Where to start?

Austrian economics is new to me but exciting simultaneously. However, due to the massive amount of information given by this excellent web site, I do not know where to start!! What theories, studies or books should I read first in order to grasp austrian economics in its most basic concepts?

I would start off by reading Economics in one lesson by Hazlit. It is very easy to understand and very informative and a quick read as well.

Welcome Oliver,

 

Economics in one lesson is a great start.  However afterwards, I encourage you to read the papers and online versions and get a feel for how the Austrian school teaches.  The truth is most books are a great start.  Scroll through the selections.  Subscribe to the Mises letter and get emails piped to you on the latest blog posts.

I wish you luck and email me anytime if you require any guidance on this.  I recently ordered Economics 101 by Murray Rothbard.  I know the content very well but this is in an mp3 CD format and I coudn't resist.  Ultimately I will be ordering the Home Study Course.

Peter

I appreciate the feed back!! I have ordered the Home Study Course!! I am currently knocking out my CPA exams so I am not following the format. Economics in one Lesson was great and I recommend it to everyone! Other than that I have read What the Government has done to our Money, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression Economic Calculation and the Socialistic Common Wealth as well as the Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle!! A few more books I have under my belt but all are GREAT!!!!

Oliver, I very highly recommend:

1. Human Action by Von Mises
2. Capitalism by George Reisman (free PDF or about $100 print): indispensible resource/reference
3. The Law by Frederic Bastiat

Christoper, Do you really think a rookie can fully appreciate and understand a book like Human Action? On the other hand, maybe you just assume I am super smart :) thanks for the recommendations

Oliver, good question. Human Action mostly is easy to read but, the first time through, I skipped over the epistemology sections (the first part of the book). My way of learning Austrian thought has been in response to debating with friends and family. While debating, I'd realize that I really didn't have fundamentals to back up what I was saying, and I certainly had no clear way of expressing my ideas. So, I'd research that one particular concept, using Human Action, Capitalism, and various other books. In fact, I use this demand-driven technique to learn everything. So, if Human Action seems daunting, just look through the index and read one part that interests you at the moment. And maybe then cross reference that against other books, especially the free ones on mises.org. Oh and also, listen to the free audio on mises when you're driving or working out. :) All this said, the books I've read, indicate that "econometrics" is antithetical to Austrian econ. My background is in computer simulation and modeling and I'm very interested in this subject but, because Austrian Econ is based on the individual distributed action of each human, it is impossible to model this accurately over time. And the government's part in our economy is even less predictable. One thought I had is that Austrians can build econometric models to disprove various other models or use the models of others against them. Just a thought.

Christopher:

All this said, the books I've read, indicate that "econometrics" is antithetical to Austrian econ. My background is in computer simulation and modeling and I'm very interested in this subject but, because Austrian Econ is based on the individual distributed action of each human, it is impossible to model this accurately over time. And the government's part in our economy is even less predictable. One thought I had is that Austrians can build econometric models to disprove various other models or use the models of others against them. Just a thought.

I would save that trying to use classical statistical analysis is what is antithetical. If you study "LISP/SCHEME", then apply your programming techniques from a "LIST" oriented position, you may find the ability to model much better. It is my understanding that humans order needs in a list oriented fashion, from most to least desired or needed. A language designed to handle and process ordered lists, not statistical analysis, would probably be a net gain in this.

Michael Joyner:

you may find the ability to model much better.

NOTE: I said MODEL, not accurately predict economic events where you don't have sufficient data about each individual's ever changing LISTS of preferences.