Jesús Huerta de Soto

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Huerta de Soto and the second or maternal family name is Ballester.
Jesús Huerta de Soto

Jesús Huerta de Soto
Born 23 December 1956
Madrid
Nationality Spain
Field Political economics
School or tradition
 Austrian School
Influences Ludwig von Mises, Carl Menger, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Israel Kirzner
Awards King Juan Carlos International Prize for Economics, Adam Smith Prize, Franz Kuechel Prize for Excellence in Economic Education[1]

Jesús Huerta de Soto Ballester (Madrid, 1956) is a Spanish economist of the Austrian School. He is a professor in the Department of Applied Economics at King Juan Carlos University of Madrid, Spain and a Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.[2][3][4]

Education and career

Huerta de Soto received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1978 and a PhD in economics in 1992, from Complutense University. His MBA in actuarial science is from Stanford University, 1985.[1][5] In 2000 he became a full professor of Political Economy at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.[6]

Huerta de Soto was Editor of seven volumes of the Spanish language version of the University of Chicago Press's The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek. In that capacity, he was responsible for bibliographies, footnotes, introductions, and hiring translators.[7][8][9][10][10][11] He is a member of the editorial board of New Perspectives on Political Economy[12] and on the advisory editorial board of the Journal of Markets and Morality.[13] Huerta de Soto is a Senior Fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute[14] and is on the editorial board of its Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.[15] He was formerly a Trustee of the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA)[16] in social sciences and was a vice-president and director of the Mont Pelerin Society from 2000 to 2004.[16]

Economic views

General equilibrium theory

Economist Leland B. Yeager has cited Huerta de Soto as an example of scorn in economics. Yeager states that Soto scorns general equilibrium theory, citing a passage in which Soto refers to the "pernicious analysis" of price equilibrium at "the intersection of mysterious curves or functions lacking any real existence...even in the minds of the actors involved."[17]

Austrian business cycle and full reserve banking

Huerta de Soto advocates full-reserve banking, a system in which 100% reserve requirements for banks would prevent any expansion of credit.[18][19]

In 2006, Huerta de Soto wrote an 876-page book on the subject, published in English by the Mises Institute as Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles.[20] Samuel Gregg reviewed the book writing that "[t]he sheer length of this text will demand much time and concentration of readers wishing to fully absorb its insights. Certainly there is an element of repetition at different points. This tends, however, to reflect De Soto’s determination to demonstrate that the moral, legal, and economic dimensions of money, credit, and banking cannot be artificially separated from each other without risking the loss of a sound understanding of the subject." [21] In the journal New Perspectives on Political Economy, Ludwig van den Hauwe suggested that "[e]ven if it may be difficult at this time to gauge in any precise manner the effect the book will have on the economics profession at large, there can be no doubt the book is destined to become a classic, both by virtue of the subject matters that are treated and in virtue of the manner in which they are treated: thoroughly and authoritatively." [22]

Larry J. Sechrest's review of Huerta de Soto's book, also published by the Mises Institute, stated that the author attempted to provide "final and decisive proof" that fractional reserve banking is incompatible with private property rights, morality, and a stable economy. Sechrest wrote that although Huerta de Soto presented a painstaking investigation of legal theory, banking history, business cycles, and medieval theological doctrine, a great deal of it is irrelevant to the book's thesis. Sechrest concludes "Above all, Huerta de Soto refuses to even consider the possibility that banks’ customers may have been quite willing to face some risk exposure in exchange for the benefits 100 percent reserve banks are unable to provide" and believes that "any departure from 100 percent reserve banking is automatically taken to be evidence of malfeasance by bankers, even when there is no clear data on the details of the contractual relations negotiated by depositors."[23]

In his chapter on "Attempts to Legally Justify Fractional-Reserve Banking", Huerta de Soto considers the possibility "that a certain group of bank customers (or for the sake of argument, all of them) enter into a deposit contract aware and fully accepting that banks will invest (or loan, etc.) a large portion of the money they deposit". In this case, argues Huerta de Soto, "the supposed authorization from the depositors lacks legal validity" because few lay-persons understand the instability inherent in fractional-reserve banking: they believe their deposit is guaranteed, which Huerta de Soto considers a (near universal) misconception. As evidence of the true wishes of depositors, he cites the riots that resulted when banks suspended payments during the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression.[24]

Money and banking

Andre Azevedo Alves and Jose Moreira state that Huerta de Soto has written the "most complete and integrated analysis of the theories of banking" of the School of Salamanca.[25]

Reception

In a review for the Mises Institute's Review of Austrian Economics, Institute Associated Scholar Leland B. Yeager called the book "the most thorough treatment in print of Austrian ideas on banking and the business cycle".[26] Mises Institute Senior Fellow and former United States representative Ron Paul endorsed Huerta de Soto's view that fractional reserve banking is the cause of financial instability.[27][28] An Institute of Economic Affairs review described The Theory of Dynamic Efficiency as "A major new collection in the field of Austrian economics" and called Huerta de Soto "a leading Spanish scholar".[29]

Honorary Doctorates

Publications

Books

Journals

For a list of articles published in Spanish and other languages, see the Huerta de Soto website.[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Announcement regarding Jesús Huerta de Soto, Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation, April 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto listing, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos website.
  3. ↑ ""Faculty Members." Ludwig von Mises Institute.
  4. ↑ An Interview with Jesús Huerta de Soto in The Austrian Economics Newsletter. (Summer 1997; Volume 17, Number 2.)
  5. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto website, see Curriculum Vitae, Titulos Academicos.
  6. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto website, see Curriculum Vitae, Actividad Docente Desempeñada.
  7. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto website, see Curriculum Vitae, Labor Editorial; section includes information on the Compete Works of F.A. Hayek, pp. 1–2; New Library of Liberty, pp. 3–4; Journal of Market Processes, pp. 4–5.
  8. ↑ "Plan of the Collected Works of Hayek". U of Chicago Press. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Stephen Kresge, Editor, Money, Part I: Volume Five of the Collected Works of F.A. Hayek, Routledge, 2013, p. 1904, ISBN 1135630755
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 F.A. Hayek, The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Bruce Caldwell, General Editor, University of Chicago Press, 19 Volumes.
  11. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto edited these volumes of the series F.A. Hayek, Obras Completas (in Spanish), all published by Unión Editorial, Madrid: La Tendencia del Pensamiento Económico: Ensayos, editor with William Warren Bartley, Stephen Kresge, 1995; Las Vicisitudes del Liberalismo: Ensayos sobre Economía Austriaca y el Ideal de la Libertad, editor with Peter G. Klein, 1996; Contra Keynes y Cambridge: Ensayos, Correspondencia, editor with Bruce Caldwell, 1996; Hayek sobre Hayek: Un Diálogo Autobiográfico, La Fatal Arrogancia: Los Errores del Socialismo, editor with Stephen Kresge, Leif Wenar, 1997; Socialismo y Guerra: Ensayos, Documentos y Reseñas, editor with Bruce Caldwell, 1998; Ensayos de Teoría Monetaria (two volumes in 2000, with Stephen Kresge and José Antonio de Aguirre and 2001. For more details see Jesús Huerta de Soto website, Curriculum Vitae, Labor Editorial, A. Compete Works of F.A. Hayek, pp. 1–2.
  12. ↑ New Perspectives on Political Economy board listing at its website.
  13. ↑ Editorial Board listing of the Journal of Markets and Morality at its website.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ Editorial Board Listing of Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jesús Huerta de Soto website, see Curriculum Vitae, Otros Meritos.
  17. ↑ Leland B. Yeager (2011). Is the Market a Test of Truth and Beauty?: Essays in Political Economy. Ludwig von Mises Institute. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-61016-421-4. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  18. ↑ Bagus, Philipp (January 1, 2010). "Austrian Business Cycle Theory: Are 100 Percent Reserves Sufficient to Prevent a Business Cycle?" (PDF). Libertarian Papers (Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute) 2 (2). Retrieved May 22, 2013. Other Austrians such as ... de Soto (2006) have gone further and advocate a 100 percent reserve banking system ruling out credit expansion altogether.
  19. ↑ Rozeff, Michael S. (Spring 20101). "Rothbard on Fractional Reserve Banking: a Critique" (PDF). Independent Review (Oakland, CA: The Independent Institute) 14 (4): 497–512. ISSN 1086-1653. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto (2012). Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles (3rd ed.). Ludwig von Mises Institute. ISBN 978-1-61016-388-0. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  21. ↑ Gregg, Samuel (Spring 2007). "Review of "Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles"". Markets and Morality 10 (1): 185–187.
  22. ↑ van den Hauwe, Ludwig (2006). "Review of Jesús Huerta De Soto's Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles". New Perspectives on Political Economy 2 (2): 136–142.
  23. ↑ Larry J. Sechrest, Larry J. Sechrest Book “Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model”, Larry J. Sechrest Preface to June 2008 edition published by Ludwig Von Mises Institute, pp. 1–3; originally published by Quorum Books, 1993.
  24. ↑ Huerta de Soto, 2012, pp. 141-142.
  25. ↑ Andre Azevedo Alves, Jose Moreira, The Salamanca School, from series "Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers", Continuum International Publishing Group, 2009, p. 131, ISBN 0826429823, ISBN 9780826429827
  26. ↑ Yeager, Leland B. (2001). "The Perils of Base Money" (PDF). The Review of Austrian Economics 14 (4): 251–266. doi:10.1023/a:1011981013028.
  27. ↑ Paul, Ron (October 1, 2009). "The Money Monopoly: How the Federal Reserve Rips You Off". The American Conservative (American Ideas Institute). Retrieved May 23, 2013 (from HighBeam Research). Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. ↑ Ron Paul, End the Fed, Hachette Digital, Inc., 2009, Chapter, "Origin and Nature of the Fed, ISBN 044656818X, ISBN 9780446568180
  29. ↑ "http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/recommended-reading/the-theory-of-dynamic-efficiency Review of Theory of Economic efficiency]", Institute of Economic Affairs website, November 12, 2008.
  30. ↑ Federico Bauer Rodríguez ¿Por qué la libertad? (I) (Spanish) El Periódico. Retrieved 5 January 2014
  31. ↑ LAUDATIO in honour of Professor Jesús Huerta de SOTO from Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid Alexandru Ioan Cuza University. Retrieved 4 January 2014
  32. ↑ Also published in German as: Die österreichische Schule der Nationalökonomie : Markt und unternehmerische Kreativität. Wien: Hayek Institut. 2007. p. 152. ISBN 9783902466037. OCLC 759028166. (trans. from the Spanish by Ingolf Günter Krumm; The international library of Austrian economics series); and in French as: L'école autrichienne : marché et créativité entrepreneuriale. Paris: Institut Charles Coquelin. 2008. p. 157. ISBN 9782915909166. OCLC 690811169. (trans. from the Spanish by Rosine Létinier; part of the Collection Science économique et liberté series)
  33. ↑ Reviewed in: Grassl, Wolfgang (March 22, 2010). "Theory of Dynamic Efficiency. (Book review)". Journal of Markets & Morality (Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty). Retrieved June 14, 2013 from HighBeam Research. This book contains twenty essays, sixteen of which have already appeared elsewhere during the period 1994–2004. ...[T]opics ... include the methodology and history of economics, entrepreneurship, socialism, nationalism, central banks and free banking, ethics, and liberal social thought (in the European sense of the term). Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  34. ↑ Reviewed in: Hladík, René (July 1, 2010). "Peníze, Banky a Hospodářské Krize" [Money, Banking and Economic Crisis]. E+M: Ekonomie a Management (in Czech) (Technical University Liberec). Retrieved May 23, 2013 (from HighBeam Research). Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  35. ↑ Reviewed in: "Socialism, economic calculation and entrepreneurship (Book review, brief article)". Reference & Research Book News (Portland, OR: Book News, Inc.). November 1, 2010.
  36. ↑ Also published in Dutch as: Geld, krediet en crisis. Leuven, Den Haag: Acco. 2011. p. 718. ISBN 9789033480942. OCLC 723961802.; in German as: Geld,Bankkredit und Konjunkturzyklen. Stuttgart: Lucius & Lucius. 2011. p. 624. ISBN 9783828205321. OCLC 731159974.; in Polish as: Pieniądz, kredyt bankowy i cykle koniunkturalne. Warszawa: Instytut Ludwiga von Misesa. 2011. p. 671. ISBN 9788392616054. OCLC 804342687. (with coauthors Grzegorz Łuczkiewicz & Mateusz Machaj); and in French as: Monnaie, crédit bancaire et cycles économiques. Paris: l'Harmattan. 2011. p. 558. ISBN 9782296544512. OCLC 758332334. (trans. from the Spanish by Rosine Létinier; L'Esprit économique. Série Économie formelle.) and Money, bank credit, and economic cycles (in French). Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute. 2006. p. 876. OCLC 494633680. (with Melinda A. Stroup, translator) (Reviewed in: Gregg, Samuel (March 22, 2007). "Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles (Book Review)". Journal of Markets & Morality (Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty).
  37. ↑ Jesús Huerta de Soto website, see Curriculum Vitae, Actividad Investigadora Publicaciones I and II and Otras publicaciones.

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