Growth and growth policy

EU Taxonomy: The Road to a Green Planned Economy

With its so-called taxonomy, the European Union is planning an economic structure that will be characterized by bureaucracy and malinvestment. The drastic consequences for productivity and prosperity will only gradually become apparent.

The ECB Faces a Predicament, the Euro an Impasse

With the now obvious failure of the ECB’s inflationary low interest rate policy, things are now also bad for the euro. The “whatever it takes” approach to saving the euro has reached a point where a reconsideration is necessary.

Do We Need a ‘Great Reset’, or More Capitalism?

For many, capitalism needs to be reinvented. And yet it proved to be robust, innovative and enormously successful, especially during the pandemic. Thus, the idea of a “Great Reset” merely serves familiar anti-capitalist prejudices.

Inflation Is Always and Everywhere a Monetary Phenomenon, Even in Pandemic and War

Damaged supply chains and war are boosting prices, but they are not the only real cause of rising inflation. The problem is the central banks’ expansionary monetary policy.

Low Interest Rate Policy Cripples the Economy and Reduces Prosperity

Japan’s low interest rate policy began 30 years ago, about 15 years earlier than in the EU. But three decades of low interest rate policy meant three lost decades for Japan. In an interview with Stefan Beig, economist Gunther Schnabl explains why the low interest rate policy is so damaging to prosperity.

How Climate Fears Can Rake in Billions

The decision of the German Constitutional Court on climate policy is presumptuous and far removed from reality. But conservatives and liberals alike are applauding it, because the fear of global catastrophe opens up an inexhaustible source of money.

No More Growth—And Happiness Is Just Around The Corner

Critics of growth call for zero growth or even “degrowth”. Their fears are based on economic misconceptions and a failure to recognize the capitalist dynamic of decoupling growth from resource consumption. Moreover, they fail to recognize the needs of poor countries.

For Eurozone Countries, the Problem Is Not So Much the Coronavirus, but Italy

The Italian people are hardworking, noble, and clever but held back by their own decadent institutions. With no end in sight, this mess hurts the entire European monetary union. It would be better for Italy and the other eurozone nations if Italy had an orderly departure from the euro.

The Entrepreneur’s Responsibility Is to Succeed as an Entrepreneur

From a “man of the church” one usually expects (besides friendly praise for the work of the entrepreneur) the admonition that entrepreneurs should not merely strive for profit, but always

Inequality is Shrinking: Branko Milanović Disagrees with Oxfam

Every year the Oxfam report makes sensational headlines. The tenor: global inequality is increasing. 26 billionaires would own as much as the 3.8 billion poorest people in the world. Leading inequality specialist Branko Milanović unmasks Oxfam’s alarmism as misleading.

On the Abuse of Monetary Policy

The euro has been a political project since its inception. That is why the independence of the European Central Bank was also in danger from the outset. In the end, it always came down to the alternative “Cambridge or Vienna” or, rather, “Keynes or Hayek.” The option for Keynes led to an increasing politicization of monetary policy in the European Monetary Union.