New Scholarship in the QJAE and the JLS

New scholarly work is appearing regularly in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and the Journal of Libertarian Studies. The QJAE is one of the top international outlets for scholarly research within the Austrian School of economics, publishing high-quality papers on a range of topics within the Austrian School. The JLS, founded by Murray Rothbard, is an interdisciplinary journal advancing the libertarian intellectual tradition. 

Recently published in the QJAE:

There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Sticky PriceJonathan Newman

There ain’t no such thing as a sticky price (TANSTAASP). Sticky price mechanisms—such as fixed contracts, menu costs, and the reluctance to lower one’s price—have long been thought to prevent markets from clearing. Responding to proponents of monetary disequilibrium theory (MDT), Jonathan Newman discusses the implications.

A proper understanding of the plain state of rest reveals that MDT proponents misdiagnose monetary disequilibrium, which implies that their policy prescriptions involving a money supply that accommodates changes in money demand (either through central bank monetary policy or fiduciary media) are not equilibrating but are instead unwarranted and distortionary.

Essentialist Views on Banking ContractsPhilipp Bagus and David Howden

There are two schools of thought on the legality and the ethical nature of fractional reserve banking contracts. The “essentialist” school views this kind of contract as inherently contradictory. The “nominalist” school views this contract as a financial innovation that has passed the market test in modern times. Philipp Bagus and David Howden argue that the “essentialist” view of banking contracts is necessary and improves the ethical standing of banks by clarifying deposit ownership and mitigating risks of bank runs.

This viewpoint allows the resolution of the legal and economic difficulties while improving the ethical standing of banks: it clarifies ownership rights in deposits, and mitigates the risk of bank runs by requiring full reserves.

Book Review: Libertarian Literary and Media Criticism: Essays in Memory of Paul A. CantorAllen Mendenhall

How do creativity and exchange shape one another? Allen Mendenhall reviews Jo Ann Cavallo’s collection on literary and media criticism, containing essays by the late libertarian scholars Paul Cantor and Stephen Cox.

Cavallo has gathered . . . genuine intellectual adventure—the kind that enlarges rather than simplistically confirms our understanding. In an age of ideological calcification, such work is at once dangerous, necessary, and irreplaceable.

And recently published in the Journal of Libertarian Studies: 

Who Owns Public Property? Libertarian Property Theory and the Problem of ImmigrationChristos Armoutidis

Is “public property” government owned, or is it privately owned property under state control? What policy will result in less aggression? This timely article argues that, “given the existence of the state, a consistent application of libertarian property theory renders the open-borders position untenable. It further contends that certain immigration restrictions represent a ‘second-best’ solution to the problem of managing public property.”

The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and the Journal of Libertarian Studies, are peer-reviewed open-access journals publishing research in Austrian economics and libertarian theory, respectively. The QJAE is edited by Joseph Salerno, and the JLS is edited by David Gordon. Authors wishing to submit their work to the QJAE should go here, and authors wishing to submit manuscripts to the JLS should go here.