Usury laws, being a direct manipulation of interest rates instead of indirect manipulation of interest rates that central banks currently seem to prefer, should produce a business cycle effect, correct?
Can anyone point to some historical examples for my feeble mind?
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"Even when leftists talk about discrimination and sexism, they're damn well talking about the results of the economic system" ~Neodoxy
Have a read of Eugene von Bohm Bawerk's Capital and Interest. He goes into detail on usury laws.
'' The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.'' Stephen Hawking
Um, how about the entire Dark Ages? Both usury laws and central banks are direct manipulation of the interest rate. The difference is the direction of manipulation - usury laws simultaneously set the interest rate to infinity for borrowers and zero for lenders. Central banks drive it to zero or negative for both lenders and borrowers. Low interest rates cause simultaneous over-consumption and over-investment. High interest rates cause simultaneous under-consumption and under-investment. Prohibition of lending simply deprives society of one of the most powerful tools for the coordination of supply and demand through investment of savings (capital). Usury laws are basically prohibition of capitalism.
Clayton -
This was what I was looking for--just some sources.