Austrian Economics and Game Theory: A Stocktaking and an Evaluation

I discuss the merits and drawbacks of game theory in economics from the perspective of Austrian economics. I begin by arguing that Austrians have neglected game theory at their peril, and then suggest that game theoretic reasoning could be one way of modelling key Austrian insights. However, admittedly some aspects of game theory don't square easily with Austrian economics. Moreover, a major stumbling block for an Austrian acceptance of game theory may lie in the traditional Austrian resistance to formal methods.     

Reappraising Austrian Economics' Basic Tenets in the Light of Aristotelian Ideas

This paper sustains that reappraising Austrian economics in the light of Aristotelian ideas is not only possible but also fruitful. First, I draw a sketch of the essential features of Austrian economics. Next, I argue about the necessity for a thorough analysis of the notion of freedom, and I analyze Mises' conception. Next, I expose Aristotle's social, epistemological and economic thought related to Austrian main traits. An account of how the exercise of Aristotelian virtues may be synergic with economic coordination and a sketch of the consequences of the proposal on the teaching of economics are then provided. Finally, the conclusion shortly sums up the content and relevance of Aristotle's contribution.     

An Austrian approach to law and economics, with special reference to superstition

This paper has two purposes. First, it considers what the components of an ??Austrian?? law and economics might consist of. I argue that Ronald Coase??s conception of law and economics precludes the economic analysis of legal institutions and, in particular, the beliefs that support them. In doing so, Coase??s conception precludes an Austrian law and economics. In contrast, Richard Posner??s conception of law and economics makes such analysis the core of its study. In doing so, Posner??s conception provides a productive foundation for an Austrian law and economics. Second, to illustrate what some aspects of an Austrian law and economics might look like in practice, I consider several examples of the economic analysis of beliefs of import for the law. I focus on objectively false beliefs, or superstitions, and argue that some such beliefs are socially productive.     

Are we Austrian economists?

The Review of Austrian Economics - This paper is based on the Presidential Address given at the 2019 Society for the Development of Austrian Economics Annual Meeting. In these remarks, I explore...     

Playing at markets: A New Austrian perspective on macroeconomic policy

The New Austrian (also called Neo-Mengerian) paradigm emphasizes the importance of nonequilibrium and emergent processes in explaining the social world. In this paper I analyze macroeconomic policy from a New Austrian perspective. I define macroeconomic policy broadly, encompassing not only policy relating to business cycles and growth, but to any policy aimed at directly manipulating emergent variables. Such policy is fundamentally incoherent, since it attempts to divorce social outcomes from the processes that generate them and give them meaning. A New Austrian approach to macroeconomic policy, which focuses on the rules structuring nonequilibrium-emergent social processes, avoids this problem.     

How history matters for student performance. lessons from the Partitions of Poland

This paper examines the effect on current student performance of the 19th century Partitions of Poland among Austria, Prussia and Russia. Using a regression discontinuity design, I show that student test scores are 0.6 standard deviations higher on the Austrian side of the former Austrian-Russian border, despite the modern similarities of the three regions. However, I do not find evidence for differences across the Prussian-Russian border. Using a theoretical model and indirect evidence, I argue that the Partitions have persisted through their impact on social norms toward local schools. Nevertheless, the persistent effect of Austria is puzzling, given the historical similarities of the Austrian and Prussian education systems. I argue that the differential legacy of Austria and Prussia originates from the Austrian Empire’s policy to promote Polish identity in schools and the Prussian Empire’s efforts to Germanize the Poles through education.     

Examining social processes with agent-based models

It is plain that the Austrian revival that began in the 1970s has yet to succeed in convincing the mainstream of the academy to jettison their physics-based mathematical models in favor of the sort of models and forms of argumentation that contemporary Austrians advocate. Agent-based computational modeling is still in its relative infancy but is beginning to gain recognition among economists disenchanted with the neoclassical paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to assuage concerns that readers might have regarding methodological consistency between agent-based modeling and Austrian economics and to advocate its adoption as a means to convey Austrian ideas to a wider audience. I examine models developed and published by other researchers and ultimately provide an outline of how one might develop a research agenda that leverages this technique. I argue that agent-based modeling can be used to enhance Austrian theorizing and offers a viable alternative to the neoclassical paradigm.     

The irrelevance of normative considerations for founding an Austrian law and economics: Reply to Marciano

In a comment on my paper, ??An Austrian approach to law and economics, with special reference to superstition?? (Leeson 2012), Marciano contends that Posnerian foundations ??may be problematic for an Austrian approach to law and economics??. In this reply I argue that the differences between Posner and Austrians that Marciano uses as the basis for his contention are normative. If, as Austrians claim, Austrian economics is purely positive, those differences are irrelevant to the appropriate foundations for an Austrian law and economics. They pose no problem for a Posnerian founding.     

Theory,history, and the great recession

This paper honors Don Lavoie’s work on the relationship between theory and history in Austrian economics by using the current recession as an example of many of the ideas found in his paper on the “Interpretive Dimension of Economics.” More specifically, I start from the premise that all history comes from theory because it is theory that guides what we count as “facts” or “data.” From Menger onward, a core element of the Austrian approach has been to see the purpose of theory as rendering human action and its unintended consequences intelligible. We do that by telling historical narratives where theory is the logical glue that holds the story together. I look at the Austrian story of the Great Recession in light of these ideas. What the Great Recession demonstrates is that the core theoretical elements of Austrian business cycle theory are narrower than we might think, but that consciously recognizing the contingent elements gives the theory additional flexibility to explain more of various real-world crises when augmented by additional ideal typifications properly used.     

Knowledge and Power in the Mechanical Firm: Planning for Profit in Austrian Perpsective

This essay draws on the transaction costs model of the firm and an Austrian perspective on the knowledge problem in centrally planned orders to propose an empirically useful Austrian theory of central planning. After an initial review of existing theories of the firm, part two develops insights from the calculation debate to sketch a theory of planning centered on the interrelated problems of purpose, information and control in both individual and central planning. Part three joins this theory to the basic framework of the transaction cost model to produce an Austrian theory of the private firm that addresses the relation between knowledge and power in planned orders, and illustrates its principal themes through a discussion of the historical development of American manufacturing in the fifty years prior to World War I.     

Regulatory ambiguity in the market for bitcoin

The Review of Austrian Economics - The standard economic approach to considering the effects of a policy tends to neglect the prospect of regulatory ambiguity. I describe four sources of regulatory...     

Consent,democracy and the future of liberalism

The Review of Austrian Economics - In this paper, I examine the ways in which liberal theory and democratic procedure have sought to address the justificatory challenge posed by the existence of...     

The role of fractional-reserve banking in amplifying credit booms: Evidence from panel data

The Review of Austrian Economics - I use panel data on 20 countries to analyze the links between savings (defined as time deposits and savings accounts) and credit extended by banks. Credit growth...     

Market process(es) and (un)knowledge

By extending an underdeveloped idea of Lachmann, I show that the Austrian theory of the market process à la Kirzner is unable to explain the diversity of market processes because it neglects the imperfect inter-market mobility of factors of production. I show that by taking into account the imperfect mobility of capital equipment and the associated reshuffling costs, it is possible to formulate a set of empirically testable implications about the unfolding of the market process. Furthermore, I show that reshuffling costs shape the context in which the learning process takes place and that the epistemic assumption of structural opacity on which the Austrian theory of the market process relies is not incompatible with the epistemics assumption of structural transparency of neoclassical economics. These epistemic assumptions can be seen as the two poles of a “knowledge spectrum”, from potential omniscience to sheer ignorance.     

Dynamic coordinating non-equilibrium

Neo-Walrasian conceptualizations and DSGE models are incompatible with the emergence of coordination and discoordination in economic activity. While many conceptualizations stemming from the Austrian tradition are generally consistent with these fundamental problems, their process driven approach is hampered by the use of equilibrium constructs. This paper argues for the adoption of formal models that avoid this problem by addressing the following questions. Why should Austrian macroeconomists model? Where do models fit in with respect to pure and applied theory? How to model without equilibrium? To answer this final question I present a structure that aids in the construction and communication of such models.     

Mises and his money

The Review of Austrian Economics - When he arrived in the US, Ludwig von Mises faced financial difficulties and had to find new sources of income. I use archival material to build on the existing...     

Arbitrage and knowledge

I investigate in depth the contemporary, nation-wide arbitrage phenomenon of copper penny hoarding. While penny hoarding represents a “pure arbitrage” opportunity, it also clearly demonstrates the knowledge problems that face those entrepreneurs who are fully informed about intra-market price differences. This paper contrasts the Neoclassical and Austrian views on the role of information and knowledge in arbitrage, emphasizing the greater depth in understanding to be gained from the knowledge-based Austrian approach, as opposed to the information-based Neoclassical approach.     

Ludwig von Mises on war and the economy

The Review of Austrian Economics - In 1919, in the wake of the Central Power’s defeat in World War I, Ludwig von Mises published his second book, Nation, State, and Economy. The book explores...