scholarly journals Preferencia temporal, múltiples tipos de interés y la teoría austriaca del ciclo económico

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-63
Author(s):  
Alejandro J. Zamora

Traditional expositions of the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) rest on the reference to only one – equilibrium – interest rate. This paper, on the one hand, explores the theoretical validity of such a reference and, on the other hand, analyses whether it is essential to the ABCT. To address both issues, we depart from a defense of the recently-disputed Pure Time Preference Theory (PTPT), which purports to explain the cause of the phenomenon of interest and serves as a basis for the ABCT. In the light of our study, in the first place, we reject some of the formulations of the PTPT that lead to erroneous interpretations of this theory and we put forward an enunciation that avoids common confu-sions; secondly, we deny the validity of the reference to only one interest rate as well as its essentiality to the ABCT; finally, we point out the necessity of up-dating the exposition of the ABCT in consonance with the previous conclusions. Key words: Austrian Business Cycle Theory, Business Cycles, Pure Time Prefe-rence Theory, Interest Rates, Term Structure of Interest Rates. JEL Classification: E32, E40, E43, E50, B53. Resumen: Las exposiciones tradicionales de la Teoría Austriaca del Ciclo Eco-nómico (TACE) se apoyan en la referencia a un único tipo de interés de equili-brio. Este artículo, por un lado, explora la cuestión de la validez teórica de dicha referencia y, por otro, estudia si ésta es realmente esencial a la TACE. Para analizar dichas cuestiones, partimos de una defensa de la recientemente cuestionada Teoría de la Preferencia Temporal Pura (TPTP), teoría que preten-de explicar la causa del fenómeno del interés y que sirve de fundamento a la TACE. A la luz de nuestro estudio, en primer lugar, rechazamos ciertas formu-laciones de la TPTP que conducen a interpretaciones erróneas de la misma, proponiendo una enunciación de la teoría que evita confusiones comunes; se-gundo, negamos la validez de la referencia a un tipo de interés único y su carácter esencial a la TACE; por último, notamos la necesidad de actualizar la exposición de la TACE conforme a las conclusiones antedichas. Palabras clave: Teoría Austriaca del Ciclo Económico, Ciclos Económicos, Teo-ría de la Preferencia Temporal Pura, Tipos de Interés, Estructura de Tipos de Interés. Clasificación JEL: E32, E40, E43, E50, B53.

2018 ◽  
pp. 155-186
Author(s):  
Olga Peniaz

This article represents a detailed theoretical analysis, focusing on two heterodox theories: the Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis and the Aus- trian Business Cycle Theory, particularly in the light of the 2008 crisis. It provi- des a theoretical comparative analysis of these theories and a review of the empirical studies of two approaches. Keywords: Economic crisis, interest rate, austrian business cycle theory, finan- cial instability hypothesis. JEL Classification: E32, E44, E52, E58. Resumen: Este artículo ofrece un análisis teórico detallado, centrado en dos teorías heterodoxas: la Hipótesis de la Inestabilidad Financiera de Minsky y la Teoría Austríaca del Ciclo Económico, especialmente en vista de la crisis de 2008. Este trabajo proporciona un análisis comparativo teórico de estas teo- rías y una revisión de los estudios empíricos de ambos enfoques. Palabras clave: Crisis económica, tipo de interés, teoría austriaca del ciclo eco- nómico, hipótesis de inestabilidad financiera. Clasificación JEL: E32, E44, E52, E58.


2021 ◽  
pp. 81-133
Author(s):  
Robyn Harte- Bunting

The Paper is an Overview of Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) phenomena it is intended to explain, economy wide crisis especially concentrated on the banking sector. A short examination of similarities and differences between Mises and Hayek, the main developers of ABCT, is then given. Finally, some policy recommendations are examined in the light of ABCT. Key words: Financial Crisis, Business Cycle, Inflation, Saving. JEL Classification: B53, E42, E44, E61, G01, G21, P10, P20. Resumen: El artículo es una visión general de la Teoría Austriaca del Ciclo Económico (TACE) basada en un primer contacto con la literatura. La TACE se presenta en términos de los fenómenos que intenta explicar: crisis eco-nómicas, concentradas en el sector bancario. Después se expone una breve investigación de las semejanzas y diferencias entre Mises y Hayek, los prin - cipales contribuyentes a la TACE. El trabajo concluye con unas recomenda-ciones de política económica que se analizan a la luz de la TACE. Palabras clave: Crisis Financiera, Ciclo Económico, Inflación, Ahorro. Clasificación JEL: B53, E42, E44, E61, G01, G21, P10, P20.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Brian P. Simpson

Abstract Shawn Ritenour provides a review of my two-volume book titled Money, Banking, and the Business Cycle in the winter 2016 issue of The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. This paper constitutes a response to some of the criticisms of the book in his review. In this response, I discuss topics such as the nature of profits, the sustainability of changes in time preference, the role of changes in prices versus changes in spending in the business cycle, the relationship between interest rates and the rate of profit, the nature of fraud, and the nature of value. I also discuss whether the structure of production can be measured using the average period of production. I address other issues raised by Ritenour as well. This discussion sheds light on Austrian business cycle theory and the nature of the business cycle.


2020 ◽  
pp. 123-171
Author(s):  
William Hongson Wang ◽  
Antonio Vegas García

The importance of China’s economy and the instability of China’s fi-nancial system are in the spotlight recently. This paper uses Austrian Business Cycle Theory to gauge the potential risks of China’s economy. The approach of this paper is a sector analysis, focusing on China’s monetary and financial system, shipping industry, and real estate industry, especially the state-owned enterprises in those sectors. We conclude that China’s central banking system is hurting China’s economy and we also propose reforms to overhaul the system, according to the perspective of praxeology and Austrian School Econom-ics. Keywords: Austrian Business Cycle Theory, China’s banking system, China’s economy. JEL Classification: B53, D8, E310, E32, E52, H12, N15, N27, N45, N65, O53, P11, R3, R4, Y10. Resumen: La importancia de la economía china junto con la reciente inestabili-dad del sistema financiero de China, preocupan al resto del mundo. Este artí-culo usa la Teoría Austriaca del Ciclo Económico para identificar los riesgos potenciales de la economía de China. En este artículo realizaremos un análisis sectorial, enfocado en el sistema monetario y financiero de China, el sector de la construcción, la industria marítima y, en especial, las empresas estatales de dichos sectores. Concluimos que el actual sistema de banca central en China está dañando a su economía y proponemos soluciones desde la perspectiva de la praxeología y la Escuela Austriaca de Economía. Palabras clave: Teoría austriaca del ciclo económico, sistema bancario chino, economía china.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-273
Author(s):  
Robert Mroz ◽  
Lukasz Hardt

AbstractThe paper explores the nature of economic models. It is claimed that accounting for it along the isolationism-constructivism line is untenable. A more integrated approach is needed, based on the pragmatist philosophical tradition, focussing rather on the modelling process than on the narrower notion of the model. This argument is backed by a case study: analysis of the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) as presented by Roger Garrison, which, as is argued, does not fully fit either the isolationist or the constructivist account of models. It is primarily shown by revealing the fact that learning about the world by using ABCT is not of deductive nature. Therefore, even in the presence of such a strong realistic methodology as the one in the Austrian economics, models used by its adherents are not necessarily perfect isolations. At the same time, this realistic methodology is not in line with the constructivist approach in model-building. The paper should be understood as an exercise in philosophy of economics, namely as an attempt at better understanding of various aspects of economics (here it is models and specifically ABCT) by taking the perspective offered by philosophy of science.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-359
Author(s):  
Thomas Hering ◽  
Michael Olbrich ◽  
David Rapp

In her paper “Corporate Risk Evaluation in the Context of Austrian Business Cycle Theory” recently published in this journal, Joanna Kruk aims to investigate how artificially low interest rates resulting from central bank intervention distort individual investment appraisals and ultimately result in both entrepreneurial misjudgment and resource-wasting malinvestment, fueling the business cycle. She identifies entrepreneurs’ net present value calculations, supposedly unadjusted for risk, as a major issue and suggests adjusting those calculations for risk via both the duration method and the Capital Asset Pricing Model to mitigate the distorting effects. Her argumentation is, however, trapped in neoclassical reasoning and is adversely affected by several misconceptions of the net present value criterion. This comment seeks to reveal those fallacies and explain how to address uncertainty when using net present value calculations to make those calculations part of the solution rather than part of the problem of entrepreneurial misjudgment. The findings are derived from German investment theory rooted in the Austrian school of thought, meaning that they differ compared to those of neoclassical finance theory.


2021 ◽  
pp. 91-114
Author(s):  
William Barnet II ◽  
Walter E. Block

This paper makes four points. First, interest rates are not prices; rather they are metrics. Second, there are no markets for «loanable funds» in reality, so attempts to use «the» market for loanable funds either to explain saving-induced growth (or growth induced in other ways) are misleading. Rather, the appropriate concept is markets for financial assets. Third, the primary and most important source of growth is not households’ low or reduced time preferences, but entrepreneurs high or increased profit expectations. Fourth, financial institutions may respond, in part, to a rise in the monetary base by accepting a higher default risk of their assets; i.e., by making riskier loans and buying riskier (financial) assets, in order to maintain nominal interest rates and net interest margins. Key words: Risk, Loanable funds, Financial assets, Austrian business cycle theory. JEL Classification: E32. Resumen: Este artículo desarrolla una versión modificada de la teoría austriaca del ciclo económico en la que el papel protagonista lo juegan las expectativas de beneficio de los empresarios (más que la reducción de la preferencia temporal de los agentes económicos) y la asunción de proyectos empresariales más arriesgado, como principal detonante de las malas inversiones. Palabras clave: Riesgo, Fondos prestables, Activos financieros, Teoría austriaca del ciclo económico. Clasificación JEL: E32.


2021 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
Jörg Guido Hülsmann

This paper offers a critique of the Austrian theory according to which social time preference determines the proportion between aggregate consumption and aggregate saving, and therefore also the volume of total investment expenditure. We argue that there is no such necessary relationship between the (pure) interest rate and the volume of aggregate investment. Then we discuss the implications of our thesis for growth theory and business-cycle theory, stressing in particular the need to distinguish between two types of growth and two corresponding types of inter-temporal misallocation. Key words: Time Preference, Time Market, Investment Expenditure, Growth Types, Inter-Temporal Mis-allocation, Austrian Business-Cycle Theory, Austrian Macroeconomics. JEL classification: B53, D01, D40, D92, E22, E32, E43. The purpose of this paper is to offer a critique of the theory according to which social time preference determines the proportion between aggregate consumption and aggregate saving, and therefore also the volume of total investment expenditure. This theory is held by virtually all Austrian economists past and present. We will first present it based on Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State, where it is stated in the clearest and most detailed form. Then we will examine its shortcomings and discuss some implications of our findings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-427
Author(s):  
Henrique Maia ◽  
Dale Steinreich ◽  
Bruno Saboia de Albuquerque

This paper analyzes Brazil’s 2004–16 business cycle, which subsumes what is now regarded as the nation’s most severe macroeconomic recession in more than a century. During the steep recession, which stretched over more than two years, national production at one point fell 3.8 percent per annum while the unemployment rate rose from 4.6 to as high as 11.9 percent. This study, after delineating its methodology, examines the behavior of different Brazilian macroeconomic aggregates during the cycle. These aggregates include GDP, the money supply, interest rates, savings, industrial production of higher- and lower-order goods, and inflation. Also examined are the Brazilian government’s interventions that rearranged Brazil’s structure of production and ignited an unsustainable boom, the role of price controls in prolonging economic recovery, and the recovery per se using the theoretical lens of the Austrian-adjustment process. Finally, empirical data from the recent Brazilian cycle will be analyzed in light of the predictions of Austrian business cycle theory (ABCT). The data were found overall to support the theory.


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