoin-bubble-2-0 one] article that comes close, and [https://smilingdavesblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/bitcoin-all-in-one-place/ this] list seems to be a good one to go by, but that's just two bloggers. [http://themonetaryfuture.blogspot.de/2011/06/why-are-libertarians-against-bitcoin.html This] one links to many other articles where other critiques may be found.
: Otherwise, it seems like most articles speak about some anonymous 'Austrian economists' that keep doing that somewhere and fail to provide a link.
: If you find good articles about [[Bitcoin]], critiques or not, please add them to the page! (If they are not as good, but still contain valid points, throw them on the Talk page.) Someone may sort them out one day. Any Bitcoin experts out there? (Follow through with your research and may become one as well. :) ). Cheers, [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

It's Mises that created the Regression Therom in [i] The Theory of Money and Credit[/i] (1912) It's him expanding on Menger's theory on the origin of moeny. The basic argument as far as I can tell is that in order to transition from a barter economy to a money economy it would be necessary for a commodity to have utility in trade beyond it's barter value and thus it becomes a medium of exchange.

I think the claim is that because bitcoin does not have a commodity backing it cannot be money (in the long run) and just like fiat is doomed to fail...[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 01:43, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

: The [[Regression theorem|concept]] is well-known (hmm, that page could also use some improvement...), the question is where the claim about Bitcoin violating it comes from. Need to do some more googling! [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:20, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

:: As far as I can tell the claim that Bitcoin violates it comes from the idea that because the regression theorem says that money must be commodity backed and bitcoin violates this principle therefore Bitcoin is not money.[[User:Diax|Diax]] ([[User talk:Diax|talk]]) 21:58, 29 May 2013 (MSD)

::: As many of the articles about this topic explain, that is not what the regression theorem says. What I am wondering now though, seeing all that hoopla about it, is there any notable Austrian economist that claims this, or is it really just a few bloggers sniping at each other? One day we'll know it all. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:59, 30 May 2013 (MSD)

== Where to contribute ==

The question has been asked repeatedly. Where should one add to or create more new pages?

The simplest answer is to find something you are really interested in, it's the most fun and you probably already know a lot about it. And if not, it's only natural to want to learn a bit more - and help others as well. But let's offer some inspiration:

* [[Special:WantedPages|Most wanted pages, by missing links]]: This list shows which nonexistent articles have the most links pointing to them (some are just obscure links from templates and the like).
* [[MisesWiki:Most wanted|Most wanted pages, by vote]].
* A long list of desired topics is [[Category talk:Economic concepts|here]].

* Check out the [[MisesWiki:Call to Action|Call to Action]] (and it's talk page) - it contains several projects and suggestions for more, and there's plenty of things that can be still added. [[MisesWiki:Call to Action/Voluntary Cooperation|Voluntary Cooperation]] is particularly wide. The current project is [[Robber baron]]s, there's quite a few of those guys left.
* For those who don't mind to get their hands dirty, check out the [[MisesWiki:WikiProject Cleanup|Cleanup project]].

* If you are interested in a particular [[:Category:Countries|country or countries]], there is a good base to expand on. What is going on in that particular corner of the world anyway? How intrusive is the state? How's free is the life over there (and what's the quality of life)? What's of special interest to Austrians or libertarians?

* Are you more of a single-issue person, interested in a particular organization, person, or concept? Well, then see if a corresponding page already exists, how extensive is it, and what about all the related topics?

* Are you interested in a larger, overarching topic or a group of topics? See if there's a summary page and what subtopics can be created or brought up to the level.

* Are you into history? ([[Gilded Age]]? [[Great Depression]]? [[Financial crises]]? [[History of money and banking]]?) Writing a wiki page is a great way to learn about history.

* Are you more into the theoretical aspects of [[economics]] and [[praxeology]]? Create away whatever is still missing.

* Would you like to create good arguments for or against whatever discussion is currently raging on the Internet? There is [[Category:Argumentation|place for that]] as well!

And there's so much more...

(Anyone has more ideas? Add them here!) [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 21:31, 3 June 2013 (MSD)
:People can also offer constructive criticism about what they would like to see changed or added to the site so that it will better serve their and others' needs. It's useful to get input even from those who don't edit the site on a regular basis. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 17:00, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== 1400 pages ==

Rather quietly, the wiki has just reached 1400 pages with the [[‎Second Bank of the United States]]. Good news in what is otherwise a period of downtime. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 13:39, 10 July 2013 (MSD)

== Teaching Austrian Economics ==

Are there any Austrian School Textbooks that can be used to teach college leval Macro & Micro economics. Everything iv'e found teaches Keynesian Economics.

:I'd say if you start with [[Human Action]] and [[Man, Economy and State]] you should be well provided for a start (of an advanced education), but I've asked this question [http://libertyhq.freeforums.org/college-level-textbooks-t943.html elsewhere] to see if there's a better answer. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 01:32, 15 July 2013 (MSD)

::Check out the link above, there are some good answers in the forum thread now. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 10:17, 17 July 2013 (MSD)

== Upgrade to MW 1.21 ==

If there is no objection, I will upgrade the site to [[mw:Release_notes/1.21#MediaWiki_1.21.2|MediaWiki 1.21]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:10, 4 October 2013 (MSK)
:Upgrade complete. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 10:31, 5 October 2013 (MSK)

== Debate -> Dialog, Fun -> Miscellany ==

I changed the namespace names from Debate: to Dialog: (see [[rationalwiki:Debate:Should_it_be_Dialogue]] for some thoughts on that) and from Fun: to Miscellany:. I figured Miscellany: would be a good repository for any off-topic or otherwise hard-to-classify stuff. Debate: and Fun: are still available as [[mw:Manual:$wgNamespaceAliases|namespace aliases]]. The main downside I can think of is that the name of the "Dialog talk:" namespace sounds slightly redundant. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 16:58, 4 October 2013 (MSK)

== Another libertarian wiki ==

For later study, found by chance: "[http://v.i4031.net/Home A Voluntaryist Wiki]", appears to be a rather private affair focused mainly on argumentation. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 23:44, 20 October 2013 (MSK)
:Added to the [[MisesWiki:Wikinode|wikinode]] (and to [[wikiindex:A Voluntaryist Wiki|wikiindex]]). [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 04:57, 21 October 2013 (MSK)

== [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]] ==

Hello, I've written [[mw:Extension:BedellPenDragon]], which adds metadata, glossary, essay list, and quote list features to MediaWiki. Perhaps the best way to explain it is by example. All of these features you can see either displayed or available from the [http://polywiki.org/ PolyWiki main page].
*'''Articles:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FASummary Template:FASummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_articles Category:Featured articles], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_article Randomly featured article]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:Glossary Special:Glossary]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_articles Recently added articles]'''.
*'''Essays:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FESummary Template:FESummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_essays Category:Featured essays], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_essay Randomly featured essay]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:EssayList Special:EssayList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_essays Recently added essays]'''.
*'''Quotes:'''
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:FQSummary Template:FQSummary] to add themselves to [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Category:Featured_quotes Category:Featured quotes], from which are chosen the '''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:Randomly_featured_quote Randomly featured quote]'''.
:*Transclude [http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:InvisiblePageSummary Template:InvisiblePageSummary] to add entries to:
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Special:QuoteList Special:QuoteList]'''.
::*'''[http://polywiki.org/wiki/Template:New_quotes Recently added quotes]'''.
Examples of how this is done:
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Values_within_polyamory&action=edit Article example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Essay:Friendship_as_the_foundation_of_romantic_relationships&action=edit Essay example] (view source)
*[http://polywiki.org/w/index.php?title=Quote:Security_comes_first_from_inside...&action=edit Quote example] (view source)
I was thinking this could be useful on Mises Wiki. Perhaps we could enhance the main page by showing new content as well as randomly selected content that's an unpredictable mix of the old and new. Also, this data could be queried by other parts of mises.org or even sites external to mises.org using [[mw:API:Properties#pageprops_.2F_pp|the API]]. Another advantage is that vandals and spammers almost certainly won't know to use the templates that will cause content to be seen on the main page. We could use this as a means of new page screening for the Mises Globe on the main mises.org page as well.

Also, we can create sidebars similar to RationalWiki's [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Template:Sex Template:Sex] that display a random list of x articles in a given category. So, for example, the article on [[fractional reserve banking]] could have a <nowiki>{{banking}}</nowiki> sidebar with a list of 12 randomly selected banking articles. This way, users who revisit the article will be exposed to new content each time.

There's other stuff that could be done with this extension too, such as creating "Did you know?" tidbits of information for display on the main page; we could then create another special page to display a master list of those items. It's not all that much different from what [[wikipedia:Semantic MediaWiki|Semantic MediaWiki]] was intended to do (except that SMW is more powerful); I just haven't had good experiences with SMW, or I would recommend using it, since it's the application that academicians tend to favor and to have more enthusiasm about. They've been fantasizing for a long time about what they could do if Wikipedia would switch to SMW.

To make BedellPenDragon be useful for us, we would need to (after installing the extension) start adding the featured summary and regular summary templates to pages we create. Since this would be a fairly significant change in how we do things, I wanted to see what your thoughts were and make sure there's a consensus before proceeding. Another option would be to use SMW; if we were to pick that option, I might switch my focus from improving BedellPenDragon to improving SMW, although I'm not sure how much success I would have getting that community to accept proposed changes. I have control over BedellPenDragon's development; I don't control SMW. I've often found than code review can be a bottleneck and that it can be quite hard for an outsider to get his changes approved due to inertia and lack of interested reviewers.

If we were to want to reverse this change later, it would not be too hard. We would just need to change the templates so that they either do nothing at all or so that they do nothing but display the text that is entered into them as parameters. Thanks, [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 07:27, 11 November 2013 (MSK)

== Script error on page ==

There is a script error [http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Sweden#Links here] on what appear to be flags. Don't care much for the flags, but perhaps it can be fixed easily. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 02:09, 26 November 2013 (MSK)
:Those red "script error" messages are clickable; that one informed me that we needed to import [[Module:Yesno]]. [[User:Nathan Larson|Nathan Larson]] ([[User talk:Nathan Larson|talk]]) 09:02, 26 November 2013 (MSK)

Austrian Economics Wiki:Call to Action/Mises Made Easier

2013-12-09T22:00:16Z

Pestergaines: Options

Create pages, or at least neat stubs from the [https://mises.org/easier/easier.asp Mises Made Easier] glossary, wherever they are missing. Also consider adding the entries to existing pages where useful.

====Things to do:====
* find the optimal way to import the entries
* do it
* simple, huh? :)

* each entry needs a category, preferably some links to other pages and a review
* optionally, look for more resources and make it a proper page - if interested, go for it!
* some pages ('Verstehen') will need to be redirects ('Understanding')
* do we really need all of them (Zeus, anyone?) - a few might be better off left out

====Options====
'''Mass conversion with a bot''' (suggested by Nathan Larson [[MisesWiki:Commons#Mass imports|here]]):
# convert the Mises Made Easy page into a format that can be used by the bot. Ultimately, it's going to be turned into an array of glossary entries. It'll be necessary to convert the HTML into wikitext and make a few other changes (e.g. making the page titles bold); that shouldn't be too hard, because it'll be only a few kinds of things such as italics and hypertext that need to be converted. It might be good to go through that list and decide what categories you want those pages to be in; we can then include those from the beginning rather than later going through page by page and making edits one by one.
# Create a clone of Mises Wiki as it exists right now and do a test import of the articles to it. Wait, say, a week for everyone to have a chance to review the new pages for problems before we do the import here.
# Create a new namespace on this wiki, e.g. MME:, to which we will import all this content. This will allow us to easily undo the changes if needed; e.g. if we discover problems at this point that we missed earlier, we can do a mass deletion of everything in that namespace, if needed, without disturbing our existing mainspace. I've generally found it's easier and cleaner to delete a bunch of robotically-implemented mistakes than to revert them.
# Move everything from MME: to mainspace, unless there are already articles there with those names.
# See what remains in MME:; either incorporate it into existing articles or delete it.
# Get rid of the MME: namespace, once there is nothing left in it that's of further use.

Advantages:
* Comprehensive, will do the whole editing at once.
* Possible reusability for other imports

Disadvantages:
* Extensive preparations are necessary

'''Sequential processing with a script''' (by Pestergaines)
# Create a script that will pull the dictionary entry out of a page based on the link (e.g. [https://mises.org/easier/A.asp#1 this]). (I'd use {{w|Greasemonkey}} for this, but then that's what I have used quite a few times before.)
# The user(s) would visit each dictionary link in turn. The script will open a new window or tab with a Mises Wiki editing page for the dictionary item in question. It will also pre-format the page (title, reference, stub link, part of the category).
# Things to do: add category and links. If necessary, rename page on the spot. (The page can be easily redirected by moving after it is created.) Add other formatting if needed. If the page already exists, the script will add the content at the end and the user can move it where desired, or just close the window if there's already enough content or the entry wouldn't bring anything new to the page.
# Save.

Advantages:
* Users can easily divide the work (e.g. by letter) and proceed as fast or as slow as they want.
* Easier preparation.
* Don't have to go through every page twice.

Disadvantages:
* Results can be uneven with multiple users.

====Done:====
* ...

Talk:Democracy

2013-12-09T20:54:56Z

Pestergaines: Rational irrationality.

[http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/effectively-irrational This] mentions the intriguing concept of {{w|rational irrationality}} in (not only) democracies. [[User:Pestergaines|Pestergaines]] ([[User talk:Pestergaines|talk]]) 00:54, 10 December 2013 (MSK)

Gold

2013-12-09T06:44:30Z

Pestergaines: /* Links */ +res

'''Gold''' is a chemical element with the symbol '''Au''' (Latin: ''aurum'') and an atomic number of 79. It is a precious metal used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. Gold is seen as a safe haven in times of financial and political uncertainty, since it is not at risk of becoming worthless, unlike currency and other assets. It is increasingly being used to diversify investment portfolios, as a currency and as a hedge against [[inflation]].<ref name="World_Gold_Production">British Geological Survey. [http://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=1388 World Mineral Production] (pdf), 2003-2007, p. 37-41, referenced 2009-12-12.</ref>

{{See also|Gold standard}}

==Production==
It was estimated, that by 2009 a total of 161,000 tonnes of gold have been mined throughout all human history.<ref name="ngeo_mined">Brook Larmer. [http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text/3 National Geographic: "The Real Price of Gold" by Brook Larmer]. Published: January 2009. See also [http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/zurbuchen011506.html The World's Cumulative Gold and Silver Production] for other production estimates. Referenced 2010-05-15.</ref>

The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Most of the time, it appears as an alloy with silver, usually with a [[silver]] content of 8–10%. [[Wikipedia:Electrum|Electrum]] is a natural alloy with more than 20% of silver. Its color runs from golden silvery to silvery, dependent upon the silver content.

In gold extraction, ore grades as little as 0.5 g/1000 kg can be economical. Typical ore grades in open-pit mines are 1–5 g/1000 kg (1–5 ppm); ore grades in underground or hard rock mines are usually at least 3 g/1000 kg (3 ppm).

Eight countries produce more than 100.000 kilograms of gold per year, or 67 percent of world mine production (order in 2007: China, South Africa, Australia, USA, Peru, Russia, Indonesia, Canada). From 1905, South Africa has been the largest producer of gold, in 1970 it was over 1000 tonnes annually, then 60 percent of world production. It has declined down to 252 tonnes in 2007, and China become first, with 276 metric tons of gold mined. Other traditionally dominant gold producers, including Australia, USA and Canada, are rapidly losing ground to new producers. Indonesia has experienced an exceptional rise in production from only three tonnes in 1985 to 143 tonnes in 2005. Peru, which is now the world’s fifth largest gold producer, has increased production from 24 tonnes in 1992 to more than 200 tonnes in recent years, but declined to a low of 170 tonnes.<ref name="World_Gold_Production" />

==Demand==
In demand for gold, jewelry has conventionally accounted for the lion’s share, but it has been declining in both absolute and proportional terms. Between 2000 and 2007 global gold-jewellery demand slid from 3,205 tonnes to 2,417 tonnes; as a share of the total demand for gold, it declined from nearly 80% to just over 60%. The fall was precipitate in the Western world. Demand in India, the biggest jewellery market, was little affected until 2009. Demand in China, the next biggest, has continued to rise.

As jewellery demand went down, investment demand went up: for gold in the form of coins or bars, for gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and for the services of online companies that allow investors to buy small amounts of pure bullion, stored in underground vaults. Annual "identifiable investment", as the World Gold Council puts it, was 611 tonnes in 2004-07, a little more than twice the average for the four previous years. That just about offset the fall in jewelry demand.

Since then, however, investment demand has accelerated and jewellery demand has collapsed. 2009 was the first year in which investment demand exceeded jewellery demand. Purchases of gold for jewellery dropped to 2,193 tonnes in 2008 and then to 1,758 tonnes in 2009. Meanwhile, the signs of surging investment have been everywhere. This has more than made up for the slump in the jewellery trade: total demand in 2009 was the highest since at least 2000.

Investment in gold [[ETF]]s and similar products reached a record high in 2008, of 321 tonnes—and then almost doubled, to 617 tonnes, in 2009. The stock of gold held by such funds more than doubled to 1,839 tonnes in the two years to the end of 2009.

The 229 tonnes of gold sold in the form of official coins in 2009 was the most since 1986, thanks to demand from retail investors in America and Europe. In November demand for one-ounce American Eagle coins was so strong that the American mint ran out of supplies. Rand Refinery, producer of the blank coins which the South African mint turns into Krugerrands, raised its output to 30,000 ounces in the first week of June, the highest rate of production since 1985. In Abu Dhabi those seized by an urge to buy bullion can now head to the lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel, where the Gold-to-Go machine dispenses bars.<ref name="Store_value">[http://www.economist.com/node/16536800 "Gold: Store of value"], ''The Economist'', Jul 8th 2010. Referenced 2011-10-20.</ref>

==Purchasing power==
Research from the World Gold Council shows how gold has held its value over the long term when compared with other commodities. It is said that an ounce of gold bought 350 loaves of bread in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, king of [[Babylon]], who died in 562 BC. The same ounce of gold still buys approximately 350 loaves of bread today. Across 2,500 years gold has in other words retained its purchasing power, relative to bread at least, and has had a real rate of return of zero.<ref name="Harmston_Store">Stephen Harmston. [http://www.newworldeconomics.com/archives/2011/041011_files/WGC%20purchasing%20power%20of%20gold%20copy.pdf "Gold as a Store of Value"] (pdf), ''Worlg Gold Council'', Research Study No. 22, p. 5, November 1998. Referenced 2011-10-20.</ref>

==Properties==
Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all metals; a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, or an ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be beaten thin enough to become translucent. The transmitted light appears greenish blue, because gold strongly reflects yellow and red.<ref name="Causes_Colors">Webexhibits.org / Causes of Color. [http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/9.html "Gold: causes of color"], referenced 2009-12-11.</ref>

Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity and reflects infrared radiation strongly. Chemically, it is unaffected by air, moisture and most corrosive reagents, and is therefore well-suited for use in coins and jewelry and as a protective coating on other, more reactive, metals. Free halogens will react with gold, and ''[[Wikipedia:aqua regia|aqua regia]]'' can dissolve it. Gold also dissolves in alkaline solutions of potassium cyanide and in mercury, forming a gold-mercury amalgam. High quality pure metallic gold is tasteless; in keeping with its resistance to corrosion (it is metal ions which confer taste to metals).

In addition, gold is very dense, a cubic meter weighing 19300 kg. By comparison, the density of lead is 11340 kg/m3, and that of the densest element, osmium, is 22610 kg/m3.

The color of pure gold is metallic yellow. Gold readily creates alloys with many other metals. Common colored gold alloys such as rose gold can be created by the addition of various amounts of copper and silver, as indicated in the triangular diagram on the right. Alloys containing palladium or nickel are also important in commercial jewelry as these produce white gold alloys. Less commonly, addition of manganese, aluminium, iron, indium and other elements can produce more unusual colors of gold for various applications.<ref name=coloredgold>Utilisegold.com. [http://www.utilisegold.com/jewellery_technology/colours/colour_alloys/ "Gold Jewellery Alloys > Utilise Gold."], Scientific, industrial and medical applications, products ,suppliers from the World Gold Council, posted on 2000-01-20, referenced 2009-12-11}}</ref>

==Applications==
Gold has a wide range of industrial uses, dominated by the electrical sector, in which it is valued for its excellent thermal and electrical properties. A significant amount of gold is consumed in dentistry and it also has medical applications. New applications for gold including catalysts and in nanotechnology are researched.

Gold is increasingly being used to diversify investment portfolios, as a currency and as a hedge against inflation. The centre of world gold trading is the [[Wikipedia:London bullion market|London Bullion Market]], on which the gold price is fixed twice daily. The fix is used as a benchmark for pricing the majority of gold products and derivatives throughout the world's markets. Jewellery production accounts for the largest use of gold, representing around 70 per cent of total demand. In Asia and the Middle East gold jewellery is commonly bought as an investment or store of value. <ref name="World_Gold_Production" />

===Coinage===
Pure gold is too soft for day-to-day monetary use and is often hardened by alloying with copper, silver or other base metals. The gold content of alloys is measured in [[Wikipedia:carat|carats]] (k). Pure gold is designated as 24k. Gold coins intended for circulation from 1526 into the 1930s were typically a standard 22k alloy called [[Wikipedia:Crown gold|crown gold]], for hardness.

Modern bullion coins for investment or collector purposes do not require good mechanical wear properties; they are typically fine gold at 24k, although the American Gold Eagle, the British gold sovereign, and the South African Krugerrand continue to be minted in 22k metal in historical tradition. The special issue Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin contains the highest purity gold of any bullion coin, at 99.999% or .99999 finess, while the popular issue Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin has a purity of 99.99%. Several other 99.99% pure gold coins are available.

The ISO 4217 currency code of gold is XAU.

==See also==
* [[Argumentation:Gold]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* Wikipedia on [[Wikipedia:Gold|gold]]
* [http://www.measuringworth.org/gold/ The Price of Gold], 1257-2008
* [http://www.mindat.org/min-1720.html Gold] from the Mineralogy Database
* [http://www.webmineral.com/data/Gold.shtml Gold Mineral Data]
* [http://investinganswers.com/a/50-surprising-facts-you-never-knew-about-gold-1370 50 Surprising Facts You Never Knew About Gold] by InvestingAnswers
* [http://www.gold.org/ World Gold Council]
* [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/central-banks-go-on-a-gold-rush/article2239253/ Central banks go on a gold rush] by Kevin Carmichael and Brenda Bouw, November 2011
* [http://lfb.org/today/how-to-go-gold/ How to Go Gold] by Ralph Benko, March 2013
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25255957 Why do we value gold?] by Justin Rowlatt, December 2013

[[Category:Chemical elements]]
[[Category:Money]]

Inflation during the French Revolution

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{{Stub}}

The [[French Revolution]] brought with it a massive inflation of the paper money called '''[[Assignats]]'''. When introduced in 1789, it was nominally backed by confiscated lands. Eventually it was printed to finance all government's expenses and had lost most of its value by 1796 when its production had stopped.<ref name="Gaettens_Assignats">Richard Gaettens. ''Geschichte der Inflationen Von Altertum bis zum Gegenwart'' (German: History of Inflations from Old Ages to the Present), ''Die Assignaten der Französischen Revolution'' (The Assignats of the French Revolution) p. 173-198. ISBN: ISBN 3-87045-211-0. Referenced 2010-07-15.</ref><ref name="Trask_French_Revolution">H.A. Scott Trask. [http://mises.org/daily/1504 "Inflation and the French Revolution: The Story of a Monetary Catastrophe"], Mises Daily, April 2004, referenced 2010-07-14.</ref>

==The French Revolution==
When [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] became king in 1774, reforms were badly needed. The minister of finances, [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot|Anne Robert Jacques Turgot]], began to institute some reforms which included lowering taxes and reducing special privileges. To support trade and manufacture, the "Caisse d'Escompte" was founded, which would later become [[Banque de France]]. Turgot's reforms found many enemies and he was deposed after only a year and a half. The intervention of [[France]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]] only brought more debt.

In 1786, the state income was 357 million [[French livre|livres]] and the expenses were 555 million, creating a deficit of almost 200 million. The credit of the state was exhausted. The exchange of the ''Caisse's'' banknotes for specie had to be limited and the rate of exchange had to be fixed. State finances could not be saved. The decision was made to call the [[French States-General|Estates-General]] after more than 200 years and rarely had so poor a fiscal situation such fateful consequences.

With the debt in May 1789 at 550 million livres, it would be relatively easy for the Estates to get the necessary means through taxes and loans; however, the financial issues were at first ignored. The main question was whether the Estates should negotiate and vote together or separately. To avert the ever-threatening state bankruptcy, an income tax was introduced. The church had offered its properties, with a value of 2 billion livres, as collateral for the state debt. These properties were eventually declared possessions of the nation, to the chagrin of the church. The conflicts led to the formation of the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]], a break-away government for "the People" which attempted to conduct the nation's affairs during the chaos of revolution.

The [[French Revolution|Revolution]] had completely halted the economic life of France. The working population of Paris and the provinces all stopped working, believing they could live off the state, which was now funded by the properties of the church and nobility. The National Assembly, and later the [[National Convention|National Convention]], made the most expensive promises that couldn't be kept. The state's income had collapsed. France, with its fine soil and good climate, had to start importing grain and other foods while its exports shrunk to a minimum. The population of Paris had to be fed by the state. Regulating the food production and the setting of maximum prices had not helped the situation.

In November 1789, the debt was at 950 million livres. 400 million worth of church properties should have been sold to raise money. The selling of the properties would take a long time, necessitating the creation of '''[[Assignat|assignats]]''' in the amount of 400 million. The first assignats were state obligations, or [[Government bond|bonds]], with a 5% interest rate at 10,000 livre apiece. These were to be used as payment for the church goods and then burned afterwards. At first, this practice was followed but later given up.

In March 1790, more assignats were issued with a 3% interest rate in the values of 1000, 300, and 200 livres. In September, a new issue was announced without an interest rate and the assignats started to be used as actual money. The total volume was limited to 120 million and the nominal values were: 2000, 500, 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, and 50 livres.

The budget for 1791 was planned with expenses of 640 million. Some unpopular taxes were repealed, with few income sources to replace them; 300 million had to come from other sources. Even these numbers were too optimistic. Small denominations had been missing, the silver livres had vanished from circulation and large amounts of silver and gold had left the land. In May 1791, 5-livre assignats were created. In June, 600 million in new assignats were printed and more issues followed. The metal money had completely vanished.

The [[French Revolutionary Wars|War in 1792]] was completely financed from the issue of assignats. The countries that France was at war with included: England, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, and Spain. Economic ties with these countries were broken and contact with their banks was forbidden. As a war strategy, assignats were printed in the hostile countries, especially England, to increase inflation in France. The war was also accompanied by [[French Counter-Revolution|uprisings and civil wars]] in various parts of France. The [[Paris Commune (French Revolution)|Paris Commune]] had begun its rule and revoked all land and feudal titles, dispossessing properties in the value of 6 billion livres. Export of gold and silver was forbidden. The issue of new assignats continued, until the top limit was no longer set from 1793 onward.

The exchange rate of assignats for specie kept sinking despite attempts to fix the rate. The sinking value of the assignats was at first seen by the illegal [[agio]] on gold and silver coins. Later, any trading with the metal coins was forbidden and refusing to accept assignats was severely punished, with the worst penalty being death. These restrictions were enforced by the government in order to pay the cost of war, which at that time had risen to 180-200 million livres per month. A very large expense was the purchase of grain amounting to 100-120 million per month. The expenses of the other branches of government were cut down to a minimum.

By end of May 1795, 10 billion assignats were in circulation and the exchange rate with specie fell to 7%. The clerks and old debtors were paid in nominal values but the army, workers, and suppliers had to be paid according to the market rate. That led to ever-increasing issues of assignats. By this time, 10,000 livre notes were printed as the lowest denominations in order to cover the needs of the state; but it was still not enough.

In August 1795, the livre was officially renamed the [[Franc]], equal to 100 centimos, introducing the decimal system into the currency. The 5- and 1-centime pieces were bronze coins. By autumn, the lack of money was palpable; there was not even enough to pay the couriers of the armies. 18 billion assignats were backed by only 1 billion worth of properties. On January 1, 1796, there were 27.5 billion assignats in circulation and the exchange rate fell to 0.5%. 20 francs in gold were worth 4,200 livres assignats. Other attempts to raise money to pay the state's expenses had little effect. The state expenses were cut down to the bare minimum, only the ministers and selected high officials were paid. All other payments were refused and 12,000 clerks were dismissed.

On February 21st, 1796, the printing of assignats was stopped and the presses were destroyed in a great celebration. Since all money was exhausted, more properties were to be sold, and another form of paper money introduced, "territorial mandates", that could be used to pay for these properties. However, the mandates failed within a year and only some speculators made money from them.<ref name="Gaettens_Assignats" />

As a historian has noted: "The attitude of the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]] about finances can be quite simply stated as an utter exhaustion of the present at the expense of the future. They never worried about the morrow, handling all their affairs as though each day were the last. That approach distinguished all actions undertaken during the Revolution. What permitted it to survive as long as it did was the fact that the day-to-day depletion of the resources accumulated by a rich and powerful natio allowed unexpectedly large resources to come to surface. The assignats, as long as they had any value at all, little as it might be, flooded the country in ever increasing quantities. The prospects of impeding bankruptcy never stopped their being issued even for a moment. Only when the public absolutely refused to accept paper money of any kind, did the issue of new notes come to a halt."

The 'land-warrants' sank to zero in the year they were introduced. Nobody any longer traded anything but silver. This money, which had apparently been hidden away or exported abroad, took over the circulation. Whatever was hidden came into the open, whatever had left France returned. The southern provinces were overflowing with piasters which had come in from Spain because they were in demand. Gold and silver, like all commodities, moved to where demand attracted them, their price became higher and stayed at that level until the supply was adequate and the demand was satisfied. Only silver and gold were to be seen on all the markets and people's wages were paid in the same manner. One might have said that no paper money existed in France. Warrants were to be found only in the hands of speculators, who received them from the government and resold them to buyers of national assets. Thus the financial crisis continued to exist for the state but almost ceased to exist for individuals.<ref name="Mises_Selected">Ludwig von Mises. "Selected Writings of Ludwig von Mises - Between Two World Wars: Monetary Disorder, Interventionism, Socialism, and the Great Depression", Chapter 5, On the Action to Be Taken in the Face of Progressive Currency Depreciation; p. 49, 56-57. Essay most probably written in May or June, 1919. Referenced 2011-05-19.</ref>

It took [[Napoleon I|Napoleon]] to restore hard money to France. As First Consul in 1801, he introduced the 20 Franc gold piece and insisted that from thenceforth soldiers, contractors, and merchants would be paid only in gold, or its equivalent. The paper blizzard was over. Napoleon would go on to conquer most of the Continent while on the [[gold standard]].<ref name="Trask_French_Revolution" />

==Inflation in numbers==

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
! Date
! [[French livre|livres]] in circulation:<ref name="Gaettens_Assignats" />
|-
| June 1st 1791
| 912 000 000
|-
| October 1st 1791
| 1 151 500 000
|-
| September 22nd 1792
| 1 972 000 000
|-
| January 1st 1793
| 2 825 906 618
|-
| August 1st 1793
| 3 775 846 053
|-
| May 1st 1794
| 5 891 479 201
|-
| July 1st 1794
| 6 082 051 800
|-
| October 1st 1794
| 6 618 297 170
|-
| January 1st 1795
| 7 228 819 063
|-
| April 1st 1795
| 8 326 945 681
|-
| July 1st 1795
| 12 338 143 861
|-
| October 1st 1795
| 17 879 337 898
|-
| January 1st 1796
| 27 565 237 396
|-
| April 1st 1796
| 36 671 761 762
|-
| September 1st 1796
| 45 578 810 040
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* see the [[Wikipedia:French Revolution|French Revolution]] and [[Wikipedia:Assignat|Assignats]] on Wikipedia
* [http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf Fiat Money Inflation in France] (pdf) by Andrew Dickson White, 1933
* [http://mises.org/daily/3238 Going the Way of France (1790)] by C.J. Maloney, December 2008
* [http://mises.org/resources/3983 Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation] by F.A. Hayek, September 1975
* [http://www.thefreemanonline.org/from-the-president/the-great-french-inflation/ The Great French Inflation] by Richard M. Ebeling, July 2007
* [http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartI.pdf Bank Notes of the French Revolution] (pdf) by John E. Sandrock, history with pictures of the banknotes
* {{md|6584|Revolutionary France’s Road to Hyperinflation|Frank Hollenbeck|December 2013}}

[[Category:History of France]]
[[Category:Inflations|French Revolution]]

France

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{{Infobox Country
|Box title = Country summary
|Row 1 title = Capital
|Row 1 info = Paris
|Row 2 title = Borders
|Row 2 info = [[Andorra]] 56.6 km, [[Belgium]] 620 km, [[Germany]] 451 km, [[Italy]] 488 km, [[Luxembourg]] 73 km, [[Monaco]] 4.4 km, [[Spain]] 623 km, [[Switzerland]] 573 km
|Row 3 title = Government type
|Row 3 info = republic
|Row 4 title = Population
|Row 4 info = 64,420,073 (July 2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_FR">CIA - The World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_fr.html "France"], from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 5 title = Population growth
|Row 5 info = 0.549% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIA_FR" />
|Row 6 title = Life expectancy
|Row 6 info = 80.98 years<ref name="CIA_FR" />
|Row 7 title = Unemployment
|Row 7 info = 9.1% (2009 est.)<ref name="CIA_FR" />
|Row 8 title = [[Wikipedia:Index of Economic Freedom|Index of Economic Freedom]]
|Row 8 info = 64<ref name="Heritage_FR">Heritage Foundation. [http://www.heritage.org/Index/Country/France "France"], Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 9 title = [[Wikipedia:Corruption Perceptions Index|Corruption Perceptions Index]]
|Row 9 info = 24<ref name="Transparency_FR">Transparency International. [http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table "France"], Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
|Row 10 title = [[Wikipedia:Doing Business Report|Doing Business ranking]]
|Row 10 info = 31<ref name="Business_FR">Doing Business. [http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/ "France"], Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
}}

Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, '''France''' suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.<ref name="CIA_FR" />

==Economical characteristics==
* '''Currency''': Euro (ISO code: EUR,)
* Central bank '''[[Wikipedia:Discount rate|discount rate]]''': 3% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_FR" />
* Commercial banks '''lending rate''': 8.13% (31 December 2008)<ref name="CIA_FR" />
* is part of the '''[[Eurozone ]]'''

{{See also|John Law inflation in France}}
{{See also|Inflation during the French Revolution}}
{{See also|Panic of 1866}}

===Notable events:===
* [[Banking crisis]]: 1802, 1805-1806, 1827-1828, 1838-1839, 1848-1850, January 1864, 1867-1868, May 1871, February 1882, March 1889, February 1904, 1907, 1930-1932, 1994-1995<ref name="Reinhart_crisis">Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. [http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8973.html "This Time is Different"], ''Princeton University Press'', ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 363-365. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.</ref>
* Years in [[inflation]]: 5.7% (share of years 1800-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
* [[Public default]]: 1812(external)<ref name="Reinhart_histories">Carmen M. Reinhart. [http://www.princeton.edu/economics/seminar-schedule-by-prog/macro-s10/papers/Reinhardt-Chartbook.pdf "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises"] (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 49. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.</ref>

===Statistics===
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:center"
| Statistic / Year
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
|-
! [[GDP]] (million USD)<ref name="WorldBank_GDP_FR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/fr/indicators%5BNY.GDP.MKTP.CD%5D?date=1999:2009 "France: GDP"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 1 457 450
| 1 327 960
| 1 339 760
| 1 457 330
| 1 800 020
| 2 061 320
| 2 146 580
| 2 266 250
| 2 593 130
| 2 856 560
|-
! Govt. debt (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Debt_FR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/fr/indicators%5BGC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "France: government debt"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 60.575
| 60.674
| 59.746
| 63.415
| 68.084
| 70.457
| 72.343
| 68.336
| 66.565
|
|-
! Govt. revenue (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Revenue_FR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/fr/indicators%5BGC.REV.XGRT.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "France: government revenue"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 43.677
| 42.831
| 42.972
| 42.388
| 41.939
| 42.085
| 42.767
| 42.539
| 41.787
|
|-
! Govt. expenses (% of GDP)<ref name="WorldBank_Expenses_FR">World Bank. [http://open.worldbank.org/countries/fr/indicators%5BGC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS%5D?date=1999:2009 "France: government expenses"], from World Bank [http://data.worldbank.org/ Data]. Referenced 2010-09-29.</ref>
| 46.065
| 44.812
| 45.013
| 45.961
| 46.292
| 45.841
| 45.754
| 45.081
| 44.397
|
|-
! Debt to revenue (years)
| 1.387
| 1.417
| 1.390
| 1.496
| 1.623
| 1.674
| 1.692
| 1.606
| 1.593
|
|}

* By 2014, France’s public expenditure are expected to overtake Denmark’s to become the world’s highest: 57 per cent of GDP.
* As of 2013, one out of four French university graduates wanted to emigrate, rising to 80 per cent or 90 per cent in the case of marketable degrees.
* More than a quarter of the French workforce is employed by some public body: schools, hospitals, local and regional councils, the police, the civil service proper or subsidised public-service jobs.<ref name="Moutet_Down">Anne-Elisabeth Moutet. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/10390571/france-hollande-taxes-socialist-farrage.html "Down and out: the French flee a nation in despair"], ''The Telegraph'', 20 October 2013. Referenced 2013-11-18.</ref>

====Welfare state and poverty====
In 2009, 11.2 million French persons received welfare payments, out a total population of 65.3 million. This amounted to $78 billion in payments. Moreover, these 11 million beneficiaries have families (parents, spouses, children); thus, more than 35 million people are actually benefiting directly or indirectly from welfare payments, which is more than 50 percent of the French population. Does this welfareship work?

* The poverty rate in 1990 was 13.8 percent of the French population; in 2009, the percentage was almost unchanged at 13.5 percent.
* The "Active Solidarity Income," symbolizes France’s welfare system: It has replaced a previous payment called the "Minimum Income for Insertion." The latter was implemented in 1989, when 370,000 people benefited. In 2009, this "income" was given to 1,697,357 people.
* A nationwide philanthropic organization called the "Restos du Coeur" (i.e. "Restaurants of the Heart") provides meals during the winter to the very-low-income population. It was created in 1985; during the winter of 1985-86, 8.5 million meals were given. Since then, it has never stopped increasing. During the winter of 2010-11, about 109 million meals were given—a 1,282-percent jump in 25 years.<ref name="Charat_France">Sylvain Charat. [http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/12/07/in-frances-welfare-state-status-quo-are-we-seeing-americas-future/ "In France's Welfare State Status Quo, Are We Seeing America's Future?"], ''Forbes'', 12/07/2012. Referenced 2012-12-17.</ref>

==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
* [[Wikipedia:France|France]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.banque-france.fr Central bank] of France
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/998481.stm country profile]
* [http://mises.org/daily/4572 Peasants, Rise Up! The Croquants of the 17th Century]; [http://mises.org/daily/4315 Jean-Baptiste Colbert]; [http://mises.org/daily/4540 Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Louis XIV]; [http://mises.org/daily/4598 Down with Collectivism: Merchants and Nobles in 17th-Century France]; [http://mises.org/daily/4551 Louis XIV: Apogee of Absolutism]; [http://mises.org/daily/4510 The Grandiose Failure of François du Noyer]; [http://mises.org/daily/4215 The Skeptic as Absolutist: Michel de Montaigne] by Murray N. Rothbard, from [http://mises.org/resources/3985/Economic-Thought-Before-Adam-Smith-An-Austrian-Perspective-on-the-History-of-Economic-Thought-Volume-I An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, vol. 1, Economic Thought Before Adam Smith]
* [http://mises.org/books/desoto.pdf Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles] (pdf), Jesus Huerta de Soto, John Law and Eighteenth-Century Banking in France, p.109-111, on impact of financial crises
* [http://mises.org/daily/4804 How to Bully a Country into Bankruptcy] by Cristian Gherasim, November 2010
* [http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/france-joins-ireland-in-raiding-national-pension-fund/a453669?ref=citywire-money-latest-news-list France joins Ireland in 'raiding national pension fund'] by Max Julius, November, 2010
* [http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/why-france-has-so-many-49-employee-companies Why France Has So Many 49-Employee Companies] by Gregory Viscusi and Mark Deen, May 2012
* [http://www.businessinsider.com/draconian-cash-controls-are-coming-to-france-2013-2 Draconian Cash Controls Are Coming To France] by Wolf Richter, February 2013
* [http://www.brandonsun.com/business/breaking-news/french-auditor-warns-3-per-cent-deficit-target-at-risk--signals-rampant-public-debt-190809011.html?thx=y French auditor warns 3 per cent deficit target at risk, signals rampant public debt] by Lori Hinnant, February 2013
* {{md|6454|France’s Cul-De-Sac|David Howden and Jacques Briam|June 2013}}
* [http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1322798/french-law-sets-fines-firms-close-factories-deemed-viable French law sets fines for firms that close factories deemed viable], ''Reuters'', October 2013
* [http://mises.ca/posts/blog/the-new-france-taxes-for-all-jobs-for-none/ The new France – taxes for all, jobs for none] by David Howden, October 2013
* {{md|6584|Revolutionary France’s Road to Hyperinflation|Frank Hollenbeck|December 2013}}

[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:France]]