Note: This is post #116 in a weekly video series on basic economics.

The Austrian school of economic thought emphasizes market price signals and how municate decentralized information in an economy, says economist Tyler Cowen. The Austrian business cycle theory focuses on how central banks can distort those price signals.

In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Cowen notes that while Austrians can helpfully explain some features of booms and busts, it remains to be seen whether it can be a more fundamental explanation.

(If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching them at 1.5 to 2 times the speed. You can adjust the speed at which the video plays by clicking on “Settings” (the gear symbol) and changing “Speed” from normal to 1.25, 1.5 or 2.)

Clickhereto see other videos in the Introduction to Economics series.