BOOK REVIEWERS KNOW THAT IT IS A CHALLENGE TO REVIEW A collection of 12 separately-authored essay... more BOOK REVIEWERS KNOW THAT IT IS A CHALLENGE TO REVIEW A collection of 12 separately-authored essays. Here, we have been asked to read and comment briefly on the character of the 62 dense, technical articles in the six 2002 issues of the Journal of Development Economics (vols. 67, 68, and 69). Started in 1974, the journal is published by Elsevier and is conventionally regarded as one of the top field journals in development economics. There is no way to discuss more than a few in any detail. We have read the entire set, but we have not attempted to really master the material. We approached the material with critical priors that, to our mind, were essentially confirmed, but we try not to let our treatment become cavalier or dismissive. Unfortunately, it is perhaps inevitable that a brief and unfavorable gloss on the character of a set of 62 articles will come off as cavalier. Around the mid-20 th century, economics strived to develop, in the phraseology of Francis Bator, "institutionally antiseptic theory." The strong trend was toward ahistorical, acontextual, and uniformly mathematical
ABSTRACT When considered as a unified project, the Ostroms’ themes of polycentricity, self-govern... more ABSTRACT When considered as a unified project, the Ostroms’ themes of polycentricity, self-governance, and the art and science of association have strong intellectual roots and connections with Austrian economics. In this paper, we show the close relationship between the Ostroms and the Austrians. We then describe how contemporary Austrian economists can be inspired and can further the work of the Ostroms in the areas of civil societies and self-governing communities, the use of fieldwork and case studies, and public economies and coproduction. Although there are perceived tensions between the Ostroms and the Austrians, we contend that these can be reconciled and pursued as fruitful areas of research.
Efforts to export democracy and liberty through military intervention have often been ineffective... more Efforts to export democracy and liberty through military intervention have often been ineffective and have resulted in unintended and undesirable consequences. Countries are free because of belief systems, and institutions that follow from those beliefs, which support and reinforce political and economic freedom. Rational constructivist attempts at nation building are therefore likely to fail in places where there is no tradition of such beliefs and institutions. In this superb book Coyne argues that principled non-interventionism and free trade have historically had the greatest degree of success and should be our guiding policies today. The USA is currently embroiled in an incredibly costly effort to reconstruct Iraq into a viable democracy. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has estimated that the cost of this effort will exceed $2 trillion. Yes, I did write trillion. Whatever our ultimate assessment of Stiglitz’s accounting of the monetary cost of the war, we have to ...
Once man is conceived in the image of an artifact, who constructs himself through his own choices... more Once man is conceived in the image of an artifact, who constructs himself through his own choices, he sheds the animalistically determined path of existence laid out for him by the orthodox economists' model. A determined and programmed existence is replaced by the uncertain and exciting quest that life must be.
Philosophy & Methodology of Economics eJournal, 2015
Roger Garrison has played a key role in advancing ideas in Austrian macroeconomics throughout his... more Roger Garrison has played a key role in advancing ideas in Austrian macroeconomics throughout his career. As contributors to this symposium, we discuss a number of “Garrisonian wisdoms” that have provided important lessons for economists in navigating a “middle ground” and seeking professional advancement within academic economics. Taken together, Garrison’s lessons reveal how one can successfully build and sustain an academic career while staying committed to the advancement and further development of the intellectual tradition of the Austrian School of Economics.
Ian Kumekawa has written a wonderful work in intellectual history on one of the most important fi... more Ian Kumekawa has written a wonderful work in intellectual history on one of the most important figures in early 20th century economic thought. It should be required reading for every economist who has an interest in public economics and public choice economics. It is well written, carefully researched, respectful of alternative perspectives, and committed to presenting Pigou's ideas as accurately as possible. Kumekawa is not a trained economist, so for those trained in the discipline some of his explanations of technical points in theory will fall short, but this does not deter from the overall contribution of the book. As an intellectual historian Kumekawa is trained in the Cambridge School approach which, following the examples of Quintin Skinner and J. G. A. Pocock, seeks to place ideas in their historical, political, and social context. The First Serious Optimist certainly succeeds in placing Pigou in this context, but also sets the stage for understanding all subsequent developments in economics in the 20th century. The center of the intellectual universe in economics was from Adam Smith to A.C. Pigou largely in the UK, but the long intellectual march from Smith to David Ricardo to John Stuart Mill to Alfred Marshall cannot be denied. Marshall utilized his position at Cambridge to influence teaching throughout all of Britain and to shape the main scientific content and direction of the profession through the Royal Society and the Economic Journal. Marshallian economics ruled the emerging profession of academic economics and Pigou was the inheritor of Marshall's tradition. He was Marshall's student, assumed Marshall's chair, and self-consciously sought to faithfully protect and push the Marshallian approach against historicism, ideologues, the methodologists, and eventually against the ''new'' economics. I will come back to his critique of the Cambridge Circus around John Maynard Keynes later, but first let me explain the title of Kumekawa's book.
This article discusses the consequences of John Maynard Keynes for the science of political econo... more This article discusses the consequences of John Maynard Keynes for the science of political economy: the fields of economics, economic policy, and politics. It argues that the consequences of Keynes in all three fields were negative and resulted in a significant retrogression. For economics, a macroeconomic theory of an unstable capitalist economy supplanted the theory of the market process that concentrated on the individual actions of entrepreneurs and their effects on relative prices and production. For economic policy, activist tinkering on behalf of policy advisors replaced the theory of limited and hands-off governments. For politics, unrestricted politicians and continual deficits and inflation replaced restrained politicians who adhered to balanced budgets and sound money.
What explains the simultaneous critiques of economic theory and liberalism during the 1930s? Earl... more What explains the simultaneous critiques of economic theory and liberalism during the 1930s? Early neoclassical economists had a common understanding of the proper institutional context undergirding a liberal market order. From the marginal revolution emerged a growing emphasis on analyzing markets as equilibrium states rather than processes. Because the institutions that frame a liberal market order were taken as given, to the point of relative neglect, this resulted in the notion that markets operated in an institutional vacuum. The resulting association of liberalism with laissez-faire, therefore, prompted a restatement of the role institutions play in the operation of a liberal market order.
Macroeconomic theories picture the economy as a phenomenon tractable by their analysis and thus m... more Macroeconomic theories picture the economy as a phenomenon tractable by their analysis and thus manageable by macroeconomic policies guided by this analysis. This approach has withstood recurrent policy failures, competing theories and several changes of policy paradigms, from Keynesianism to monetarism, because the development of economics as a discipline has been entangled with the demand from policymakers to receive clear macroeconomic policy prescriptions from the expert community. The idea that policymakers can steer the economy in a desired direction relies upon the development of theories with prescriptive and predictive claims, which, in turn, rely on a great deal of analytic reductionism. As a result, reductionist theories continue to offer misrepresentations of the macro phenomenon, particularly by overlooking how policy interventions generate diverse and intractable micro-adaptations that develop into undesired, unforeseen and unintended system-level consequences. This tr...
In the 1930s, Friedrich Hayek emerged as one of the leading economists of his generation. Alongsi... more In the 1930s, Friedrich Hayek emerged as one of the leading economists of his generation. Alongside Lionel Robbins, Hayek made LSE a major player in the marketplace of ideas due to his role in a variety of technical and policy debates against such figures as John Maynard Keynes, Frank Knight, Oskar Lange and Abba Lerner. Boettke and Piano argue that one of these debates, the so-called socialist calculation debate, played a major role in determining the trajectory of Hayek’s career in the decades to come, pushing him to explore a wide array of themes often perceived as beyond the scope of economics proper.
BOOK REVIEWERS KNOW THAT IT IS A CHALLENGE TO REVIEW A collection of 12 separately-authored essay... more BOOK REVIEWERS KNOW THAT IT IS A CHALLENGE TO REVIEW A collection of 12 separately-authored essays. Here, we have been asked to read and comment briefly on the character of the 62 dense, technical articles in the six 2002 issues of the Journal of Development Economics (vols. 67, 68, and 69). Started in 1974, the journal is published by Elsevier and is conventionally regarded as one of the top field journals in development economics. There is no way to discuss more than a few in any detail. We have read the entire set, but we have not attempted to really master the material. We approached the material with critical priors that, to our mind, were essentially confirmed, but we try not to let our treatment become cavalier or dismissive. Unfortunately, it is perhaps inevitable that a brief and unfavorable gloss on the character of a set of 62 articles will come off as cavalier. Around the mid-20 th century, economics strived to develop, in the phraseology of Francis Bator, "institutionally antiseptic theory." The strong trend was toward ahistorical, acontextual, and uniformly mathematical
ABSTRACT When considered as a unified project, the Ostroms’ themes of polycentricity, self-govern... more ABSTRACT When considered as a unified project, the Ostroms’ themes of polycentricity, self-governance, and the art and science of association have strong intellectual roots and connections with Austrian economics. In this paper, we show the close relationship between the Ostroms and the Austrians. We then describe how contemporary Austrian economists can be inspired and can further the work of the Ostroms in the areas of civil societies and self-governing communities, the use of fieldwork and case studies, and public economies and coproduction. Although there are perceived tensions between the Ostroms and the Austrians, we contend that these can be reconciled and pursued as fruitful areas of research.
Efforts to export democracy and liberty through military intervention have often been ineffective... more Efforts to export democracy and liberty through military intervention have often been ineffective and have resulted in unintended and undesirable consequences. Countries are free because of belief systems, and institutions that follow from those beliefs, which support and reinforce political and economic freedom. Rational constructivist attempts at nation building are therefore likely to fail in places where there is no tradition of such beliefs and institutions. In this superb book Coyne argues that principled non-interventionism and free trade have historically had the greatest degree of success and should be our guiding policies today. The USA is currently embroiled in an incredibly costly effort to reconstruct Iraq into a viable democracy. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has estimated that the cost of this effort will exceed $2 trillion. Yes, I did write trillion. Whatever our ultimate assessment of Stiglitz’s accounting of the monetary cost of the war, we have to ...
Once man is conceived in the image of an artifact, who constructs himself through his own choices... more Once man is conceived in the image of an artifact, who constructs himself through his own choices, he sheds the animalistically determined path of existence laid out for him by the orthodox economists' model. A determined and programmed existence is replaced by the uncertain and exciting quest that life must be.
Philosophy & Methodology of Economics eJournal, 2015
Roger Garrison has played a key role in advancing ideas in Austrian macroeconomics throughout his... more Roger Garrison has played a key role in advancing ideas in Austrian macroeconomics throughout his career. As contributors to this symposium, we discuss a number of “Garrisonian wisdoms” that have provided important lessons for economists in navigating a “middle ground” and seeking professional advancement within academic economics. Taken together, Garrison’s lessons reveal how one can successfully build and sustain an academic career while staying committed to the advancement and further development of the intellectual tradition of the Austrian School of Economics.
Ian Kumekawa has written a wonderful work in intellectual history on one of the most important fi... more Ian Kumekawa has written a wonderful work in intellectual history on one of the most important figures in early 20th century economic thought. It should be required reading for every economist who has an interest in public economics and public choice economics. It is well written, carefully researched, respectful of alternative perspectives, and committed to presenting Pigou's ideas as accurately as possible. Kumekawa is not a trained economist, so for those trained in the discipline some of his explanations of technical points in theory will fall short, but this does not deter from the overall contribution of the book. As an intellectual historian Kumekawa is trained in the Cambridge School approach which, following the examples of Quintin Skinner and J. G. A. Pocock, seeks to place ideas in their historical, political, and social context. The First Serious Optimist certainly succeeds in placing Pigou in this context, but also sets the stage for understanding all subsequent developments in economics in the 20th century. The center of the intellectual universe in economics was from Adam Smith to A.C. Pigou largely in the UK, but the long intellectual march from Smith to David Ricardo to John Stuart Mill to Alfred Marshall cannot be denied. Marshall utilized his position at Cambridge to influence teaching throughout all of Britain and to shape the main scientific content and direction of the profession through the Royal Society and the Economic Journal. Marshallian economics ruled the emerging profession of academic economics and Pigou was the inheritor of Marshall's tradition. He was Marshall's student, assumed Marshall's chair, and self-consciously sought to faithfully protect and push the Marshallian approach against historicism, ideologues, the methodologists, and eventually against the ''new'' economics. I will come back to his critique of the Cambridge Circus around John Maynard Keynes later, but first let me explain the title of Kumekawa's book.
This article discusses the consequences of John Maynard Keynes for the science of political econo... more This article discusses the consequences of John Maynard Keynes for the science of political economy: the fields of economics, economic policy, and politics. It argues that the consequences of Keynes in all three fields were negative and resulted in a significant retrogression. For economics, a macroeconomic theory of an unstable capitalist economy supplanted the theory of the market process that concentrated on the individual actions of entrepreneurs and their effects on relative prices and production. For economic policy, activist tinkering on behalf of policy advisors replaced the theory of limited and hands-off governments. For politics, unrestricted politicians and continual deficits and inflation replaced restrained politicians who adhered to balanced budgets and sound money.
What explains the simultaneous critiques of economic theory and liberalism during the 1930s? Earl... more What explains the simultaneous critiques of economic theory and liberalism during the 1930s? Early neoclassical economists had a common understanding of the proper institutional context undergirding a liberal market order. From the marginal revolution emerged a growing emphasis on analyzing markets as equilibrium states rather than processes. Because the institutions that frame a liberal market order were taken as given, to the point of relative neglect, this resulted in the notion that markets operated in an institutional vacuum. The resulting association of liberalism with laissez-faire, therefore, prompted a restatement of the role institutions play in the operation of a liberal market order.
Macroeconomic theories picture the economy as a phenomenon tractable by their analysis and thus m... more Macroeconomic theories picture the economy as a phenomenon tractable by their analysis and thus manageable by macroeconomic policies guided by this analysis. This approach has withstood recurrent policy failures, competing theories and several changes of policy paradigms, from Keynesianism to monetarism, because the development of economics as a discipline has been entangled with the demand from policymakers to receive clear macroeconomic policy prescriptions from the expert community. The idea that policymakers can steer the economy in a desired direction relies upon the development of theories with prescriptive and predictive claims, which, in turn, rely on a great deal of analytic reductionism. As a result, reductionist theories continue to offer misrepresentations of the macro phenomenon, particularly by overlooking how policy interventions generate diverse and intractable micro-adaptations that develop into undesired, unforeseen and unintended system-level consequences. This tr...
In the 1930s, Friedrich Hayek emerged as one of the leading economists of his generation. Alongsi... more In the 1930s, Friedrich Hayek emerged as one of the leading economists of his generation. Alongside Lionel Robbins, Hayek made LSE a major player in the marketplace of ideas due to his role in a variety of technical and policy debates against such figures as John Maynard Keynes, Frank Knight, Oskar Lange and Abba Lerner. Boettke and Piano argue that one of these debates, the so-called socialist calculation debate, played a major role in determining the trajectory of Hayek’s career in the decades to come, pushing him to explore a wide array of themes often perceived as beyond the scope of economics proper.
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