"Friedrich A. Hayek" is the fourth work in the Routledge Series of "Critical Assessments of Contemporary Economists," The series presents a comprehensive selection of the critical literature commenting on the life and works of a major contemporary economist. Friedrich A. Hayek is one of the most important economists of the twentieth century. He played a key role as one of the premiere defenders of the free market, stressing the benefits of personal liberty and the market economy, and arguing against economic planning. As a result, his work is of major significance to philosophers and political thinkers as well as to economists. As a leading proponent of the Austrian School, Hayek wrote on the trade cycle, elaborating the work of von Mieses. He also examined monetary theory, and in the 1930s, was a vigorous opponent of Keynes.
Hayek was born in Vienna in 1899 and served as Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research. He was Professor ofEconomics at LSE, the University of Chicago, and the University of Freiburg, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1974. These volumes provide students of economics, politics, and philosophy with immediate access to Hayek's contributions and show how his work has been received and modified by others.