The Pure Time-Preference Theory of Interest

It’s about time. Really! An entire book fleshing out the pure time-preference theory of interest has finally been drawn together. The latest crop of Keynesians are still playing with interest rates, believing they can create prosperity. They are foolishly trying to abolish human action.

Here, in clear, crisp detail are the implications of the Austrian insight that present goods have a higher value than future goods.

Giants of the Austrian world have been assembled for the task: Jeffrey Herbener provides a fresh new introduction, and Rothbard, Mises, Garrison, Kirzner, and Fetter systematically provide the underpinnings of the theory. As Israel Kirzner writes, “for almost a century a particular theory of interest has been again and again discussed, refuted, defended, ignored, forgotten, and rediscovered; somehow it has managed to survive.”

From Douglas French’s foreword:

“The following essays parse through the uniquely Austrian insight of the pure time-preference theory of interest, but more importantly go to the core of why modern central bank monetary engineering leaves the economy further from recovery while at the same time providing a Petri dish for speculation and malinvestment.”