Austrian Theory of the Firm Seminar (Session VI)

Aletse López  | 29 de enero de 2019  | Vistas: 40

The Austrian Theory of Firm Seminar lead by the economist and professor Peter Klein is a group discussion of the benefits and costs of firms, their role in markets and the perspectives of different authors about this type of organization in free markets.

In this last session, professor Klein analyzes the article “Entrepreneurship and the Economic Theory of the Firm: Any Gains from Trade?” that he himself wrote with the economist Nicolai J. Foss. He discusses the divorce between the fields of the firms and entrepreneurs by considering Joseph Schumpeter and Israel Kirzner’s work.

The Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the Entrepreneur, in my understanding, those two theories are very closely matched. The Theory of the Firm is kind of part of the Theory of Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship is sort of  central to the Theory of the Firm. However, that’s not generally true for either the literature of both theories.”

Klein later discusses some Austrian literature on business strategy and management from authors like Robert Jacobson and John Matthews.  He also presents a last application of the Theory of the Firm related to political economy, government intervention and big companies.

We probably would have large companies in a purely freed market, maybe even more than we have now, we can’t say for sure.”  

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