Come Study Economics at Grove City College

 Here is a short video that encapsulates much of why I love teaching economics at Grove City College:

 

The Division of Labor and Social Order

 I once again lectured at Mises University two weeks ago. My first lecture, "The Division of Labor and Social Order," is one I have done several times and contributes to my latest book The Economics of Prosperity. The main thesis of my lecture is that the market division of labor, far from being a source of social conflict, significantly contributes to the formation of society by contributing to economic prosperity via increases in productivity and by encouraging each participant to serve as well as be served by others.  You can watch the lecture here:

 

Producers, Not Consumers, Are the Engine of Economic Growth

"Producers, not consumers, are the engine of economic growth. Obviously, a producer must produce goods and services in line with what other producers require." So says Frank Shostak, and he is right! My new book, The Economics of Prosperity is an effort to explain the implications of this.

 As I put it: 

At the risk of sounding simplistic, an economic fact established since the beginning of economic thought is that wealth results from production. . . If wealth is a result of production, economic progress requires increases in productivity. Economic theory identifies four sources of economic progress: the division of labor, capital accumulation, technical improvement, and wise entrepreneurship. 

If we desire economic prosperity, we need institutions and a culture that fosters these things, not policies that incite consumption.

The Economics of Prosperity

 

I am happy to announce that my book, The Economics of Prosperity: Rethinking Economic Growth and Development is being published later this month by Edward Elgar Publishing. You can access the publisher's webpage for the book by clicking here.

 

If you prefer a pdf of a flyer for the book, you can click here.

More Tricks, Fewer Treats

 That is what Almost Daily Grant's is predicting for Halloween this year. Candy prices are up by 13% compared to last year, the largest annual increase on record. Because of general inflation, households are expected to decrease their total spending on candy. As explained in its commentary:

Talk about a sugar high.  Citing data from the Labor Department, The Wall Street Journal relays that candy prices are up 13% from a year ago, the largest one-year increase on record, owing to galloping labor costs along with flour and sugar prices.

 

Consumers are responding to those surging costs with a modest downshift, as the National Retail Federation reckons that households will average $100 in Halloween-related spending this year. That’s down from last year’s $103 outlay. 

 

More tricks, fewer treats: it’s a type of hedonic adjustment.

Spending slightly less on candy when its price is higher, means fewer units are purchased, so the kiddies will have less to enjoy.

Ritenour at the Center for Political and Economic Thought

Last month I was blessed to lecture at the Center for Political and Economic Thought at Saint Vincent College. The very good people at the Center were kind and encouraging and the students were engaging. My thanks to Mary Beth McConahey and Zachary Davis for the invitation and hospitality. I had a great time.

My lecture entitled "Do God and Economic Science Mix?" explained the biblical foundations of economics, discussed the economics of prosperity, and shed some light on the Christian ethic of property and its implications for economic policy. You can watch the lecture here:

Hans Sennholz

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Hans Sennholz. He was one of four students in the US to receive their PhD directed by Ludwig von Mises. In a large way, he is responsible for my being at Grove City College. He was hired by J. Howard Pew to be the Chairman of the Department of Economics at GCC in 1956 and he remained here until 1992. He established the tradition of Austrian economics at Grove City, which is why we continue to specialize in the humane way to do economics even in this day in which we live.

I was blessed to hear a few lectures by Sennholz given after he retired. Here is one recorded while he was in his prime. Notice he is doing the whole thing without notes: