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Specifications of Austrian economics book
- the writer : Steven Horowitz
- Translator: Amir Hossein Khaleghi
- Release year: 1400
- Published: First
- number of pages: 180
- Delivery time: 3 to 5 working days
Austrian economics book: Introduction to the Market School is written by Steven Horowitz. In this book, the author examines the ideas of the Austrian school that began in the 1870s and continues until now. If you are also interested in examining this school in a detailed and complete way, you can read this book to get to know all the developments that this school has gone through in a detailed and complete way. In the rest of this article, I will analyze this book and economic school as closely as possible;
Government or market??!!
It is a question that has always been asked.
Maybe hearing this question in your mind reminds you of a play by Shakespeare. But we must say that this question has been occupying the human mind since the creation of economics until today. Finding a logical answer to this question has led to the creation of many economic schools and each of them answers this question according to their own point of view. The Austrian school of economics is one of these schools.
The Austrian school is discussed in the book of Austrian economics. This book is a combination of economics, history and philosophy.
The Austrian school was first founded in the 19th and 20th centuries by Carl Menger , Ludwig van Mises , and Friedrich Hayek . Among the intellectual principles of this school, we can mention individualism and the belief that money is not neutral in economic fields. These things caused this school to be distinguished from socialist schools.
Mr. Hossein Khaleghi, the translator of the Austrian Economy book, also states that;
I think that the Austrian school of economics is actually the statement of what will happen if we have the market and what will happen if the government intervenes.
When talking about economics, statistical formulas and charts, complex calculations, flood of statistics and figures are associated in people’s minds. Of course, all these things come to you from the important parts of economics, but not all of them will be economics. This issue is one of the main factors in creating schools like the Austrian School of Economics in the world.
The principles of the Austrian school were founded by Karl Menger by authoring the book Principles of Economics. In these principles, things such as equal rights and maximum individual freedom of each person are emphasized. Also, Karl Menger’s point of view was based on the fact that the market alone can take over by relying on its own mechanisms.
The ideas of this school are similar to the philosophical school of umatism or humanism in the Middle Ages. And because of this school’s distance from mathematical sciences, even people who are not familiar with economics can gain a good insight into it.
What is the Austrian economy?
When you hear the name of the Austrian school of economics, you may think that this school is only related to the country of Austria. But we must say that it is not like that at all.
Austrian economics or the Austrian school called the Vienna school (in German: Österreichische Schule) is also known. This school is one of the economic schools outside the mainstream and emphasizes on spontaneous organization based on price mechanism. Other intellectual characteristics of the Austrian school of economics are methodological individualism and non-neutrality of money.
It can be safely said that Karl Menger was able to change the course of economics at that time by introducing the Austrian school. This school is known as a rigid defender of individual freedoms and the free market. The answer of the Austrian school of economics to the question of the government or the market? It was 100% market.
The beginning of this whirlwind was answering the oldest and most famous riddle of economics;
The mystery of water and diamonds
The main axis of thought in Austrian economics is how a person makes decisions and choices in society. This is precisely while the mainstream of economics has a strong tendency to make humans look like machines and make rational decisions. The Austrian school emphasizes that economics is always changing and has great adaptability and complexity.
What is the mystery of water and diamonds?
Even people who are not familiar with economics are familiar with this puzzle. This mystery is defined as why water, which is one of the essential factors in human life, has a low economic value, but diamond, which is not necessary for humans, has a high economic value.
The Austrian school of economics was able to provide a convincing answer to this puzzle that none of the economic theories had the power to answer before.
Austrian economic perspective on government intervention
The Austrian school of economics considers it necessary that government interventions in economic fields should be limited. The economists of the Austrian school explain this issue in such a way that the policy makers will not be able to predict the consequences of their interventions. As a result, their first intervention in economic affairs causes a series of interventions that will make the person’s situation far worse than before.
In 1944, Hayek published the book “The Way of Slavery” to explain the same issue. This book was able to sell quickly in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In 1945, he published an article entitled “Use of knowledge in society”. In 1950, the author moved from the London School to the University of Chicago. After that, in 1974, he published a three-volume book called “Law, Legislation and Freedom”, which won the Nobel Prize in Economics.
This award can be called the revival of the Austrian school.
How to determine the price from the point of view of the Austrian school
The Austrian school believes that prices are determined based on the subjective factors of buying and not buying goods. This is while in the classical school it is mentioned that the price will be determined based on the objective costs of production. The neoclassical view is based on the fact that the main factor determining prices will be the amount of supply and demand.
The Austrian school of economics rejects both of these views. This school believes that production costs are created according to subjective factors and based on the value of alternative uses of scarce resources, as well as creating a balance between supply and demand based on the subjective preference of people.
for example; The cost spent to create money is very small, but it has a high subjective value for people.
Business cycles from the point of view of the Austrian school of economics
The Austrian school of economics believes that business cycles are driven by the manipulation of interest rates by governments with the aim of controlling money. In this context, governments abuse people’s capital by raising and lowering interest rates, which results in economic stagnation.
This school believes that the cause of economic stagnation is the use of labor and capital in inappropriate industries. This will cause the amount of real investment to decrease and we will see an increase in the unemployment rate. The solution of the government and the central bank in such a situation is to reduce the interest rate and support the industries. With this, he intends to bypass the recession. But Austrian economic theorists consider this practice incorrect. Because according to them, this will increase the amount of incorrect investment and make the situation worse.
The reason for naming the Austrian school
The Austrian school of economics was introduced in 1871 with the publication of Karl Menger’s book on economics. Marginalist revolution is always known as Carl Menger along with Stanley Jones and Leon. But in the end, we saw the creation of the neoclassical school of economics by the ideas of Leon Walras and Stanley Jones. This was while Menger’s followers created the Austrian school of economics, which was different from the neoclassical school in many ways, including epistemology and methodology.
The perspective of the German historical school;
This school considers economics to serve politics and ideology and denies the transtemporal and translocal principles of economics.
In 1873, Menger presented his book Principles of Economics to Wilhelm Roscher, who was one of the founders of the old historical school, and this caused the members of the German historical school to react. The followers of the German historical school mockingly called Menger’s work the Austrian school, and this name remained until today.
After that, we saw the famous methods that were created by Gustav Schmols’ sharp criticism of Menger’s book. However, Menger did not remain silent and in 1883, following this methodological controversy, he wrote another book entitled “Essay on Social Science Methodology”. It was here that the marginalist theory of value and the theory of finalism were proposed by Menger as a valuable alternative to classical work.
Menger was able to establish his modern economic theory based on subjective value theory and a modern economic theory. One of the main foundations of the Austrian economy is the subjectivity of value.
Who is Steven Horowitz?
Economists of the Austrian school migrated to England and America after the beginning of the 20th century during the Second World War. And they continued on their way. The opinions and activities of these people were later able to create the intellectual and political vision of liberalism.
Steven Horowitz, the author of the book Austrian Economics, was one of the people who was able to show himself during the revival of the Austrian school in 1970, whose reputation was becoming global. As a result, he was able to be recognized as the representative of this movement in the contemporary period and the 21st century. Steven Horowitz joined the supporters of the libertarian school during his student days and became a libertarian.
According to the interviews he had in Iranian fields, Steven Horowitz was able to be known in our country as well. One of the main reasons for Steven Horowitz’s popularity among people who are interested in free economic market content is that this author tried his best to present economic discussions in the simplest possible language to the general public. Among the other writings of Steven Horowitz, we can mention topics such as the 2008 economic crisis, about cryptos and minimum wages.
The superiority of this author was that he could express his economic views in the simplest possible language.
Austrian economics book
The Austrian Economics book is written by Steven Horowitz. In this book, the author has tried to tell the story of the Austrian school throughout history, and besides explaining this history, he also explains the concepts and principles of his school to the audience of the 21st century in a simple and fluent language.
Steven Horowitz was personally a positive person, which, ironically, can also be found in the introduction of the Austrian Economics book. Steven Horowitz has stated in the introduction of this book that the path to progress is the same everywhere and that is economic freedom and minimal government intervention.
He has prescribed this prescription for all human societies and even the country of Iran. Unfortunately, Steven Horowitz died due to cancer before the publication of the Persian version of the Austrian Economics book. And this issue has been expressed as one of the regrets of Mr. Khaleghi, the translator of this book.
What is the advantage of Austrian economics book?
From Mr. Amirhossein Khaleghi’s point of view, the main advantage of the Austrian economy book is that;
In the 21st century, especially the Austrians tried to borrow from the thought of other schools and present a more diverse view. The introduction of these themes and some figures, as well as the interest that exists, shows the superiority of this book over its similar cases.
About the translator of Austrian economics book
Amirhossein Khaleghi was born on Mehr 17, 1359. He was born in the city of Isfahan and continued his education in the field of mathematics and physics until high school in this city. He started his university studies in 2017 in the field of industrial engineering from Amirkabir University. After graduation, due to his interest in management issues and humanities, he continued his studies at Shahid Beheshti University, and pursued a master’s degree in business management. In 2017, he was able to be accepted into a doctoral program in the field of public administration, majoring in public policy. The change of direction in the educational process brought him closer to his personal interests in the field of studies.
Amirhossein Khaleghi started teaching various courses at Tehran University’s Faculty of Management at the same time as he was studying for a doctorate. His doctoral dissertation was presented with the title Halil Discourse of Ethical Matters in Iran’s E-Government Policymaking. This person has published various articles in the field of social sciences, management, etc. Also, two books titled “Complexity and Management; Forget the systemic approach” and translated “Organizations, Identity and Image”. Along with the elites of the field of management, he has explained the basics of electronic government in the compilation of two volumes of Iranian management books.
It should be mentioned that Amir Hossein Khaleghi, besides cooperating with many organizations and institutions in the fields of consulting and education, is also engaged in teaching management courses at Tehran University’s Faculty of Management. Also, he has published other books on the topics of organization and management.
The views of Amir Hossein Khaleghi, the translator of Austrian Economics
Amir Hossein Khaleghi is of the opinion that the Austrians have not even accepted the government’s lack of money and have made all their efforts to have money that is safe from the government’s intervention and attack.
This is why from the 1970s and 1980s we saw the introduction of private money, which was a bit unconventional.
From my point of view, cryptocurrencies are a big step in this direction. Because they are money that does not need a control center, while they have the function of money.
More or less, it can be claimed that by reading the book of Austrian economics, the reader will get a general view of all aspects of this school and the discussion he had with all schools.
List of books on Austrian economics
- Introduction by Steven Horowitz
- Introduction by Dr. Moussa Ghaninejad
- Translator's introduction
- Chapter One: getting to know
- second chapter: Karl Menger and Austrian microeconomics
- Chapter III: Market process and spontaneous order
- Fourth Season: Austrian method of economics
- The fifth chapter: Capital and calculation
- Chapter Six: Discussion of socialist calculation
- The seventh chapter: The theory of Austrian business cycles
- The eighth chapter: Hayek's ideas
- Chapter 9: Competition
- Chapter Ten: Monetary theory
- Chapter eleven: Austrian economy
By now, everyone knows that the economy these days is not even the same as it was 10 years ago, let alone a century ago
Technologies and new communication tools have captured everyone. The knowledge-based economy, e-commerce, and e-payment are advancing at the speed of light every day. And with the same speed, they cause new changes in the equations of different international markets. It has reached a point where with the advent of a phenomenon called digital currency or cryptocurrency, even money has lost its previous position.
The market, which is made up of every single person who does economic activity, is getting bigger and bigger day by day. And in contrast to different governments around the world, they can interfere in economic transactions less.
Maybe we will see that the governments will not intervene in the market Round intervention in the market and leave the market alone.
Watching this video is only the first step in getting to know the Austrian school of economics. If you want to get to know more about this school and know what they mean in economics and business, we suggest you to read this book.