Thursday, November 5, 2009

Roger Garrison on Austrian Business Cycle Theory

Relative to my post, The Vision of Tom Palmer, a friend sends along this commentary by Roger Garrison on ABCT:
The Austrian theory has it that artificially low interest rates distort the temporal pattern of investment. With new money masquerading as increased saving, resources are misallocated into interest-sensitive activities, which, broadly speaking, means investments in the early stages of long-term projects and in durable capital, including, of course, the housing stock. The temporal discoordination, which initially is accompanied by increased employment and increased spending, eventually necessitates a recoordination. In short, artificially cheap credit gives rise to an unsustainable boom.--From The Austrian Theory: One More Time A Rejoinder to Brad DeLong

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