Fair trade gains popularity, while free trade is undergoing more and more criticism. Since international free trade supposedly pollutes the environment, promotes the utilization of sweatshops, exploits child labor, and impoverishes developing countries, fair trade is a preferable alternative...

According to libertarian homesteading theory, in order to convert unowned virgin territory into ownership status, one must mix one’s labor with it, thus transforming it through his efforts into land that can be better used by humanity than what was initially there. But, what about acreage...

Coase (1974) claimed that private lighthouses were operational in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Barnett and Block (2007) took the position that Coase’s (1974) understanding of the difference between private and public enterprises was confused,and that as a result his thesis was false....

Young (2005) attempted to test Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT). Murphy, Barnett and Block (hence, MBB, 2009) criticized Young (2005) on the ground that his model failed on its own terms. MBB (2009) found significantly different parameter estimates using the same data as did Young (2005)....

Purpose: For most commentators, creating jobs is a good thing. The more jobs the better, the fewer the worse. Public policies are commonly evaluated on this basis. The purpose of the present paper is to argue the exact reverse: employment is bad, albeit it a necessary evil. Forced unemployment...

The academic market for Ph.D. economists in academia works like any other semi heavily regulated market with a large element of government ownership and with large time lags in supply: there are shortages and surpluses, but these tend to be self correcting, with enough time allowed for...