Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem

Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem

Author: Israel M. Kirzner

Publisher: Collected Works of Israel M. K

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780865978621

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Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem expands on the ideas Kirzner first discussed in Competition and Entrepreneurshipthe role of the entrepreneur and its relation to the determination of prices and the coordination of individuals plansas well as economic planning, the knowledge problem, market-process theory, and the parts played by information, knowledge and advertising. It includes a paper on F. A. Hayeks theory of market coordination and the Austrian business-cycle theoryseen now for the first time in its original English. As a whole, the volume expresses Kirzners understanding that economics cannot be separated from its human element. Competition is a rivalrous process of entrepreneurial activity in which individuals and firms discover, innovate, and outdo each other. Kirzner discusses why this dynamic view of the economy is so important to understand, particularly in the contexts of economic planning and the workings of competitive markets. Over the course of this books nineteen articles and one monograph, Kirzner also stresses another point: though knowledge is present in all economic interaction, it is also dispersed in the economy such that no individual mind can ever centralize it all. This knowledge problem implies, as Mises and Hayek have argued, the impossibility of central planning. Kirzners contribution is to show that, ultimately, it is only the free, competitive entrepreneurial process that can overcome this problem through generation of knowledge that enables the most efficient allocation of scarce resources.


Book Synopsis Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem by : Israel M. Kirzner

Download or read book Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem written by Israel M. Kirzner and published by Collected Works of Israel M. K. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Competition, Economic Planning, and the Knowledge Problem expands on the ideas Kirzner first discussed in Competition and Entrepreneurshipthe role of the entrepreneur and its relation to the determination of prices and the coordination of individuals plansas well as economic planning, the knowledge problem, market-process theory, and the parts played by information, knowledge and advertising. It includes a paper on F. A. Hayeks theory of market coordination and the Austrian business-cycle theoryseen now for the first time in its original English. As a whole, the volume expresses Kirzners understanding that economics cannot be separated from its human element. Competition is a rivalrous process of entrepreneurial activity in which individuals and firms discover, innovate, and outdo each other. Kirzner discusses why this dynamic view of the economy is so important to understand, particularly in the contexts of economic planning and the workings of competitive markets. Over the course of this books nineteen articles and one monograph, Kirzner also stresses another point: though knowledge is present in all economic interaction, it is also dispersed in the economy such that no individual mind can ever centralize it all. This knowledge problem implies, as Mises and Hayek have argued, the impossibility of central planning. Kirzners contribution is to show that, ultimately, it is only the free, competitive entrepreneurial process that can overcome this problem through generation of knowledge that enables the most efficient allocation of scarce resources.

National Economic Planning

National Economic Planning

Author: Don Lavoie

Publisher: Cato Institute

Published: 1985-06-01

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 193718420X

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Don Lavoie argues that the radical Left's enthusiasm for planning has been a tragic mistake and that progressive social change requires the abandonment of this traditional view. Lavoie argues that planning—whether Marxism, economic democracy, or industrial policy—can only disrupt social and economic coordination. He challenges both radicals and their critics to begin reformulating our whole notion of progressive economic change without reliance on central planning. National Economic Planning: What is Left? will challenge thinkers and policymakers of every political persuasion.


Book Synopsis National Economic Planning by : Don Lavoie

Download or read book National Economic Planning written by Don Lavoie and published by Cato Institute. This book was released on 1985-06-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Don Lavoie argues that the radical Left's enthusiasm for planning has been a tragic mistake and that progressive social change requires the abandonment of this traditional view. Lavoie argues that planning—whether Marxism, economic democracy, or industrial policy—can only disrupt social and economic coordination. He challenges both radicals and their critics to begin reformulating our whole notion of progressive economic change without reliance on central planning. National Economic Planning: What is Left? will challenge thinkers and policymakers of every political persuasion.

The People's Republic of Walmart

The People's Republic of Walmart

Author: Leigh Phillips

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2019-03-05

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 178663516X

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Are multi-national corporations like Walmart and Amazon laying the groundwork for international socialism? For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us? An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People’s Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.


Book Synopsis The People's Republic of Walmart by : Leigh Phillips

Download or read book The People's Republic of Walmart written by Leigh Phillips and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are multi-national corporations like Walmart and Amazon laying the groundwork for international socialism? For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us? An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People’s Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.

Economic Point of View

Economic Point of View

Author: Israel M. Kirzner

Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute

Published: 1960

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 161016282X

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Book Synopsis Economic Point of View by : Israel M. Kirzner

Download or read book Economic Point of View written by Israel M. Kirzner and published by Ludwig von Mises Institute. This book was released on 1960 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Competition and Entrepreneurship

Competition and Entrepreneurship

Author: Israel M. Kirzner

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2015-07-10

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 022637548X

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Stressing verbal logic rather than mathematics, Israel M. Kirzner provides at once a thorough critique of contemporary price theory, an essay on the theory of entrepreneurship, and an essay on the theory of competition. Competition and Entrepreneurship offers a new appraisal of quality competition, of selling effort, and of the fundamental weaknesses of contemporary welfare economics. Kirzner's book establishes a theory of the market and the price system which differs from orthodox price theory. He sees orthodox price theory as explaining the configuration of prices and quantities that satisfied the conditions for equilibrium. Mr. Kirzner argues that "it is more useful to look to price theory to help understand how the decisions of individual participants in the market interact to generate the market forces which compel changes in prices, outputs, and methods of production and in the allocation of resources." Although Competition and Entrepreneurship is primarily concerned with the operation of the market economy, Kirzner's insights can be applied to crucial aspects of centrally planned economic systems as well. In the analysis of these processes, Kirzner clearly shows that the rediscovery of the entrepreneur must emerge as a step of major importance.


Book Synopsis Competition and Entrepreneurship by : Israel M. Kirzner

Download or read book Competition and Entrepreneurship written by Israel M. Kirzner and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-07-10 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stressing verbal logic rather than mathematics, Israel M. Kirzner provides at once a thorough critique of contemporary price theory, an essay on the theory of entrepreneurship, and an essay on the theory of competition. Competition and Entrepreneurship offers a new appraisal of quality competition, of selling effort, and of the fundamental weaknesses of contemporary welfare economics. Kirzner's book establishes a theory of the market and the price system which differs from orthodox price theory. He sees orthodox price theory as explaining the configuration of prices and quantities that satisfied the conditions for equilibrium. Mr. Kirzner argues that "it is more useful to look to price theory to help understand how the decisions of individual participants in the market interact to generate the market forces which compel changes in prices, outputs, and methods of production and in the allocation of resources." Although Competition and Entrepreneurship is primarily concerned with the operation of the market economy, Kirzner's insights can be applied to crucial aspects of centrally planned economic systems as well. In the analysis of these processes, Kirzner clearly shows that the rediscovery of the entrepreneur must emerge as a step of major importance.

The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics

The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics

Author: P. J. Boettke

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 647

ISBN-13: 0857934686

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'The book can be recommended both to those who know something about Austrian economics already, and to those who know nothing.' David Simpson, Economic Affairs 'Mr Boettke's very readable compendium consists of short articles by mostly young scholars, selected to illustrate the diversity and fecundity of modern Austrian economics.' Michael Prowse, The Financial Times The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics is a major new reference work which highlights the common ground between all the branches of the school while demonstrating the breadth and diversity within it. The Companion reflects the many areas where Austrian economists have made contributions, including technical economics, methodology of the social sciences, political theory and political science. This book includes contributions from an international group of scholars whose work demonstrates a basic similarity and interest in questions which have historically been associated with the Austrian approach to economics, although many of the contributors would not consider themselves to be strictly of this school. The distinguished team of contributors commissioned by the editor includes: K.D. Hoover, I.M. Kirzner, A. Klamer, D. Lavoie, C.K. Rowley, M. Rizzo, M. Rutherford, R.E. Wagner, U. Witt, L. Yeager. Each entry is fully referenced and includes suggestions for further readings on the topic. The Companion will be the standard reference work for all those engaged in the field of Austrian Economics. It not only introduces students to the Austrian school, but also serves as an important research tool for scholars working within the Austrian tradition.


Book Synopsis The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics by : P. J. Boettke

Download or read book The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics written by P. J. Boettke and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 647 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The book can be recommended both to those who know something about Austrian economics already, and to those who know nothing.' David Simpson, Economic Affairs 'Mr Boettke's very readable compendium consists of short articles by mostly young scholars, selected to illustrate the diversity and fecundity of modern Austrian economics.' Michael Prowse, The Financial Times The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics is a major new reference work which highlights the common ground between all the branches of the school while demonstrating the breadth and diversity within it. The Companion reflects the many areas where Austrian economists have made contributions, including technical economics, methodology of the social sciences, political theory and political science. This book includes contributions from an international group of scholars whose work demonstrates a basic similarity and interest in questions which have historically been associated with the Austrian approach to economics, although many of the contributors would not consider themselves to be strictly of this school. The distinguished team of contributors commissioned by the editor includes: K.D. Hoover, I.M. Kirzner, A. Klamer, D. Lavoie, C.K. Rowley, M. Rizzo, M. Rutherford, R.E. Wagner, U. Witt, L. Yeager. Each entry is fully referenced and includes suggestions for further readings on the topic. The Companion will be the standard reference work for all those engaged in the field of Austrian Economics. It not only introduces students to the Austrian school, but also serves as an important research tool for scholars working within the Austrian tradition.

Individualism and Economic Order

Individualism and Economic Order

Author: F. A. Hayek

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-12-01

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0226321215

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“These essays . . . bring great learning and . . . intelligence to bear upon economic and social issues of central importance to our era.” —Henry Hazlitt, Newsweek In this collection of writings, Nobel laureate Friedrich A. Hayek discusses topics from moral philosophy and the methods of the social sciences to economic theory as different aspects of the same central issue: free markets versus socialist planned economies. First published in the 1930s and 40s, these essays continue to illuminate the problems faced by developing and formerly socialist countries. F. A. Hayek, recipient of the Medal of Freedom in 1991 and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974, taught at the University of Chicago, the University of London, and the University of Freiburg. Among his other works published by the University of Chicago Press is The Road to Serfdom, now available in a special fiftieth anniversary edition. “There is much interesting and valuable material in this meaty . . . book which must ultimately help the world make up its mind on a vital issue: to plan or not to plan?” —S. E. Harris, The New York Times “Those who disagree with him cannot afford to ignore him . . . This is especially true of a book like the present one.” —George Soule, Nation


Book Synopsis Individualism and Economic Order by : F. A. Hayek

Download or read book Individualism and Economic Order written by F. A. Hayek and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “These essays . . . bring great learning and . . . intelligence to bear upon economic and social issues of central importance to our era.” —Henry Hazlitt, Newsweek In this collection of writings, Nobel laureate Friedrich A. Hayek discusses topics from moral philosophy and the methods of the social sciences to economic theory as different aspects of the same central issue: free markets versus socialist planned economies. First published in the 1930s and 40s, these essays continue to illuminate the problems faced by developing and formerly socialist countries. F. A. Hayek, recipient of the Medal of Freedom in 1991 and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1974, taught at the University of Chicago, the University of London, and the University of Freiburg. Among his other works published by the University of Chicago Press is The Road to Serfdom, now available in a special fiftieth anniversary edition. “There is much interesting and valuable material in this meaty . . . book which must ultimately help the world make up its mind on a vital issue: to plan or not to plan?” —S. E. Harris, The New York Times “Those who disagree with him cannot afford to ignore him . . . This is especially true of a book like the present one.” —George Soule, Nation

Prices and Knowledge

Prices and Knowledge

Author: Esteban F. Thomsen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-01-22

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1134915578

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The growth of information economics has lead to a substantial re-consideration of the role of prices. Instead of the conventional neo-classical view of prices as straightforward indicators of scarcity, information economics emphasises that prices can be sources from which agents infer information and means by which they communicate. Prices and Knowledge analyses different theoretical approaches to the role of prices in situations of imperfect information. It shows that whilst the `informational efficiency' approach of Grossman and Stiglitz and the `bounded rationality theory' of Nelson and Simon are useful, neither goes far enough in considering situations of disequilibrium.


Book Synopsis Prices and Knowledge by : Esteban F. Thomsen

Download or read book Prices and Knowledge written by Esteban F. Thomsen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-01-22 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growth of information economics has lead to a substantial re-consideration of the role of prices. Instead of the conventional neo-classical view of prices as straightforward indicators of scarcity, information economics emphasises that prices can be sources from which agents infer information and means by which they communicate. Prices and Knowledge analyses different theoretical approaches to the role of prices in situations of imperfect information. It shows that whilst the `informational efficiency' approach of Grossman and Stiglitz and the `bounded rationality theory' of Nelson and Simon are useful, neither goes far enough in considering situations of disequilibrium.

The New Competition

The New Competition

Author: Michael H. Best

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 9780674609259

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This book posits a strategic tension between market competition and cooperation in successful industrial societies. The author envisions a new role for national industrial policy.


Book Synopsis The New Competition by : Michael H. Best

Download or read book The New Competition written by Michael H. Best and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1990 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book posits a strategic tension between market competition and cooperation in successful industrial societies. The author envisions a new role for national industrial policy.

Risk, Uncertainty and Profit

Risk, Uncertainty and Profit

Author: Frank H. Knight

Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.

Published: 2006-11-01

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1602060053

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A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.


Book Synopsis Risk, Uncertainty and Profit by : Frank H. Knight

Download or read book Risk, Uncertainty and Profit written by Frank H. Knight and published by Cosimo, Inc.. This book was released on 2006-11-01 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.