Social Economy as an Extension of the Austrian Research Program

Abstract

Although the origins of the Austrian school are usually tied to Carl Menger, an argument can be made that its genuine origins rest within the writings of the early classical liberal thinkers, particularly Adam Smith. Boettke (2007), for example, argues that although Austrian economics is outside the mainstream of contemporary economic thought, it is squarely within the "mainline" of thinking that begins with Smith and runs through the development of political economy in its various forms to investigations into the economics of social institutions and the study of entrepreneurship.