Ludwig von Mises seems to be something of an outlier within the Austrian school when it comes to capital – though his position is clearly foreshadowed in a neglected article by Carl Menger (1888). In this paper we examine Mises's view on capital and suggest that it constitutes a bridge between...

This paper discusses the implications of considering capital in financial or market value terms rather than as a collection of productive assets. We emphasize potential areas of research from this conception of capital

The ability to rationally evaluate time-consuming productive activities is what distinguishes capitalism from alternative social systems. Capital-accounting provides the framework for such evaluations that allow decision-makers to calculate the relative values to them of alternative productive...

Unpacking the concept of entrepreneurial opportunity to include three categories of essential ingredients, this paper provides a fruitful framework for applying Israel Kirzner's approach to entrepreneurship - bridging the entrepreneur as someone alert to opportunities to create value, to real...

The time is right for a reexamination of Austrian capital-theory. We attempt to capture the essence of Carl Menger's approach to capital, highlighting the important distinction between goods and the valuable services they yield (implying that goods are valuable only because they yield valuable...

Following financial concepts like duration and economic value added (EVA®) we estimate the impact of interest rate movements on firms that are more and less roundabout. We find that firms that are more roundabout, that is, work with expected cash-flows with higher duration, are more sensitive...

In this paper I revisit the question of coordination – of plans by prices and other social institutions. Prices contain ambiguous information that requires interpretation. How are they, in spite of this, able to coordinate plans and actions. The answer given in this paper is that they are not...

The perennial question ‘What is Capital' has been getting some attention recently. Although the distinction between capital as a financial construct and capital as a collection of physical production-goods is well known, we argue that the former concept is undepreciated. The two concepts are...

This paper critically considers the neoclassical social-cost approach to problems of pollution. This traditional approach, when subjected to close scrutiny, is found to be seriously wanting in applicability and consistency. A less ambitious alternative based on notions of strict liability is...