Auburn University Libraries’ next Discover Auburn Lecture Series will host Mark Thornton’s book talk on “The Skyscraper Curse: And How Austrian Economics Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century.”
“The Skyscraper Curse” is Thornton’s definitive work on booms and busts, and it explains why only Austrian economists really understand them. It makes business cycle theory accessible to a whole new 21st-century audience. His book is a warning about overheated equity markets, over-inflated housing prices and clueless central bankers. His now-infamous Skyscraper Index theory draws the connection between loose monetary policy, artificially low interest rates and vanity construction projects.

Thornton is an instructor in the Department of Economics at Auburn University. He completed his bachelor of arts at St. Bonaventure University in 1982. A few years later, Thornton became an alumni after earning his doctorate degree in economics in 1989. His research interests include public policy, economic history and business cycles.

The program is open to the public and a reception will follow the lecture. Past lectures in the series may be viewed <a href='https://www.lib.auburn.edu/discoverauburn/'>online</a>.