The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics

by Peter J. Boettke (Editor), Christopher J. Coyne (Editor)

Overview

The Austrian School of Economics is an intellectual tradition in economics and political economy dating back to Carl Menger in the late-19th century. Menger stressed the subjective nature of value in the individual decision calculus. Individual choices are indeed made on the margin, but the evaluations of rank ordering of ends sought in the act of choice are subjective to individual chooser. For Menger, the economic calculus was about scarce means being deployed to pursue an individual's highest valued ends. The act of choice is guided by subjective assessments of the individual, and is open ended as the individual is constantly discovering what ends to pursue, and learning the most effective way to use the means available to satisfy those ends. This school of economic thinking spread outside of Austria to the rest of Europe and the United States in the early-20th century and continued to develop and gain followers, establishing itself as a major stream of heterodox economics. The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics provides an overview of this school and its theories. The various contributions discussed in this book all reflect a tension between the Austrian School's orthodox argumentative structure (rational choice and invisible hand) and its addressing of a heterodox problem situations (uncertainty, differential knowledge, ceaseless change). The Austrian economists from the founders to today seek to derive the invisible hand theorem from the rational choice postulate via institutional analysis in a persistent and consistent manner. Scholars and students working in the field of History of Economic Thought, those following heterodox approaches, and those both familiar with the Austrian School or looking to learn more will find much to learn in this comprehensive volume.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190259273
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Series:	Oxford Handbooks
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	656
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Peter J. Boettke is University Professor of Economics&Philosophy at George Mason University and Director of The F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Christopher J. Coyne is the F.A. Harper Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Associate Director of The F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politic,s and Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Peter Boettke and Christopher Coyne METHODOLOGY 2. Austrian Methodology: A Review&Synthesis Adam Martin MICROECONOMICS 3. The Knowledge Problem Lynne Kiesling 4. Market Theory and the Price System Frederic Sautet 5. Austrians Versus Market Socialists Jes's Huerta de Soto 6. Spontaneous Order Daniel D'Amico MACROECONOMICS AND MONETARY ECONOMICS 7. The Capital Using Economy Peter Lewin and Howard Baetjer 8. Capital-Based Macroeconomics: Austrians, Keynes, and Keynesians John P. Cochran 9. Austrian Business Cycle Theory: A Modern Appraisal Andrew Young 10. Free Banking Kevin Dowd INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS 11. Social Economy as an Extension of the Austrian Research Program Emily Chamlee-Wright and Virgil Storr 12. Organizations and Markets Nicolai J. Foss, Peter G. Klein, and Stefan Linder 13. The Evolution of Property Rights Systems Bruce Benson 14. On the Origins of Stock Markets Edward Stringham PUBLIC POLICY AND INTERVENTIONISM 15. The Rule of Experts Roger Koppl 16. The Problem of Rationality: Austrian Economics between Classical Behaviorism and Behavioral Economics Mario Rizzo 17. Dynamics of Interventionism Sanford Ikeda POLITICAL ECONOMY 18. Ordoliberalism and the Austrian School Stefan Kolev 19. The Tax State as Source of Perpetual Crisis Richard Wagner 20. Constitutional Political Economy and Austrian Economics Mark Pennington 21. Public Choice and Austrian Economics Randall Holcombe 22. The Market Process Theory Perspective of Capitalism: Normative Facets and Implications Paul Dragos Aligica AUSTRIAN CONNECTIONS AND EXTENSIONS 23. On the Economy Wide Implications of Kirznerian Alertness Maria Minnitti 24. Contemporary Austrian Economics and the New Economic Sociology Ryan Langrill and Virgil Storr 25. The Austrian Theory of Finance: Is It a Unique Contribution to the Field? Gregory Dempster 26. Austrian Economics and the Evolutionary Paradigm Ulrich Witt and Naomi Beck 27. Complexity and Austrian Economics J. Barkley Rosser 28. The Sensory Order, Neuroeconomics and Austrian Economics Bill Butos and Thomas McQuade DEVELOPMENT, TRANSITION, AND SOCIAL CHANGE 29. What Have we Learned from the Collapse of Communism? Peter Boettke and Olga Nicoara 30. The Political Economy of Foreign Intervention Thomas K. Duncan and Christopher Coyne 31. From Subsistence to Advanced Material Production: Austrian Development Economics G.P. Manish and Benjamin Powell 32. On Your Mark, Get Set, Develop! Leadership and Economic Development Scott A. Beaulier and Daniel J. Smith APPLICATIONS: THE 2007 FINANCIAL CRISIS 33. The Financial Crisis in the United States Steven Horwitz 34. The Financial Crisis in the UK: Uncertainty, Calculation and Error Anthony J. Evans

Editorial Reviews

"Well-written, the book will serve as an excellent resource for students and faculty of Austrian economics and any other schools whose primary goal is to educate their followers in Austrian economic thinking. Policy makers involved in economic theorizing, analyses, and applications — well as government leaders and other politicians — will benefit from understanding the foundational principles and concerns of Austrian economics."

— CHOICE

From the Publisher