October 2, 2007
Bryan Caplan
Harold James:
Nor, following the fastest five-year period of economic growth in human history, are collapsing prices endangering the financial system, as they did during the Great Depression. (emphasis mine)
I just lived through the fatest-growing five years in economic history, and didn't even know it. For
all my criticism of pessimistic bias, I still struggle against it. Mea culpa! Or as they say in America, "My bad!"
P.S. I wanted to give James a Julian Simon Prize, but it turns out there already is one.
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CATEGORIES: Behavioral Economics and Rationality (268)
Um.....really????? Well, I suppose it's no surprise that there are stupid Americans out there. After all, recent statistics show that a good number can't even find AMERICA on a globe! In any case, I see no evidence that this is the fastest economic growth in history. Perhaps if you calculate the "growth" in terms of number of dollar bills in use in the US. After all, the amount of printing going on in the Federal Reserve has got to be breaking those machines by now.
It isn't the fastest growing 5-year period for the U.S., but rather for the world as a whole.
This is why the price of gas is so high: growth is great so people are willing to pay the price.
N.B. For the curious, growth over the current 5 year period is a tad below the post-World War II average.
To be neutral, an observer might caution that the fastest five year growth cycle in history would likely precede the slowest five year period.
Unless you buy the Singularity concept. In which case it would likely precede an even faster five year period again.
If I read the passage correctly, the author seems to be arguing that, while not true in periods before or after, he believes that government (bank) regulation, assistance and trade barriers during the great depression was helpful toward recovery. Do you agree?
