From B to J:
My name is B, and I am from NC. I am teaching an Austrian Economics course to a group of home school students this year and would like your advice on undergraduate economics programs. I always find your perspective refreshing and down to earth, and I hope that you will provide some ideas about, or answers to, these questions: Would you recommend students interested in studying economics attend a university that has Austrian’s in their economics department? If so, what are some schools that might be of interest? Do you recommend studying economics as a major at all? Or would you rather see liberty-minded students pursuing other careers? (Obviously, there is no correct answer, but what are your thoughts?) I personally studied undergraduate economics at UNC Chapel Hill which was far from an Austrian stronghold; in fact, I never heard a mention of the Austrian school. Although I wish I could have studied the Austrian theory more in depth, not having it has spurred me on to deep personal study since graduating. Any time you spend on this request, I appreciate deeply. If you are too busy, I understand; I just ask that you would refer me to someone who may be of help in this matter. Many thanks in advance, B
P.S. Be encouraged that I have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents and students alike regarding the course material!
P.P.S. I am a full-time accountant, just getting started; any recommended readings for an Austrian perspective on accounting?
From: J
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 2:02 PM
To: B
Cc: Walter Block
Subject: Re: Recommended Undergraduate Economic Programs
Dear B: Thank you for the note. I strongly recommend that undergraduate (or graduate) students interested in economics attend the very “best” (i.e. most highly regarded) university they can within the parameters of budget/scholarships etc. I don’t recommend that they attend a university (at least not a US university) simply because it has some Austrian or Austrian-friendly professors. There are some programs in Europe, however, that can be good for intensely Austrian-focused, math averse Americans (e.g. at Angers in France and Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain). All economists need to learn “mainstream” arguments and math– in order to counter the mainstream and its obsession with data/modeling. Austrian economics is best learned by reading the great books and academic papers, in my view. Dr. Walter Block, however, does not hold this opinion. He thinks students should attend Loyola, George Mason, etc. I’m sure he can forward his stock response to this sort of question. As far as majoring in economics, that’s entirely up to the individual. It’s certainly necessary if one hopes to become an econ prof, and it’s certainly helpful to many related careers in finance, accounting, banking, etc.
Funny you should ask- Dr. Guido Hulsmann has a new book out that presents Austrian viewpoints on accounting. The current version is in German, but he plans to spend next summer here at the Mises Institute putting it into English. J
From Walter Block to both J and B:
Dear J: Thanks for putting me in touch with B. I don’t agree that ALL economists have to do anything, let alone undertake the very worthy task of “counter(ing) the mainstream and its obsession with data/modeling.” We live in an age of specialization. Many excellent Austrian economists have done no such thing, and, yet, made important contributions to our discipline. I don’t think Israel Kirzner, Ludwig Lachmann, Roger Garrison, have done that, but I’m not entirely sure. I have no doubt that if pushed, I could name a dozen or more good Austrian economists who have specialized in other things, and ignored that task, vital though it be.
Europe is great for Austrianism. Unhappily, I now think that on average, with some exceptions, European Austrian professors are better than their American counterparts: more Misesian-Rothbardian (that’s my definition of “good”). However, many American parents don’t want to send their young undergrad kids so far away from home. Also, those Europeans, weirdos, speak foreign languages! I think in many ways European Austrian places are better than American for graduate studies, not undergraduate. In the US, I am a big fan of Mason and Texas Tech, but only for grad studies, not undergrad. For the latter I favor my own school, plus Grove City College; Jeff Herbener and Shawn Ritenour are great. On Loyola, see this material:
Block, Walter E. 2017. “C’mon Down To New Orleans; The Water’s Fine. Enroll at Loyola University.” June 27;
C’mon Down To New Orleans; The Water’s Fine. Enroll at Loyola University
Loyola Economics Students Published Widely in Refereed Journals
http://www.loyno.edu/news/story/2017/7/17/3962
Block, Walter. 2017. “The Best Place to Study Undergraduate Economics.” June 30;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2017/06/the-best-place-to-study-undergraduate.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Wenzel, Robert. 2017. Interview with Walter E. Block. “The Inside Scoop on Studying Economics at Loyola University-New Orleans” September 3;
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2017/09/the-inside-scoop-on-studying-economics.html
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2017/09/the-inside-scoop-on-studying-economics.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economicpolicyjournal%2FKpwH+%28EconomicPolicyJournal.com%29
Dear B: On Austrian accounting, see this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Taylor%2C+Thomas+C+accounting&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS747US747&oq=Taylor%2C+Thomas+C+accounting&aqs=chrome..69i57.2159j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Taylor, Thomas C. 2000. “Current Developments in Cost Accounting and the Dynamics of Economic Calculation.” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 3, no 2: 3-29.
I most certainly would recommend students interested in studying economics attend a university that has Austrians in their economics department? Also, and perhaps of equal or more importance, libertarian professors. At places like these, there will likely be more students of similar persuasions.
For your students, I highly recommend this book:
Hazlitt, Henry. 2008 [1946]. Economics in One Lesson. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute; http://mises.org/books/economics_in_one_lesson_hazlitt.pdf
Plus all of Mises’ and Rothbard’s intro material:
1. Mises, Ludwig von. 1988 [1958]. Liberty and Property. http://www.mises.org/document/880/Liberty-and-Property; http://library.mises.org/books/Ludwig%20von%20Mises/Liberty%20and%20Property.pdf
2. Rothbard, Murray N. 1963, 1985, 1990 What Has Government Done to Our Money? Auburn, AL.: Mises Institute; http://www.mises.org/rothbard/rothmoney.pdf
3. Mises, Ludwig von. 1969. Bureaucracy, New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House; http://www.mises.org/Literature/search/?q=Bureaucracy; http://www.mises.org/document/875/Bureaucracy
http://bit.ly/MisesBUR
4. Rothbard, Murray N. 1969. “The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle,” p. 78-79, in Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure, Lansing, Michigan: Constitutional Alliance
http://mises.org/tradcycl/econdepr.asp; http://mises.org/daily/3127/Economic-Depressions-Their-Cause-and-Cure
5. Mises, Ludwig von. 1972. The Anti-Capitalist Mentality, South Holland, IL: Libertarian Press; http://www.mises.org/Literature/search/?q=The Anti-Capitalist Mentality; http://www.mises.org/document/1164/The-AntiCapitalistic-Mentality
6. Rothbard, Murray N. 1996. “Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure.” The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute, pp. 37-64. (Originally published by the Center for Libertarian Studies, 1978.) http://mises.org/daily/3127/Economic-Depressions-Their-Cause-and-Cure
7. Mises, Ludwig von. 1975[1933]. Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth, http://www.mises.org/Literature/search/?q=Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth; http://www.mises.org/document/448/Economic-Calculation-in-the-Socialist-Commonwealth
8. Rothbard, Murray N. 1994. The Case Against the Fed. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute; http://mises.org/books/fed.pdf
9. Mises, Ludwig von. 1952. Planning for Freedom. http://www.mises.org/document/4309/Planning-for-Freedom-and-Twelve-other-Essays-and-Addresses; http://library.mises.org/books/Ludwig%20von%20Mises/Planning%20for%20Freedom%20and%20Twelve%20other%20Essays%20and%20Addresses.pdf
10. Rothbard, Murray N. 1962. “The Case For a 100 Percent Gold Dollar.” Leland Yeager (ed.), In Search of a Monetary Constitution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 94 136. Reprinted as The Case For a 100 Percent Gold Dollar, Washington, DC: Libertarian Review Press, 1974. http://mises.org/rothbard/100percent.pdf
11. Mises, Ludwig von. 1940[2004]. Interventionism. Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://mises.org/etexts/mises/interventionism/contents.asp
I use this material in my intro to microeconomics courses.
Also, majoring in economics as an undergrad is not necessary if one hopes to become an econ prof. There are many econ profs who majored in other subjects as undergrads: mainly math-stats, but also history, poli sci, etc. There are even econ profs who have phd’s in subjects other than econ. David Friedman’s phd is in physics; the advanced degrees of Henry Manne and Gordon Tullock are in law.
Best regards,
Walter
11:29 pm on September 14, 2017
