Online Library of Liberty: Economics As a Coordination Problem: the Contributions of Friedrich A
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The Online Library of Liberty A Project Of Liberty Fund, Inc. Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek [1977] The Online Library Of Liberty This E-Book (PDF format) is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a private, non-profit, educational foundation established in 1960 to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. 2010 was the 50th anniversary year of the founding of Liberty Fund. It is part of the Online Library of Liberty web site http://oll.libertyfund.org, which was established in 2004 in order to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. To find out more about the author or title, to use the site's powerful search engine, to see other titles in other formats (HTML, facsimile PDF), or to make use of the hundreds of essays, educational aids, and study guides, please visit the OLL web site. This title is also part of the Portable Library of Liberty DVD which contains over 1,000 books and quotes about liberty and power, and is available free of charge upon request. The cuneiform inscription that appears in the logo and serves as a design element in all Liberty Fund books and web sites is the earliest-known written appearance of the word “freedom” (amagi), or “liberty.” It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, in present day Iraq. To find out more about Liberty Fund, Inc., or the Online Library of Liberty Project, please contact the Director at [email protected]. LIBERTY FUND, INC. 8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana 46250-1684 Online Library of Liberty: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek Edition Used: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek, Foreword by F.A. Hayek (Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977). Author: Gerald P. O’Driscoll Foreword: Friedrich August von Hayek About This Title: An first full-length assessment of the contributions to economics of Friedrich Hayek (Nobel Prize 1974). Hayek is unique, he argues, for a number of reasons: because of his emphasis on the function of institution s in coordinating the various plans of individuals in the market; his attack on the expansionary policies of central banks which discoordinate the patterns of business investment and produce depressions; and his view about the possibility of rational economic calculation under socialism. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 2 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/110 Online Library of Liberty: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek About Liberty Fund: Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright Information: This work is copyrighted by the Institute for Humane Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and is put online with their permission. Fair Use Statement: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 3 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/110 Online Library of Liberty: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek Table Of Contents F. A. Hayek, Foreword Preface Introduction 1: The Controversies of the 1920s 2: The Coordination Problem 3: The Monetary Theory 4: Money and Prices 5: The Ricardo Effect 6: Was the Marginal Revolution Aborted? 7: An Alternative Research Program Studies in Economic Theory Laurence S. Moss, Editor America's Great Depression, Murray N. Rothbard (1975) The Economic Point of View, Israel M. Kirzner (1976) The Economics of Ludwig von Mises: Toward a Critical Reappraisal, ed. Laurence S. Moss (1976) The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics, ed. Edwin G. Dolan (1976) Capital, Interest, and Rent: Essays in the Theory of Distribution, by Frank A. Fetter, ed. Murray N. Rothbard (1977) Capital, Expectations, and the Market Process: Essays on the Theory of the Market Economy by Ludwig M. Lachmann, ed. Walter E. Grinder (1977) Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek, Gerald P. O'Driscoll, Jr. (1977) To Lyla, with affection PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 4 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/110 Online Library of Liberty: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek [Back to Table of Contents] FOREWORD On The Way To give a coherent account of the whole of the theoretical work of an economist who has not attempted to do so himself is sometimes a useful task. But the proof of its worthwhileness must be that the attempt at systematization leads beyond the point where the author discussed left off. On this standard Professor O'Driscoll, if the task he has undertaken was worth doing at all, has done it very well indeed. It is a curious fact that a student of complex phenomena may long himself remain unaware of how his views of different problems hang together and perhaps never fully succeed in clearly stating the guiding ideas which led him in the treatment of particulars. I must confess that I was occasionally myself surprised when I found in Professor O'Driscoll's account side by side statements I made at the interval of many years and on quite different problems, which still implied the same general approach. That it seems in principle possible to recast a great part of economic theory in terms of the approach which I had found useful in dealing with such different problems as those of industrial fluctuations and the running of a socialist economy was the more gratifying to me as what I had done had often seemed to me more to point out barriers to further advance on the path chosen by others than to supply new ideas which opened the path to further development. Professor O'Driscoll has almost persuaded me that I ought to have continued with the work I had been doing in the 1930s and 1940s rather than let myself be drawn away to other problems which I felt to be more important. I cannot now really regret it, however, when I see that not only he but also a few others are pushing beyond the point where my own impetus had flagged; in fact their efforts are doing more to make me think again about those problems than I would otherwise have done. F. A. Hayek Obergurgl, Austria September, 1975 PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 5 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/110 Online Library of Liberty: Economics as a Coordination Problem: The Contributions of Friedrich A. Hayek [Back to Table of Contents] PREFACE In writing this book, I decided in general not to consult with Professor Hayek. If the reinterpretation was to be authentic and worthwhile, it would necessarily involve my piecing together his ideas as they were presented and available. I wanted to assess Hayek's contributions, not what Hayek himself recalled contributing, or intended to contribute. I was thus especially pleased that when he gave me his impressions of the penultimate draft in the form of a foreword, he found my interpretation satisfactory. There are many people who deserve thanks for the assistance that they have rendered. If it is possible to make such a judgement, my greatest intellectual debt is to Axel Leijonhufvud. This debt is far greater than the usual one to the chairman of one's dissertation committee. During the period of time I was at U.C.L.A., he was always available to give advice on a wide range of problems. He seemed to have an infinite supply of time, and a way of avoiding the inessentials and moving right to the heart of a problem. Much of what is worthwhile in this book is due to what I learned in and out of the classroom from him, and to his stern criticisms of earlier drafts of my Ph.D. dissertation. He is to be especially absolved from responsibility for any remaining errors, as I am quite aware of the areas where we disagree. Professor Robert Clower was also willing to give of his time whenever asked for assistance. Since Professor Clower does not have the dubious distinction of ever having been officially associated with this project, he is certainly protected from all blame. But my appreciation for his assistance, rendered at critical junctures, cannot be adequately expressed. I would also like to thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Professors Sam Peltzman and Thomas Sowell, for the help they rendered along the way. My experience at U.C.L.A. provided great intellectual stimulation. The constellation of great minds was truly awe inspiring. One had the sense of economics being once again made a lively and interesting field in which to work. This sense of excitement was infectious, and the graduate students greatly benefited. It would be impossible to name all of the faculty and staff who, in discussions and otherwise, provided help and stimulation. The economics department at Iowa State University proved to be a very congenial place in which to carry forth the preparation of this book from my dissertation. Dudley Luckett has helped in ways he undoubtedly does not realize, by his willingness to discuss subjects whose connection with this book he could not then have known. I early learned that the cognoscenti in the department attended Charles Meyer's informal luncheon seminars in the Cardinal Room.