History of the Austrian School of Economics

Professor White's lecture showed that, historically, a free-market approach to the banking industry is less prone to crises and operates efficiently through the invisible hand of the market.

Price formation is the specific economic characteristic of the economy — as distinct from all the other social, historical, and technical characteristics — and that all specifically economic events can be comprehended within the framework of price formation.

As the misinterpretation of these facts has generated a whole mythology of "imperfect competition" and "monopolistic competition," it is necessary to enter into a more detailed scrutiny of the considerations of an entrepreneur who is weighing the pros and cons of an expansion of his business.
 

As the late 20th century's disastrous experiments with totalitarianism and interventionism showed, Mises's criticisms have most certainly stood the test of time.

The mathematical method must be rejected not only on account of its barrenness. It is an entirely vicious method, starting from false assumptions and leading to fallacious inferences."

Income is a category of action; it is the outcome of careful economizing of scarce factors.

On a competitive market there is no such thing as a price policy of the sellers. They have no alternative other than to sell as much as they can at the highest price offered to them.

"What distinguishes the Austrian School and will lend it everlasting fame is its doctrine of economic action, in contrast to one of economic equilibrium or nonaction."

Working closely with other fellows and resident Mises faculty, sharing concerns and solutions, networking as a Mises summer fellow is a big leg up for the young Austrian in meeting the challenge of launching a successful career in an academic world that is again growing increasingly hostile to the market economy and society.

"Mises must be compared to thinkers like Voltaire or Montesquieu, Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill."