Anyone familar with Austrian economics?
October 19, 2011 1:26 AM Subscribe
Resources for Austrian economics?
I'm taking a Doctorate in finance from a University in Zurich. I'm about halfway through required courses before sitting comps and entering research phase of my degree. I'm seriously enjoying the programme overall, but my current prof is having us read the Austrian economist von Hayek in detail. Overall the papers are excellent but some of the earlier ones are more than a little inaccessible.
To help me gain perspective I've started reading analysis' and summaries of Hayek's work. I'm looking at Caldwell and Yergin but am open to other authors, especially those who review Hayek's work in the overall context of the Austrian school of economics. Any insight on debates between Keynes and Hayek would be welcome as well.
I realise I could google and have of course have done so (I'm also using Athens and other academic databases) but because I've got weekly papers to read and write across the three month term time is limited so I was hoping someone here had read analysis' of Hayek's work in the past. Many thanks!
I'm taking a Doctorate in finance from a University in Zurich. I'm about halfway through required courses before sitting comps and entering research phase of my degree. I'm seriously enjoying the programme overall, but my current prof is having us read the Austrian economist von Hayek in detail. Overall the papers are excellent but some of the earlier ones are more than a little inaccessible.
To help me gain perspective I've started reading analysis' and summaries of Hayek's work. I'm looking at Caldwell and Yergin but am open to other authors, especially those who review Hayek's work in the overall context of the Austrian school of economics. Any insight on debates between Keynes and Hayek would be welcome as well.
I realise I could google and have of course have done so (I'm also using Athens and other academic databases) but because I've got weekly papers to read and write across the three month term time is limited so I was hoping someone here had read analysis' of Hayek's work in the past. Many thanks!
Best answer: Given your limited time, you might find listening to the Econtalk podcast helpful. Its hosted by a GW economist Russ Roberts, who leans quite libertarian, and is a huge fan of Hayek, so its not completely unbiased (and he can get a tiny bit annoying at times). But I've found it to be generally stimulating and informative. They also do a good job of making works referenced during the podcast available on their website. Here are the results of a general Hayek search, and a few specific programs that may be of interest:
- Interview with a Hayek biographer.
- The Keynes/Hayek debates.
- Hayek on business cycles and alternative monetary systems.
posted by googly at 4:42 AM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
- Interview with a Hayek biographer.
- The Keynes/Hayek debates.
- Hayek on business cycles and alternative monetary systems.
posted by googly at 4:42 AM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Are you looking for real academic criticism type stuff Mutant?
posted by pharm at 8:54 AM on October 19, 2011
posted by pharm at 8:54 AM on October 19, 2011
Best answer: I can't promise they'll be a major academic contribution, but the Keynes vs. Hayek Rap Battles at EconStories.TV should not be missed; both show the broadest strokes of the two economists' perspectives, though the creators probably have a favorite in Hayek.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2011
posted by Sunburnt at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2011
Response by poster: Wow, great stuff guys! By the time he won his Nobel prize Hayek's writing had improved markedly, but his earliest papers are very dense. As this prof is having us read almost every paper the guy ever wrote (including personal correspondence with other economists), anything discussing Hayek's work is helpful. Pharm: ideally academic but anything that would be helpful to understanding the man and his times. Thanks again guys !!
posted by Mutant at 11:21 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by Mutant at 11:21 PM on October 19, 2011
Best answer: This book (The Cambridge Companion to Hayek) looks relevant as a cross-section of current thought on Hayek: the chapters are online in PDF form if you're connecting from an affiliated institution: you might need an Athens login.
Given the chapter titles & authors you may find that they're more about the authors than they are about the subject (Roger Scruton!) though :)
The Hayek vs Keynes rap is of course awesome.
If I trip over anything else I'll let you know...
posted by pharm at 2:02 AM on October 20, 2011
Given the chapter titles & authors you may find that they're more about the authors than they are about the subject (Roger Scruton!) though :)
The Hayek vs Keynes rap is of course awesome.
If I trip over anything else I'll let you know...
posted by pharm at 2:02 AM on October 20, 2011
Best answer: You should really check out More Heat Than Light: Economics as Social Physics, Physics as Nature's Economics by Philip Mirowski (one of my old profs). It isn't strictly about Hayek or Keynes--it starts with the pre-Socratics and goes through Mandelbrot--but it does show how both fit into the history of economics, as the field moves from one scientific metaphor to another.
Mirowski himself is something of a contrarian, but his history is devastatingly insightful, and unlike most historians of economics, he actually deals with authors on their own terms rather than gleaning for evidence that they all point towards his own pet theory. You'll never think about economics the same way again.
posted by valkyryn at 6:18 PM on October 20, 2011
Mirowski himself is something of a contrarian, but his history is devastatingly insightful, and unlike most historians of economics, he actually deals with authors on their own terms rather than gleaning for evidence that they all point towards his own pet theory. You'll never think about economics the same way again.
posted by valkyryn at 6:18 PM on October 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cda at 2:15 AM on October 19, 2011