Background
Milton Friedman, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was born July 31, 1912.
( Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the...)
Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war" How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophyone in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226264211/?tag=2022091-20
( Economics is sometimes divided into two parts: positive...)
Economics is sometimes divided into two parts: positive economics and normative economics. The former deals with how the economic problem is solved, while the latter deals with how the economic problem should be solved. The effects of price or rent control on the distribution of income are problems of positive economics. The desirability of these effects on income distribution is a problem of normative economics. Within economics, the major division is between monetary theory and price theory. Monetary theory deals with the level of prices in general, with cyclical and other fluctuations in total output, total employment, and the like. Price theory deals with the allocation of resources among different uses, the price of one item relative to another. Prices do three kinds of things. They transmit information, they provide an incentive to users of resources to be guided by this information, and they provide an incentive to owners of resources to follow this information. Milton Friedman's classic book provides the theoretical underpinning for and understanding of prices. Economics is not concerned solely with economic problems. It is a social science, and is therefore concerned primarily with those economic problems whose solutions involve the cooperation and interaction of different individuals. It is concerned with problems involving a single individual only insofar as the individual's behavior has implications for or effects upon other individuals. Price Theory is concerned not with economic problems in the abstract, but with how a particular society solves its economic problems.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747RJBMM/?tag=2022091-20
( The international bestseller on the extent to which per...)
The international bestseller on the extent to which personal freedom has been eroded by government regulations and agencies while personal prosperity has been undermined by government spending and economic controls. New Foreword by the Authors; Index.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156334607/?tag=2022091-20
(2015 Reprint of 1957Edition. Full Facsimile of the origin...)
2015 Reprint of 1957Edition. Full Facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In this book Friedman developed the permanent income hypothesis (PIH). As classical Keynesian consumption theory was unable to explain the constancy of savings rate in the face of rising real incomes in the United States, a number of new theories of consumer behavior emerged. In his book, Friedman posits a theory that encompasses many of the competing hypotheses at the time as special cases and presents statistical evidence in support of his theory. "Friedman described Keynes's theory of a declining propensity to consume as 'very imaginative and thoughtful.' But in "A Theory of the Consumption Function" (1957), he demonstrated that while the hypothesis seemed to make psychological sense, it was empirically false. In relating income to propensity to consume, Keynes had erred in not distinguishing between 'transitory' and 'permanent' income. In fact, consumption does not decline as incomes generally rise. Economists across the political spectrum agreed with Friedman's refutation of Keynes...."--James A. Nuechterlein, Commentary
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1614278121/?tag=2022091-20
( The major social problems of the United Statesdeterior...)
The major social problems of the United Statesdeteriorating education, lawlessness and crime, homelessness, the collapse of family values, the crisis in medical carehave been produced by well-intended actions of government. That is easy to document. The difficult task is understanding why government is the problem. The power of special interests arising from the concentrated benefits of most government actions and their dispersed costs is only part of the answer. A more fundamental part is the difference between the self-interest of individuals when they are engaged in the private sector and the self-interest of the same individuals when they are engaged in the government sector. The result is a government system that is no longer controlled by "we, the people." Instead of Lincoln's government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," we now have a government "of the people, by the bureaucrats, for the bureaucrats," including the elected representatives who have become bureaucrats. At the moment, term limits apear to be the reform that promises to be most effective in curbing Leviathan.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817954422/?tag=2022091-20
( Writing in the June 1965 issue of theEconomic Journal, ...)
Writing in the June 1965 issue of theEconomic Journal, Harry G. Johnson begins with a sentence seemingly calibrated to the scale of the book he set himself to review: "The long-awaited monetary history of the United States by Friedman and Schwartz is in every sense of the term a monumental scholarly achievement--monumental in its sheer bulk, monumental in the definitiveness of its treatment of innumerable issues, large and small . . . monumental, above all, in the theoretical and statistical effort and ingenuity that have been brought to bear on the solution of complex and subtle economic issues." Friedman and Schwartz marshaled massive historical data and sharp analytics to support the claim that monetary policy--steady control of the money supply--matters profoundly in the management of the nation's economy, especially in navigating serious economic fluctuations. In their influential chapter 7, The Great Contraction--which Princeton published in 1965 as a separate paperback--they address the central economic event of the century, the Depression. According to Hugh Rockoff, writing in January 1965: "If Great Depressions could be prevented through timely actions by the monetary authority (or by a monetary rule), as Friedman and Schwartz had contended, then the case for market economies was measurably stronger." Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000 for work related to A Monetary History as well as to his other Princeton University Press book, A Theory of the Consumption Function (1957).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691003548/?tag=2022091-20
Milton Friedman, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was born July 31, 1912.
After earning an undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in 1932 and a Master's degree from the University of Chicago the following year, Friedman became a research economist with the National Bureau of Economic Research in New York and later with the U. S. Treasury Tax Research Division. He earned a doctorate in economics from Columbia University in 1946 and after brief spells at Wisconsin and Minnesota universities returned to the University of Chicago to begin a long and distinguished career of teaching and research. After retiring in 1979 Friedman continued an active schedule of research and publishing at the Hoover Institute of Stanford University.
Friedman's positions consistently put him at odds with the Federal Reserve System (often called the "Fed"), the central bank legislated by Congress in 1913 to create and control the nation's money supply. In his monumental A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 (with Anna J. Schwartz, 1963) Friedman provided a startling analysis of the Great Depression (1929-1933), arguing that the Fed deserved considerable blame for allowing a dramatic fall in the money supply during this period. The traditional Keynesian view is that the Fed played an insignificant role and was powerless to stem the economic slide.
Although Friedman resisted offers to take government jobs himself, his ideas achieved considerable success in altering government policies. This was reflected, for example, in the historic setting of monetary growth targets by the Federal Reserve Board in 1979, a practice which Friedman had long advocated.
As a scholar Friedman was prolific. Among his other well-known books are Essays in Positive Economics (1953), which included famous papers on the methodology of economics; Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money (1956), which revitalized the classic quantity theory of money as a foundation for monetarism; A Theory of the Consumption Function (1957), which provided a novel explanation for consumption decisions based on lifetime rather than current income; and Monetary Trends in the United States and the United Kingdom (co-authored with Anna J. Schwartz, 1982).
Friedman's articles in professional journals consistently challenged orthodox views and presented new ways of understanding economic data and events. In "The Role of Monetary Policy" in American Economic Review (1968) Friedman invented the now famous "long run natural rate of unemployment. " This article provided strong arguments for refuting the simple Phillips Curve hypothesis that less unemployment could be achieved at the cost of higher inflation. The Phillips Curve analysis had been used by policy-makers to justify expansionary fiscal spending. Friedman's analysis, however, showed that attempts to lower the rate of unemployment below the "natural" level would cause only temporary reductions in unemployment and in the long run produce higher inflation along with higher unemployment.
In subsequent writings Friedman elaborated his views on these issues (A Theoretical Framework for Monetary Analysis, 1971, and "Nobel Lecture: Inflation and Unemployment, " in Journal of Political Economy, 1977). Friedman's explanation for "stagflation, " the existence of stagnant demand and high unemployment simultaneous with inflation, proved to be more convincing than orthodox Keynesian theories and provided tremendous impetus for defections from the Keynesian camp.
Milton Friedman will be remembered as one of the most gifted economists of the 20th century. His iconoclasm often made him a controversial figure, yet unfolding events showed him to be ahead of his time, such as in resisting the spread of federal government power and in being a "watchdog" of the monetary authority. He excelled as an orator and debater. His popular writings in Newsweek and elsewhere provided succinct and novel solutions for economic ills which would allow the free market to work, such as the "negative income tax, " an all-volunteer army, and floating exchange rates. While economists continue to debate the relevance of "monetarism" for policy decisions, there is little question that Friedman left the profession with and valuable new insights on economic behavior.
Friedman's achievements were recognized early in his career. In 1951 he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association, and in 1962 he was awarded the Paul Snowden Russell Distinguished Service Chair at the University of Chicago. In 1976 Friedman won his greatest honor, the Nobel Prize in Economics. Throughout his career Friedman earned numerous other awards and honorary doctorates from colleges and universities throughout the world.
( Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the...)
( The major social problems of the United Statesdeterior...)
( The international bestseller on the extent to which per...)
( Economics is sometimes divided into two parts: positive...)
( Writing in the June 1965 issue of theEconomic Journal, ...)
(2015 Reprint of 1957Edition. Full Facsimile of the origin...)
Friedman was an advisor to Republican U. S. President Ronald Reagan and Conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His political philosophy extolled the virtues of a free market economic system with minimal intervention. He once stated that his role in eliminating U. S. conscription was his proudest accomplishment. In his 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman advocated policies such as a volunteer military, freely floating exchange rates, abolition of medical licenses, a negative income tax, and school vouchers. His support for school choice led him to found the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, later renamed EdChoice.
When Friedman would speak on, the woes of the U. S. education system, his free-market and anti-union views were readily apparent. "Why is it that our educational system is turning out youngsters who cannot read, write, or figure? The answer—simple but nonetheless correct—is that our current school system is a monopoly that is being run primarily by the teachers' unions: the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. They are among the strongest trade unions in the country and among the most powerful lobbying groups.
Friedman was equally outspoken on the legalization of drugs. When an interviewer asked what good would come of it, the economist said, "I see America with half the number of prisons, half the number of prisoners, then thousand fewer homicides a year, inner cities in which there's a chance for these poor people to live without being afraid for their lives, citizens who might be respectable who are now addicts not being subject to becoming criminals in order to get their drug, being able to get drugs for which they're sure of the quality. You know, the same thing happened under prohibition of alcohol as is happening now (with drugs). "
Friedman was also a supporter of gay rights. He never specifically supported same-sex marriage, instead saying "I do not believe there should be any discrimination against gays. "
Quotations:
"I am convinced that the minimum-wage law is the most anti-Negro law on our statute books—in its effect, not its intent. "
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output. "
"I have no right to coerce someone else, because I cannot be sure that I'm right and he is wrong. "
"On the level of political principle, the imposition of taxes and the expenditure of tax proceeds are governmental functions. "
"The problem in this world is to avoid concentration of power - we must have a dispersion of power. "
"I want people to take thought about their condition and to recognize that the maintenance of a free society is a very difficult and complicated thing and it requires a self-denying ordinance of the most extreme kind. "
"One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. "
"They think that the cure to big government is to have bigger government. .. the only effective cure is to reduce the scope of government - get government out of the business. "
"There is no place for government to prohibit consumers from buying products the effect of which will be to harm themselves. "
"With some notable exceptions, businessmen favor free enterprise in general but are opposed to it when it comes to themselves. "
In addition to his prolific writing, Friedman found time to be president of the American Economic Association (1967), vice-president of the Western Economic Association (1982-1983), and president of the Mont Pelerin Society (1970-1972). He was on the board of editors of the American Economic Review (1951-1953) and of Econometrica (1957-1969) and a member of the advisory board of the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking (1968 into the mid-1980s).
Milton Friedman married Rose Friedman.
