Markets, Information And Communication: Austrian Perspectives On The Internet Economy (foundations Of The Market Economy Series.)

Markets, Information and Communication The Internet bubble, which peaked in size in 2000, has now well and truly burst. As with all bubbles, there are varying explanations for its occurrence, but the hype that surrounds the Internet has shouldered a lot of the blame. There is, however, no doubt that the Internet has significantly changed the way people live, think and do business. This impressive volume presents the Austrian school of thought and their considered response to the “Internet economy” with clarity and insight, and counts amongst its contributors several brilliant young academics and important figures such as Peter Boettke, Richard Aréna and the late Don Lavoie (to whose memory this book is dedicated). Topics include: • • • • “Austrian” theories of the firm and the Internet economy entrepreneurship and e-commerce private lawmaking on the Internet Hayek and the IT entrepreneurs Markets, Information and Communication presents an accurate picture of the extent to which Austrian economics can help us to understand the Internet economy and the extent to which it vindicates Austrian economics. It will be welcomed by researchers in economics, Austrian economists and all those wanting a better understanding of the economic and legal ramifications of the Internet. Jack Birner is Research Professor at University College Maastricht, The Netherlands, Professor of Economics at the University of Trento, Italy, and permanent visiting Professor at BETA, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasburg. He is author of The Cambridge Controversies in Capital Theory also published by Routledge. Pierre Garrouste is Professor at the University of Lyon II, France. Foundations of the market economy Edited by Mario J. Rizzo, New York University and Lawrence H. White, University of Missouri at St Louis A central theme in this series is the importance of understanding and assessing the market economy from a perspective broader than the static economics of perfect competition and Pareto optimality. Such a perspective sees markets as causal processes generated by the preferences, expectations and beliefs of economic agents. The creative acts of entrepreneurship that uncover new information about preferences, prices and technology are central to these processes with respect to their ability to promote the discovery and use of knowledge in society. The market economy consists of a set of institutions that facilitate voluntary cooperation and exchange among individuals. These institutions include the legal and ethical framework as well as more narrowly “economic” patterns of social interaction. Thus the law, legal institutions and cultural and ethical norms, as well as ordinary business practices and monetary phenomena, fall within the analytical domain of the economist. Other titles in the series The meaning of market process Essays in the development of modern Austrian Economics Israel M. Kirzner Prices and knowledge A market-process perspective Esteban F. Thomas Keynes’ general theory of interest A r