| Disputed term/author/ism | Author |
Entry |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher, Irving | Rothbard | Rothbard III 842 Irving Fisher/Rothbard: There are (…) valid criticisms that could be made of Fisher: his use of index numbers, which even at best could only measure a change in a variable, but never define its actual position; - his use of an index of T defined in terms of P and of P defined in terms of T; - his denial that money is a commodity; - the use of mathematical equations in a field where there can be no constants and therefore no quantitative predictions. In particular, even if the equation of exchange were valid in all other respects, it could at best only describe statistically the conditions of an average period. Equation of exchange: MV = PT. M - Money supply V - Velocity of circulation P – Price level T (or Q) - Expenditures Cf. >Price level/Fisher, >Equation of exchange/Fisher, >Velocity of circulation/Fisher. VsEquation of Exchange/Rothbard: It could never describe the path from one static condition to another. Even Fisher admitted this by conceding that a change in M would always affect V, so that the influence of M on P could not be isolated. He contended that after this "transition" period, V would revert to a constant and the effect on P would be proportional. Yet there is no reasoning to support this assertion. At any rate, enough has been shown to warrant expunging the equation of exchange from the economic literature. >Neo-Fisher-Effect, >Quantity theory. |
Rothbard II Murray N. Rothbard Classical Economics. An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Cheltenham 1995 Rothbard III Murray N. Rothbard Man, Economy and State with Power and Market. Study Edition Auburn, Alabama 1962, 1970, 2009 Rothbard IV Murray N. Rothbard The Essential von Mises Auburn, Alabama 1988 Rothbard V Murray N. Rothbard Power and Market: Government and the Economy Kansas City 1977 |