Ressions and so-called “debt deflation

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Recessions and so-called “debt deflation”

October 11th, 2010

http://www.24hgold.com/english/contribu ... nk+Shostak





Following the view of Irving Fisher some economists argue that deflation and the following depression is the result of over indebtedness. Fisher regarded over-indebtedness as a situation where the debt is out of line i.e. too big relatively to other economic factors. He held that :


If a debtor has not borrowed enough, he can, under normal conditions, easily correct the error by borrowing more. But, if he has gone too far into debt, especially if he has misjudged as to maturity dates-freedom of adjustment may no longer be possible. He may find himself caught as in a trap. (Irving Fisher, Booms and Depressions, p. 11)


Fisher maintained that all kinds of shocks can set in motion the liquidation of debt, which in turn triggers a fall in the money stock and in prices of goods. These events in turn lead to a depression. According to Fisher over-indebtedness gives rise to the following nine stages that are instrumental in causing deflation and depression.


1. Debt liquidation in response to a random shock such as the bursting of a bubble in stock prices. To liquidate debt people are forced into a distressed selling of assets.


2. The liquidation of debts leads to the shrinking of money and to a slow down in the velocity of circulation.


3. This causes declines in the price level


4. The fall in the asset value while the value of liabilities remains constant leads to a fall in businesses net worth, precipitating bankruptcies.


5. Profits are curtailed and losses emerge.


6. Production, trade and employment are curtailed.


7. These losses, bankruptcies and unemployment lead to pessimism and loss of confidence.


8. Which in turn leads to hoarding and a further slowing in the money velocity.


9. A fall in nominal interest rates and a rise in real interest rates.


Fisher’s explanation of what causes depression is based on very little theory and largely only describes historical events. However, data by itself doesn’t talk. It cannot be regarded as a fact until it is identified by means of a theoretical framework. According to the Mises and Rothbard framework, in order to identify various observed events they must be reduced to the primary facts of reality. This amounts to the establishment of a link between the observed data and a non-refutable axiom that human beings exist and act. Following this procedure, by means of a deductive process, both Mises and Rothbard have established that boom-bust cycles and hence inflation and deflation are not an inherent part of a free capitalistic economy, but rather the result of inflationary policies of the central bank (Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, p. 422. ).


Since Fisher never bothered to identify the true causes of over-indebtedness it is not surprising that he advocated loose monetary policies to arrest depression. Had he investigated further, he would have discovered, as Mises and Rothbard did, that general over-indebtedness cannot occur in a free market economy. For general over-indebtedness means that most borrowers have misjudged the state of economic conditions. This, according to Mises and Rothbard can only take place as a result of loose monetary policies of the central bank, which causes businessmen collectively to commit errors in their business decisions. (Ibid. p. 422.)


This in turn implies that over-indebtedness is not the primary cause of instability that leads to an economic slump. According to Fisher the size of the debt determines the severity of a depression. Thus he observed that the deflation following the stock market crash of October 1929 had a greater effect on real spending than the deflation of 1921 had because nominal debt was much greater in 1929. We however, maintain that it is not the size of the debt that determines the severity of a recession, but rather the aggressiveness of the loose monetary policies of the central bank.


It is loose monetary policies of the central bank that cause the misallocation of resources and the depletion of the pool of funding and in turn can be manifested in over-indebtedness. So to put the blame on the size of the debt as the key factor in causing depression is no different to blaming the thermometer for causing the high temperature






Article originally published on http://www.brookesnews.com


Brookesnews Editor note : Some people have been given the idea that according to the Austrians deflation also creates malinvestments. Not true. Malinvestments are caused by the expansion of bank credit that lowers the interest rate below its market rate. To put it very simply: forcing the interest rate below the market rate misdirects investment which in turn is funded by the newly-created credit. It is impossible for deflation to create this effect. Anyone who gives an opinion on the Austrian theory of the business cycle while omitting the crucial role that the interest rate plays simply does not know what he is talking about.











Frank Shostak





Frank Shostak is a former professor of economics and M. F. Global's chief economist