La segunda parte del comentario sobre problema del conocimiento en la banca central.

The previous post presented Hayek’s knowledge problem in the context of the economic calculation debate under socialism. We discussed the distinction (sometimes overlooked) between information and knowledge . To sum up, information is objective data such as quantities and prices. As a qualitative concept, information can be complete or incomplete. Knowledge is subjective data interpretation. As a qualitative concept, it is neither complete nor incomplete.

This distinction is not only key to understanding the Mises-Hayek argument against socialism, but it is also important in understanding where the central banking knowledge problem falls. Socialism deals with both information and knowledge problems, but central banks deals mainly with knowledge problems, including lack of competition, the big player effect, and the rule of law vs. the rule of experts.

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Primera parte de dos posts sobre problemas de conocimiento en la banca central para Sound Money Project.

In my previous posts, Andreas Hoffmann and I discussed the problem of unintended consequences in monetary policy, particularly as applied to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in the context of the 2008 crisis. This post tackles a related issue: the so called “knowledge problem.” This term was coined after Hayek’s engagement in the debate on the feasibility of economic calculation under socialism. It has also been applied to central banking; even though banking faces different problems than those Hayek was concerned about, there are some common threads. This first post discusses Hayek’s “knowledge problem.” Our next post extends the problem to monetary policy.

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