The Wall Street Journal profiles one of the standard bearers of Austrian economics, Pete Boettke of George Mason University, who blogs at Coordination Problem. The title of the piece is is “Spreading Hayek, Spurning Keynes,” so you know where he’s coming from. This, of course, is a topic we have touched on before.
The blog wasn’t always called Coordination Problem, either.
The resurgence of Austrian economics does have its hazards, Mr. Boettke says. The antigovernment fervor on cable-television shows and the Internet may have popularized its theories, but it also “reinforces the idea to critics that these are crackpot ideas,” he said. He has tried to distance himself from conspiracy theorists and even dropped “Austrian” from the name of his blog. But he hasn’t yet thought of a better term.
If you are unfamiliar with the Austrians, here’s Bottke’s description of Austrian economics at The Library of Economics and Liberty. We also have Israel Kirzner’s take from the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, available from campus IP addresses (thanks to the good folks over at The Mudd).
Kirzner is an especially important thinker about entrepreneurship, so those of you interested might take a peek at what he has to say. You might also check out Peter Klein’s The Capitalist and the Entrepreneur, which is some of the most mature work fusing the Austrian school with transaction cost economics.