From The Austrian Economics Wiki, the global repository of classical-liberal thought
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Welcome to the Austrian Economics Wiki
A free encyclopedia of Austrian economics and the libertarian tradition
The Austrian Economics Wiki is a free, in-depth encyclopedia of the Austrian School of economics and the broader libertarian and classical-liberal tradition — from praxeology and the subjective theory of value to the business cycle, the economic calculation problem, and sound money. Its 1,416 articles explain the ideas, arguments, and thinkers of free-market economics for students, teachers, and the merely curious.
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It is the reference companion to the Free Capitalists book and media library — over 1,800 books, journals, and recorded lectures on liberty and economics — giving a new generation of readers one place to look up a concept, trace an argument, or meet a thinker.
The corpus continues the Mises Wiki as it stood in 2014, restored here with full revision history and original authorship. The wiki is not affiliated with or sponsored by the Mises Institute. Editing is open again — create an account to contribute, or see the about page for more.
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| New here? Start with these
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Never studied economics? Begin with the Austrian School, then praxeology — why Austrians reason from human action — and the subjective theory of value.
Want to understand booms and busts? Read the Austrian business cycle theory and the economic calculation problem — the Austrian case against central planning and easy money.
Here for the thinkers? Meet Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Murray Rothbard — and read Mises's Human Action.
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| Featured article
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| Malinvestment is an investment in wrong lines of production, which inevitably leads to wasted capital and economic losses, subsequently requiring the reallocation of resources to more productive uses. "Wrong" in this sense means "incorrect" or "mistaken" from the point of view of the real long-term needs and demands of the economy, if those needs and demands were expressed with the correct price signals in the free market. Austrians believe systemic malinvestments occur because of unnecessary and counterproductive intervention in the free market, distorting price signals and misleading investors and entrepreneurs. For Austrians, prices are an essential information channel through which market participants communicate their demands and cause resources to be allocated to satisfy these demands appropriately. If the government or banks distort, confuse or mislead investors and market participants by not permitting the price mechanism to work, malinvestment will be the inevitable result.
Malinvestment results from the inability of investors to foresee correctly, at the time of investment, either the future pattern of consumer demand, or the future availability of more efficient means for satisfying consumer demand. Malinvestment is always the result of the inability of human beings to foresee future conditions correctly. However, such errors are most frequently compounded by inflation misleading market participants. (more...)
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Every idea in this wiki traces back to a book, essay, or lecture. Read them in full at the Free Capitalists library — 1,800+ works by Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Menger, and more, free to download. More at freecapitalists.org.
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