Inflation, Deflation, and Money

I made this video in response to the claim, advanced at the time by Rick Santorum but a common error committed by a great many people on both left and right, that price inflation is necessary for economic growth.

Here’s the Santorum video I was referring to:

On inflation, and money in general, there is no getting around Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money? and The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar, which can also be listened to.

On deflation, I recommend the following sources:

Articles and Monograph:
Deflation and Depression: Where’s the Link?” by Joseph T. Salerno
Apoplithorismosphobia” (.pdf) by Mark Thornton. (Thornton coined the term to refer to the fear of deflation.)
An Austrian Taxonomy of Deflation – With Applications to the U.S. by Joseph T. Salerno
“Optimal Monetary Policy” by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Deflation and Liberty by Jörg Guido Hülsmann; audiobook

Audio (mp3):
On Deflation” by Joseph T. Salerno
The Economics of Deflation” by Jörg Guido Hülsmann
The Gold Standard in Theory and Myth” by Joseph T. Salerno

I cover both inflation and deflation in my books Meltdown and Rollback.

On booms and busts before the Fed, see this video:

For more on these subjects, check out our Learn Austrian Economics resource.


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