IN SEARCH OF EMPIRICAL CONTENT – THE AUSTRIAN WAY TO GO BEYOND PURE THEORY

The Austrian School has always represented a leading approach in social sciences emphasizing the power of logical deduction and key importance of pure theory. The lack of empirical content, however, often prevented the acknowledgement of correct theoretical and policy conclusions by fellow economists. This paper introduces the concept of analytical narrative and argues that this approach developed by Peter Boettke and his followers from the Virginia branch of the Austrian School can enrich the pure theory by empirical content without compromising the power of the Austria explanation.