Throughout most of modern history, economic sanctions have preceded or accompanied war, often in the form of a naval blockade intended to weaken the enemy. Only when the horrors of World War I prompted President Woodrow Wilson to call for an alternative to armed conflict were economic sanctions seriously considered. (Wilson claimed that, by themselves, […]| Econlib
What are the different kinds of auctions, and how are they used? What role do auctions play in helping understand people's economic behavior?| Econlib
Paul Volcker, while chairman of the Board of Governors of the federal reserve system (1979–1987), was often called the second most powerful person in the United States. Volcker and company triggered the “double-dip” recessions of 1980 and 1981–1982, vanquishing the double-digit inflation of 1979–1980 and bringing the unemployment rate into double digits for the first […]| Econlib
Until the so-called Keynesian revolution of the late 1930s and 1940s, the two main parts of economic theory were typically labeled “monetary theory” and “price theory.” Today, the corresponding dichotomy is between “macroeconomics” and “microeconomics.” The motivating force for the change came from the macro side, with modern macroeconomics being far more explicit than old-fashioned […]| Econlib