Bob discusses common talking points that pro-free-trade economists often use when making the case against tariffs. The purpose is to facilitate discussion so both sides have a deeper understanding of the subtle issues involved.

Bob's Article on Trade Deficits: https://Mises.org/HAP475a
Steve Landsburg on Obama's State of the Union Remarks about Exports: https://Mises.org/HAP475b

Clarifying Economists' Arguments About International Trade

In 1997, Bryan Caplan wrote an essay explaining why he was no longer a self-described Austrian. Recently, a reader asked him to comment on that essay. Bob reacts to Bryan's current views, arguing that the history of economic thought is indeed important, and the Misesian approach to praxeology is crucial.

Bryan Caplan's Recent Article: https://Mises.org/HAP476a
Bryan Caplan's "Why I Am Not an Austrian Economist": https://Mises.org/HAP476b
Hoppe's Economic Science and the Austrian Method: https://Mises.org/HAP476c
Bob's Cambridge University Press Article on Böhm-Bawerk's Critiques: https://Mises.org/HAP476d
A Modern Guide to Austrian Economics: https://Mises.org/HAP476e
Bob and David Freidman, "The Chicago Vs. Austrian School Debate": https://Mises.org/HAP476f

Responding to Bryan Caplan's Continued Critique of the Austrians

David Glasner is a UCLA-trained economist specializing in monetary theory and the history of economic thought. He has disagreed in print with Murphy’s take on the famous Sraffa-Hayek debate. David first explains his general views and then comments on the debate.

Bob’s Paper, “A Problem With the Pure Time Preference Theory of Interest”: https://Mises.org/HAP477a
David’s Paper “The Sraffa-Hayek Debate on the Natural Rate of Interest”: https://Mises.org/HAP477b

David Glasner on the Sraffa-Hayek Debate

Keith Smith, MD is an anesthesiologist and founder of the cash-price Surgery Center of Oklahoma. In the wake of the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, Keith explains why US health care is so expensive and how to fix it.

The Surgery Center of Oklahoma https://Mises.org/HAP479a
The Story of the $100 Hospital Aspirin: https://Mises.org/HAP479b
Primal Prescription: Surviving the 'Sick Care' Sinkhole: https://Mises.org/HAP479c

The Human Action Podcast

Dr. Keith Smith: What Critics Miss About For-Profit Healthcare

Matt McCaffrey is a former Mises Institute research fellow with an expertise in the American economist (and Austrian fellow-traveler) Frank Fetter. He joins Bob to discuss his newly published journal article exploring the dispute Fetter had with the august British economist Alfred Marshall over the theory of rent.

Dr. McCaffrey's Journal Article: https://Mises.org/HAP480a
Frank Fetter's Capital, Interest, and Rent: https://Mises.org/HAP480b
Matt McCaffrey, “Frank Fetter and the Austrian Tradition in the United States”: https://Mises.org/HAP480c

Matt McCaffrey on Frank Fetter vs. Alfred Marshall on the Theory of Rent

Bob walks through diagrams from Hayek's famous LSE lectures to explain the Austrian view of the boom-bust cycle.

The Diagrams Referenced in this Episode: https://Mises.org/HAP481a
Hayek's Prices and Production: https://Mises.org/HAP481b
Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State: https://Mises.org/HAP481c
Bob's Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State: https://Mises.org/HAP481d
Roger Garrison's PowerPoint on the Hayekian Triangle: https://Mises.org/HAP481e

Why Government Relief Spending Only Makes the Recession Worse

Lawrence McQuillan from the Independent Institute joins Bob to delve into the regulatory failures and mismanagement behind the wildfire crisis in California. They discuss the environmental policies that exacerbate risks, offer practical solutions to firefighting and prevention shortcomings, and examine the role of private stewardship in mitigating future disasters. This episode overall sheds light on how California’s political landscape and approach to wildfires continues to fuel a recurring tragedy.

Lawrence's 2017 Article Detailing the CA's Fire Prevention Problem: https://Mises.org/HAP483a
Lawrence’s 2019 Golden Fleece Report Submission on Mismanagement in CA: https://Mises.org/HAP483b
Lawrence’s 2020 Interview on the Reasons Ca’s Fires Keep Happening: https://Mises.org/HAP483c
Lawrence’s 2024 Article on Lessons From the Lahaina Wildfires:: https://Mises.org/HAP483d

Lawrence McQuillan Explains The Policy Inferno Behind the California Wildfires

Murphy recently squared off against Nathan Tankus in a ZeroHedge debate focusing on Austrian economics vs. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Jonathan Newman watched the debate, and selected three clips highlighting key areas of dispute. Jonathan and Bob elaborate on the issues and anticipate possible MMT replies.

Bob's ZeroHedge Debate with Nathan Tankus: https://Mises.org/HAP484a
Bob and Jonathan's Tag-Team Mises University Lecture on MMT: https://Mises.org/HAP484b
Bob's Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics Paper on The Deficit Myth: https://Mises.org/HAP483c
William Hutt's The Theory of Idle Resources: https://Mises.org/HAP484d

Murphy and Newman Do a Postgame Analysis of ZeroHedge MMT Debate

Erick Brimen is the CEO of Honduras Próspera, which is described as a "start up city" that offers choice in regulatory treatment. It is an exciting application of libertarian theory to the messy real world of existing States.

Find Out More about Honduras Próspera: https://Mises.org/HAP486a

Erick Brimen Explains the Free City of Próspera

Bob first reviews the standard libertarian case for legalizing drugs as the way to neutralize the Mexican drug cartels. Then he plays a recent clip where Dave Smith argues that drug prohibition leads to violence because (among other factors) you can't call the cops if someone steals your product. Bob argues that libertarians should stop making this (invalid) argument.

Bob's Lessons for the Young Economist: https://Mises.org/HAP490a
Part of the Problem Episode 1233: https://Mises.org/HAP490b

Perfecting the Libertarian Argument for Dealing with the Drug Cartels

The Mises Institute, founded in 1982, is an educational institution devoted to advancing Austrian economics, freedom, and peace in the classical-liberal tradition. Our website offers many thousands of free books and thousands of hours of audio and video, along with the full run of rare journals, biographies, and bibliographies of great economists.

New tracks tagged #Bob Murphy