The Collected Works of Ludwig von Mises

MisesLibrary.jpgIt always struck me as strange that such a great and important thinker as Ludwig von Mises, whose last posthumous work was published in 2012, did not have a dedicated and comprehensive anthology. Since I personally have a significant interest in “what Mises said” on this or that topic, it also frustrated me that there was no simple online resource available where I could do this—despite so much of Mises’s works being available online.

Thus, I’ve used my time during the COVID-19 lockdown to create this compendium: over 8600 pages, 36 separate volumes, 200 megabytes.

Find it under the Free eBooks section of this website, or simply click here. This version was last updated May 12th, 2020. 

The list of titles of the collected works include:

Title

CTRL+F

Pages of the PDF

A Critique of Interventionism

KZ01

4-143

Bureaucracy                                                                                

KZ02

144-272

Economic Freedom and Intervention                                                     

KZ03

273-585

Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow                                  

KZ04

586-682

Human Action (Scholar’s Edition)

KZ05

683-1635

Interventionism: An Economic Analysis                                               

KZ06

1636-1764

Liberalism                                                                                  

KZ07

1765-1973

Liberty and Property                                                                    

KZ08

1974-2028

Marxism Unmasked                                                                       

KZ09

2029-2154

Memoirs                                                                                     

KZ10

2155-2303

Money, Method, and the Market Process                                            

KZ11

2304-2658

Nation, State, and Economy                                                             

KZ12

2659-2883

Notes and Recollections, with the Historical Setting of the Austrian School         

KZ13

2884-3068

Omnipotent Government                                                                 

KZ14

3069-3421

Planned Chaos                                                                            

KZ15

3422-3465

Planning for Freedom (and other essays)

KZ16

3466-3658

Profit and Loss                                                                             

KZ17

3659-3718

Selected Works Vol I                                                                     

KZ18

3719-4151

Selected Works Vol II                                                                    

KZ19

4152-4608

Selected Works Vol III                                                                   

KZ20

4609-4929

Socialism: An Economic Analysis                                                           

KZ21

4930-5524

The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality                                                          

KZ22

5525-5613

The Clash of Group Interest and Other Essays                                       

KZ23

5614-5650

The Free Market and Its Enemies                                                       

KZ24

5651-5769

The Theory of Money and Credit                                                       

KZ25

5770-6306

The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science                                         

KZ26

6307-6451

On the Manipulation of Money and Credit                                                                       

KZ27

6452-6676

The “Austrian” Theory of the Trade Cycle                                                                          

KZ28

6677-6689

Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth                                                     

KZ29

6690-6780

Money and Inflation                                                                                

KZ30

6781-6874

Epistemological Problems of Economics

KZ31

6875-7123

Entries for the Encyclopedia Britannica

KZ32

7124-7134

Theory and History

KZ33

7135-7529

Human Action (Liberty Fund Edition, volumes 1-3)

KZ34

7530-8442

A Critique of Bohm-Bawerk’s Reasoning

KZ35

8443-8451

Glossary (“Mises Made Easier”)

KZ36

8452-8602

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Three Short Stories on Housing Economics

Originally published on Notes on Liberty. 

Do you love housing economics but have struggled to get the basic ideas across the younger generation? Yes, you get excited about reading 60-page reports, but kids these days have better things to do.

That’s why I wrote these three, action-packed, short stories which you can read to any child (or child at heart).

So without further ado, here are three stories about how the supply of housing affects the prices of housing.

Continue reading “Three Short Stories on Housing Economics” →

The Economic and Political Dynamics of Zoning

Originally published on Mises.org

Ludwig_von_Mises[1]Both economic decisions and political decisions involve choices and tradeoffs. The difference is that economic decisions are ultimately informed and rely upon monetary prices, revenues and costs. Political decisions, meanwhile, do not depend on market outcomes—they can be based on love, legacy, favors, or establishing power relations.

Zoning is the practice of governments controlling the type, size, and population density of buildings. (Zoning should not be confused with building codes, which control the building materials and other design aspects of buildings.) The purpose of zoning has been to create separate regional “zones” of building types: broadly, these categories typically include residential, industrial, retail, and parks. The zones are then broken down into more minute categories, like low, medium, and high density homes, different kinds of retail businesses, and so on.

Zoning is a type of government intervention into economic decision making: it the practice of the state (whether it is the municipality, subnational, or national level) intervening in the affairs of private individuals in where and what they can build. By intention, zoning is a limit on the supply of housing. In effect, it is a limit on the quantity of the stock of housing; that is, it acts like any other quota or prohibition.

While many economists, from Rothbard himself, to even those in the mainstream, recognize the deleterious effects of zoning, there does not exist a single, thoroughgoing Austrian analysis on the subject. The purpose of this piece is to be that analysis. It is broken up into two sections: the politics of zoning, and the economics of zoning.

Continue reading “The Economic and Political Dynamics of Zoning” →

Rethinking the Yellowbelt: Report Release

After a full year of research, the largest, most comprehensive report on the economics, politics, history, and policies of zoning in Toronto is available for download.

The full report is available both on the Housing Matters website, and quickly downloadable here: Rethinking the Yellowbelt. 

The “Yellowbelt” refers to the portion of the city that’s zoned exclusively for detached homes. The report goes into detail explaining when and why such a zone came into existence, where it spreads in the city, who is hurt by the existence of this zone and how; and what it will take to change the system.

A summary of the report follows. Of course, the report itself goes into much more detail.

Continue reading “Rethinking the Yellowbelt: Report Release” →

Toronto city councillors want to make housing even less affordable. Ontario’s stopping them

Originally published in the Financial Post. 

Building more homes just became easier in two of the most densely populated areas in Ontario: Toronto’s downtown core and its “midtown,” a small strip of land centred at Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. For anyone interested in finding a place to live in those areas, this is great news. Continue reading “Toronto city councillors want to make housing even less affordable. Ontario’s stopping them” →

Response to Ryerson CBI on Bill 108

Originally posted on Housing Matters.

Earlier in May, the Ontario Government tabled new legislation as part of its long-anticipated Housing Supply Action Plan. Known as Bill 108, it proposes numerous changes to several existing laws and regulations.

The preamble of the Bill makes it very clear: the Government of Ontario “believes that increasing the supply of housing will help every person in Ontario by making housing more affordable.” We at Housing Matters share in that belief. We’ve come to this belief through careful analysis of economic theory and data. And after careful study of the contents of this Bill, we believe that it will do as promised: increase the supply of housing, and, consequently, make housing more affordable.

However, the researchers at the Ryerson City Building Institute (CBI) have reached a different conclusion from their analysis of the same Bill. Indeed, CBI begins their analysis by predicting:

it is unlikely that the Housing Supply Action Plan and Bill 108 will improve housing affordability while also targeting the lack of housing options, including missing middle and family sized multi-unit housing. What is proposed may, in fact, reduce livability and affordability throughout the province — particularly in areas facing intense growth pressure…. (p. 1)

We disagree with these statements. To be clear, we believe that Bill 108 — while not a perfect panacea — will (1) increase the availability of housing options, (2) increase livability, (3) increase affordability, (4) and this will be especially true in areas facing intense growth pressures. The following post will analyze the changes to Bill 108 with respect to these areas, and we will compare our findings to that of the CBI.

Table of Contents

— The Economics of Supply and Demand
— On Development Charges
— On the LPAT and OMB
— On Heritage Protection
— On Community Benefits, Public and Private
— On Inclusionary Zoning
— Changes to the Building Code
— Conclusion

Continue reading “Response to Ryerson CBI on Bill 108” →

Statement on the Decision to Partially Eliminate Rent Control

Originally posted on Housing Matters. 

The Government of Ontario announced in its fall economic outlook this past week that they were removing some restrictions on rent control. While rent control remains unchanged for existing tenants, new rental units will not be subject to any price controls whatsoever.

This policy change is a response to the previous government’s “Fair Housing Plan”, introduced in 2017. Prior to the Fair Housing Plan, only homes built before 1991 were subject to rent control. In 2017, rent control was extended to all rentals regardless of the year of construction.

Following the introduction of the “Fair Housing Plan”, 1,000 units originally slated to be purpose-built apartments were converted to condos. That, in a city with a rental vacancy rate of 0.7% — a sixteen year low for the city, and one of the lowest rates in the world.

As a partial reversal of a one-year-old policy, the short-term impact of the new government’s change will likely be small.

However, as we will explain below, this policy has long term impacts that affect the quantity, quality, and price of rental housing, as well as the kind of individuals likely to be affected. In particular, this new policy averted a future of extreme rental shortages, declining rental housing quality, rapidly increasing rents, and discrimination against low-income renters. Continue reading “Statement on the Decision to Partially Eliminate Rent Control” →

Nudge of the Week: Design Matters

Last week, there was tragedy on Southwest flight 1380, when an engine explosion led to a broken window in the fuselage and the death of a passenger.

While the pilot, Captain Tammie Jo Shultz, was able to land quickly to prevent further injuries, the sudden depressurization could have led to many more injuries. Especially as photo evidence shows that, despite clear instructions at the beginning of the flight, many passengers were not covering both their nose and mouth with the oxygen mask

The problem, in my view, is that there is nothing obvious about the design of the mask that indicates it should go over both the nose and mouth. Its circular opening reassembles a cup.

In order to prevent misuse, misuse has to be more difficult to achieve that proper use. In this case, perhaps a more triangular shape would better indicate an orientation that would cover the nose as well.

Emergency situations, especially when life and death are involved, are very stressful. Stress makes people more likely to lose focus and make mistakes. Designing in a way that actively prevents error can save lives.

Nudge of the Week: Praise what you want to get more of

There are three ways you can give someone a compliment:

1. The compliments criticism-compliment sandwich: your compliments have an ulterior motive, which is really to criticize someone. The person you’re giving the compliment to will realize this, and will not take your compliments seriously.

2. Complimenting something someone was born with: you tell someone that they’re smart, or they have beautiful eyes, or tall. This might brighten up their day. But it will also promote complacency.

3. Compliment a behavior: praise their good work ethic, attention to detail, their willingness to try something new in the face of adversity, or something else that requires thought and action. This is called positive reinforcement. It will encourage more of that behavior.

So if you want encourage people to get better, praise the behavior that makes them better!