Prices and Production (Large Print Edition): And Other Works on Money, the Business cycle, and the Gold Standard

How about a theory that says artificially low interest rates create a cycle of boom and bust? How about a theory which seems to match about 110% to what's happened the past ten years? That's what you get here.Hayek believes that capitalism creates natural cycles, over production of goods from excessive investment created by artificially low interest rates, which is what many people believe happened to us: too low interest rates from the Fed, over investment in housing, collapse to get us back to equilibrium prices.It's fascinating to read a book that's 80 plus years old, where the author keeps talking about disequilibrium and market failure on a grand scale -- persistent problems with the wrong prices existing in markets.This is a book that every economist should read.

I would recommend this book to audiences who love economics and are well read in different economic schools of thought. This is a difficult read for those new to economics as Hayek is a thorough economist in understanding prices, production, business cycles, gold standard, etc. It's nice reading other schools of thought outside of the standard "Keynesian Models" taught in most economics departments. Whether you agree with Hayek's theories or not, it is a worthwhile read in understanding the differences in economics during the 20th century.

Must read if you are into economics

good book

Prices and Production is a book of great significance. The historic significance of this book stems mainly from the fact that it established Austrian Business cycle theory as the leading explanation of the Great Depression prior to the publication of Keynes' General Theory. Prices and Production is the written form of lectures that Hayek delivered in early 1931. When Hayek returned to Vienna he ran into Oscar Morgenstern in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. They joked about how "We are going to enter the office, you are going to look through your mail, and you will find a letter inviting you to be a professor at the London School of Economics". They entered the office and found a letter offering Hayek the position of Tooke Professor of Economic Science and Statistics at the LSE.Hayek then published his Monetary Theory of the Trade Cycle in 1933, which is also reproduced in this book. Several years later professional opinion shifted in favor of JM Keynes. The shift from Hayek to Keynes is an interesting episode in the history of economic thought. Both Keynes and Hayek recognized that the business cycle originates in capital markets. Hayek blamed governmental intervention in capital markets. Keynes blamed investors in capital markets. Keynes also noted that Hayek influenced him by showing the significance of money in capitalism: "I am in full agreement, also, with Dr. Hayek's rebuttal of John Stuart Mill's well-known dictum that 'there cannot, in short, be intrinsically a more insignificant thing, in the economy of society, than money (JM Keynes 1931). Keynes won over professional opinion, at least for the mid twentieth century, but Hayek's influence was still great. Decades later the Nobel Prize Committee recognized the importance of Hayek work on business cycles by awarding him the Nobel Prize in Economics for Prices and Production.The theoretical significance of this book is in how it developed the idea of Knut Wicksell and Ludwig von Mises on money and capital further. According to this theory artificially low interest rates move investment in the direction of longer term projects. These projects are well out of sync with actual consumer demands through time, so these projects latter prove to be uneconomic and unfeasible. Critics of Hayek often characterize his theory as an over-investment theory. In reality Hayek explains the business cycle in terms of mal-investment rather than over investment.Some scholars continue to develop and promote the Mises-Hayek theory of business cycles. Of course, most economists now think in terms of New Keynesian/Monetarist explanations of the business cycle. But the validity of ideas is not determined by popularity among professionals. The case for Austrian Business Cycle Theory is ignored rather than disproven, so the reprinting of Prices and Production constitutes a good opportunity. Economists should reconsider Hayek's work on cycles, especially during this time of economic crisis. While it seems unlikely that most economists will take this opportunity anytime soon, the reprinting of Hayek's work will keep his ideas available for some time.

Everywhere I try to find this book it costs around 150 dollars. I remember for christmas trying to get this book, it was for around 35 bucks. Next thing you know, there were no more copies left unless you felt like blowing 150, (I'm a broke college student). All of Hayek's books are really expensive for me and I log on today and find gold. Can't wait to read this, bought the last in stock. Honestly already know I'll be impressed and educated with another Hayek classic. Surprises me that the Ludwig Von Mises Society has not been running a lot more of these books off the printers. Get it while you can people.