Historical Perspective and Role of Entrepreneurship in Austrian Economics

Abstract

Jesus Huerto De Soto's book 'The Austrian School: Market Order and Entrepreneurial Creativity'- published in association with the Institute of Economic Affairs - is an English translation of his Spanish first edition book 'Escuela Austriaca, La - Mercado y Creatividad.' It is aimed at providing an introduction to the Austrian economic thought by discussing the ideas, and characteristics that differentiates the school from other paradigms. The Austrian economic theories are discussed through the works of leading scholars in the school and how their theories are superior to that of neo-classical economists (Huerta De Soto, 2008). I had three objectives in reading this book: (i) to understand how Austrian economic theories can help conceptualize the importance of knowledge and entrepreneurship in my field and analysis of agricultural economics; (ii) to become aware of the issues and shortcomings of following a neo-classical tradition with a logical positivist empirical analytic approach that is common in agricultural economics; and (iii) to gain an Austrian economic perspective with regard to emerging problems in agriculture and natural resource management where. The comments made in the article are made based on how well these objectives were served from reading this book.

Keywords: Austrian economics, Market Order, Entrepreneurship, Review

JEL Classification: A1, B1, B2, B3, B4, H1, M13, N01, N00, P0, P5, Z00