Austrian Subjectivism and the Emergence of Entrepreneurship Theory


Book Description

Austrian Subjectivism and the Emergence of Entrepreneurship Theory comprises several of Kirzner's previously published papers on the subjects of methodological subjectivism and the history of entrepreneurship theory--topics of primary importance in Kirzner's economic thought because one cannot fully understand entrepreneurship theory without considering subjectivism. The volume includes Kirzner's seminal paper "Methodological Individualism, Market Equilibrium, and Market Process," in which "Kirzner conceptualized the role of the entrepreneurial function in the market process for the first time in his work." According to the editors, that paper "opened the door to Kirzner's research on the market process, leading six years later to the publication of Competition and Entrepreneurship. In doing so, it paved the way to the modern Austrian theory of the market process." Israel M. Kirzner is a leading economist in the Austrian School and Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University. Peter J. Boettke is University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center. Fr d ric Sautet is an economist and a specialist in Austrian market process theory. He has taught at The Catholic University of America, George Mason University, New York University, and the University of Paris Dauphine.




Austrian and German Economic Thought


Book Description

This book intends to renovate the view of social sciences in the German-speaking world. It explores the intellectual tension in the social science in Austria and Germany in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. It deals with how the emergence of the new school (Austrian School) changed the focus of social science in the German speaking world, and how it prepared the introduction of an evolutionary perspective in economics, politics, and sociology. Based on (mostly hitherto unknown) primary evidence, this development is lively described in a series of encounters and decisions by each social scientists.




The Meaning of the Market Process


Book Description

Israel Kirzner is the foremost proponent of the modern Austrian theory of the market process. This book offers substantive insights in support of this theory and a new historical interpretation of how the ideas of modern Austrians emerged.




Subjectivism and Objectivism in the History of Economic Thought


Book Description

This book investigates the tensions between subjectivism and objectivism in the history of economics. The book looks at the works of Adam Smith, Carl Menger, Leon Walras, William Stanley Jevons, Oskar Morgenstern, Ludwig Mises, Piero Sraffa, and so on. The book highlights the diverse subjective and objective elements of their economic theories and suggests a reframing of methodology to better address the core problems of the theories. Contributors of the volume are leading members of the Japan Society of History of Economic Thought who have provided a comprehensive overview on the economics methodology and the related problems. Hence, this book will be of an invaluable asset to not only those who are interested in the history of economic thought, but also to scholars who are concerned with the methodological problems of economic science.




Economic Point of View


Book Description




Austrian Perspectives on Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Organization


Book Description

The 'Austrian' tradition is well-known for its definitive contributions to economics in the twentieth century. However, Austrian economics also offers an exciting research agenda outside the traditional boundaries of economics, especially in the management disciplines. This Element examines how Austrian ideas play a key role in expanding the understanding of fields like entrepreneurship, strategy, and organization. It focuses especially on the vital role that entrepreneurs play in guiding economic progress by shaping firms and their strategic behavior. In doing so, it explains a wide range of contributions that Austrian economics makes to the understanding of key problems in management, while also highlighting many directions for future work in this inspiring tradition.




Austrian Economics: Tensions and New Directions


Book Description

When we first invited the group of distinguished scholars represented here to contribute to a new volume on Austrian economics, four themes were stressed: tensions, new directions, selectivity, and criticism. In this brief introduction we will explain why those themes were emphasized and thereby shed light on our intentions and aspirations for the volume. The subtitle "Tensions and New Directions" indicates clearly the intent of the volume desired. If we take the 1871 publication of Carl Menger's Principles of Economics (Grundsiitze der Volkswirthschaftslehre) as mark ing its birth, the Austrian tradition is now well over one hundred years old. The origins of the so-called "Austrian Revival" are more difficult to pinpoint precisely, but many would accept two decades as a reasonable estimate of its lifespan. In any case, since the mid-1970s several collections of articles written by Austrians have been published. The intent of these collections appeared to be to educate, persuade, and inspire various audiences. Uninformed readers needed to be told about the specifics of the Austrian position, to be shown how it differed from and improved upon its rivals. The initiated needed to be reassured that their commitment to a novel program was justified. As such, much of the recent Austrian literature has consisted either of exegetical accounts of the views of past figures, or of critical assessments of the positions of alternative research programs in economics from an Austrian perspective.




A Modern Guide to Austrian Economics


Book Description

This Modern Guide explores central ideas, concepts, and themes in the Austrian school of economics, with a focus on how they, and with them the overall theory, have evolved over recent decades. Leading scholars offer their insights into potential directions of future research in the field, pointing towards contemporary debates and their potential conclusions, underdeveloped aspects and extensions of theory, and current applications of interest.




New Perspectives on Economic Development


Book Description

This book is the first of its kind to use Austrian subjectivism to analyze issues in economic development. Unlike scholars in mainstream neoclassical economics who explain economic development by quantitative growth models, this book attempts to understand economic progress in human agency perspective. In this approach, human agency is placed at the centre of economic analysis. This book begins with a review of the theories of economic development in the history of Austrian economics, with the intention of extending the contributions of major Austrian economists to development economics. After pointing out the weaknesses in the orthodox neoclassical approach to economic growth, the book then puts forward a subjectivist methodology which integrates the contributions of Max Weber, Alfred Schutz and Austrian Economists to interpret economic phenomena and policies. This chapter also serves as a methodological foundation for arguments elaborated in subsequent chapters. The rest of the book discusses important issues in economic development, namely, entrepreneurial process, national capabilities, innovation, trade, government, transition and catching up strategies for firms in latecomer economies. The book ends with concluding remarks and a proposal for a new research agenda in economic development. This book is well written, free from mathematics and is highly readable. It adds new insights not only in economics, but also in management, politics and social sciences. It will be useful to scholars, policy makers and students in economic development, entrepreneurship, theory of the firm, management of innovation, government policy, economic sociology, Austrian and evolutionary economics.




Market Theory and the Price System


Book Description

Israel Kirzner's outstanding book on price theory is back in print. It is been very difficult to obtain it for decades, even though it is surely the best textbook on Austrian price theory ever written. The prose is crystal clear and the organization exceptional. He takes the reader through the foundations of individual action, exchange, utility, demand and supply, production, and the market process itself. Had it been in print, it would have schooled generations in Austrian price theory, and it is surely useful in the classroom today, or for general reading. Not a collection of essays, it is an integrated presentation from top to bottom, written early in Kirzner's post-doctoral career.