In recent years, the economic approach to human behavior has been challenged by contributions of cognitive science. Thus two methodological strands in economics disagree with each other: the objectivistic approach favors the methods of natural science; the subjectivistic approach takes the...

The economic paradigms of Ludwig von Mises on the one hand and of John Maynard Keynes on the other have been correctly recognized as antithetical at the theoretical level, and as antagonistic with respect to their practical and public policy implications. Characteristically they have also been...

Carl Menger published his classic work Principles of Economics in 1871, that work is the founding text of what came known as the “Austrian School of Economics”. That label has now been used to describe a historical school of thought, as well as contemporary academic economists and public...

Professor Axel Leijonhufvud passed away few months ago, at the age of 89. Despite the fact that the contribution he made to economics has been widely recognized, his approach remains 'problematic' because of his dialogue and proximity with different streams of thought, and in particular with the...

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between the praxeology of L. von Mises and the theory of action of Alfred Schütz. Because of the importance that Mises’ theory has had on economics it is interesting to highlight the coincidences and synergies which exist between the...

The common interpretation of Carl Menger's take on capital theory rests upon a few sentences in his Principles of Economics. His later monograph on the topic, Zur Theorie des Kapitals (A contribution to the theory of capital), is more or less ignored, although it must be seen as a recantation of...

The financial crisis of 2008 has challenged the reputation of the free-market economy in the public imagination in a way that it has not been challenged since the Great Depression. The intellectual consensus after World War II was that markets are unstable and exploitive and thus in need of...

This article provides a brief survey of contemporary developments in the Austrian school of economics, signalling that: (i) the amount of Austrian research and the number of Austrian researchers is growing exponentially; (ii) good Austrian economists are not being marginalised by the economics...

The systematic study of political economy begins with the recognition of two seemingly contradictory observations about commercial life. The first observation is that individuals pursue their self-interest and do so as effectively as they are capable of doing. The second observation is that...