The Socialist Calculation debate was one of the defining moments of 20th-century economics, opening fundamental questions about the market economy and the possibility of a non-market economy. Was a socialist economy really feasible? Advocates like Lange and Taylor clearly thought so, but their critics led by Mises and Hayek were implacable in their opposition. During the '30s and '40s the Socialists clearly appeared to have won the day: 50 years later, with the collapse of communism, a different consensus emerged. This set contains material which should provide an understanding of the debate itself, as well as giving a critical insight into the relative merits of capitalism, socialism, and the alternative market socialism.

No other economist in recent times has been so closely identified with the Austrian School of economics as Israel M Kirzner, professor emeritus of economics at New York University. A leader of the generation of Austrian economists after Ludwig von Mises and F A Hayek, Kirzner has been recognised as one of the minds behind the revival of entrepreneurship and market process theory in the twentieth century. This book defines Israel M Kirzners unique contribution to the economics profession. Pointing out the shortcomings of the traditional microeconomic model, Kirzner offers an alternative and complementary view, which illuminates and enriches the way economists think of the market process. Recognising that economics cannot explain sheer novelty and ultimately social change by referring only to productive factors already in use, Kirzner develops a theory of the market process that focuses on the role of the pure entrepreneurial element in human action.This leads him to reconstruct the theory of price in order to understand, as he puts it, how the decisions of individual participants in the market interact to generate the market forces which compel changes in prices, outputs, and methods of production and in the allocation of resources. In doing so, Kirzner offers a new appraisal of competition moving the entrepreneurial function back to centre stage, thereby shedding new light on issues such as monopoly pricing, cartels, and pure profit.

The third volume of The Collected Works of Israel M Kirzner presents a collection of writings on capital theory that serve both as a discourse in the history of economic thought and as conceptual clarification in one of the most complex subjects in economics. This edition explores the notions of capital and interest in light of the controversies surrounding these topics. The first essay in this volume is Kirzner's introduction to the 1996 edition. The second essay was published as a stand-alone book in 1966 and presents Kirzner's capital theory, focusing on multi-period production plans. In the third essay Kirzner offers an interpretation of Ludwig von Mises's view of capital and interest. The fourth essay, written in the late 1980s, is Kirzner's attempt to clarify the difficulties found in interest theory. Finally, the fifth essay deals with Sir John Hick's capital theory in light of Kirzner's own Austrian position.

The third volume of The Collected Works of Israel M Kirzner presents a collection of writings on capital theory that serve both as a discourse in the history of economic thought and as conceptual clarification in one of the most complex subjects in economics. This edition explores the notions of capital and interest in light of the controversies surrounding these topics. The first essay in this volume is Kirzner's introduction to the 1996 edition. The second essay was published as a stand-alone book in 1966 and presents Kirzner's capital theory, focusing on multi-period production plans. In the third essay Kirzner offers an interpretation of Ludwig von Mises's view of capital and interest. The fourth essay, written in the late 1980s, is Kirzner's attempt to clarify the difficulties found in interest theory. Finally, the fifth essay deals with Sir John Hick's capital theory in light of Kirzner's own Austrian position.

"Market Theory and the Price System" was published in 1963 as Kirzner's first (and only) textbook. This volume presents an integrated view of Austrian price theory. The basic aim of the book is to utilise the tools of economic reasoning to explain the market process. The unique framework Kirzner develops for microeconomic analysis, following Mises and Hayek, examines error in decision-making, entrepreneurial profit, and competition as a process of discovery and learning.

"Market Theory and the Price System" was published in 1963 as Kirzner's first (and only) textbook. This volume presents an integrated view of Austrian price theory. The basic aim of this book is to utilise the tools of economic reasoning to explain the market process. The unique framework Kirzner develops for microeconomic analysis, following Mises and Hayek, examines error in decision-making, entrepreneurial profit, and competition as a process of discovery and learning.