A FEW MORE MINUTES OF FAME. Kishwaukee Hospital gets a percentage of the proceeds a gold recycler earns from a table at a benefit event. That gets the Daily Chronicle curious about the economics of rising gold prices.

The price of gold is driven by the fact that it is an exhaustible resource and by currency fears in the global recession, said Stephen Karlson, an associate professor of economics at Northern Illinois University.

“Because a lot of central banks are effectively printing more money, there are people who are scared their paper money might lose value,” Karlson said. “Gold is an inflation hedge, and a lot of it is driven by fear.”

For people selling their gold, there is little downside to taking advantage of the high prices, Karlson said. But he cautioned there is a chance buyers might be investing in what economists call a speculative bubble.

“All of the money that used to be sloshing around in hedge funds or dot-com stocks or McMansions may be a lot of the money now bidding up the price of gold,” Karlson said. “No economist, no business guru, no fortuneteller knows the day or the hour at which a bubble will pop. But when it ends, a lot of people might end up holding the bag.”

Cold Spring Shops does not endorse investments. Do your own research before investing in gold, or in McMansions.