Best Places To Study Austrian Economics

where to study austrian economics

Austrian economics is an approach to the study of economics that diverges from mainstream schools of economics. It is based on the belief that economic relations and their social and political implications can be explained accurately by focusing on people's actual behaviour, rather than on unrealistic, mostly mathematical models. The Austrian School of Economics was founded by Carl Menger, an Austrian economist who wrote Principles of Economics in 1871. The school has since been represented by notable economists such as Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk. For those interested in studying Austrian economics, there are various universities in the United States that offer programs with a focus on this economic school of thought. These include George Mason University, Auburn University, and the University of Virginia. Additionally, there are universities in California with an Austrian bent, such as Santa Clara University and California State University at Hayward.

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George Mason University

The economics department at GMU has developed a significant international reputation for its particular approach to economics, known as "Masonomics". This approach fuses scholarship in the fields of Public Choice, Austrian Economics, and Experimental Economics. Masonomics is politically neutral, founded on principles that emphasise the value of free markets in promoting peace and prosperity. The department is home to the Institute for Humane Studies, and its faculty includes prominent economists such as Peter Boettke, Karen Vaughn, Richard Wagner, and Walter Williams, who serves as chairman.

The Austrian economics programme at GMU is known for its innovative curriculum, with a strong emphasis on public choice, public finance, constitutional political economy, institutional economics, and experimental economics. The university offers a range of educational opportunities beyond traditional courses, including brown bag lunches, colloquia, and seminars in Austrian Economics, which have featured notable speakers such as Mancur Olson, James Buchanan, and Mario Rizzo.

The strength of GMU's faculty and students is recognised in the field of economics, with doctoral students receiving offers from leading universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of California Berkeley. The university's location in northern Virginia also provides a strategic advantage, with easy access to Washington, D.C., and various economic institutions and organisations.

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Auburn University

The history of Auburn University is linked with the Civil War and the Reconstruction-era South. Chartered in 1856 as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, the college closed during the war when most students and faculty left to enlist. The campus served as a training ground for the Confederate Army, and "Old Main" was used as a hospital. After the war, in 1866, the college reopened and, in 1872, became the state's first land-grant university under the Morrill Act. It was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama and, in 1892, became the first four-year coeducational school in Alabama.

In 1899, the college was renamed the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, largely due to the influence of William Leroy Broun, who believed in the importance of classics and sciences for the growth of the university and its students. During World War I, nearly all able-bodied male students aged 18 or older joined the United States Army, forming the academic section of the Student Army Training Corps. In 1960, the name was changed to Auburn University to reflect the diverse academic programs and expanded curriculum. Today, Auburn University is the second-largest university in Alabama, with over 26,800 undergraduate and 6,100 postgraduate students.

The university's prominent Austrian economists include Roger Garrison, author of the advanced macro text "Time and Money," who teaches the main course in macroeconomics. Leland Yeager, the former Ludwig von Mises Professor of Economics, is now retired. While Auburn University once offered a Ph.D. program, it has since been discontinued.

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Santa Clara University

The Economics Department at SCU offers two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Commerce through the Leavey School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree through the College of Arts and Sciences. Students can also choose a concentration in data analysis or mathematical economics. The economics major at SCU provides rigorous training in how to analyze important issues based on theory and data, and how individuals, firms, and policymakers can use these methods to make good decisions. The economics curriculum at SCU covers topics such as economic growth, unemployment, productivity and efficiency, poverty and inequality, international trade, and the effects of government policy.

The Leavey School of Business at SCU is a well-regarded business school that offers a variety of programs, including the Bachelor of Science in Commerce. The school is named after Thomas and Dorothy Leavey, who believed in the power of higher education to transform lives. The school is committed to developing ethical and innovative leaders who can make a positive impact in the world.

SCU is a great choice for students interested in Austrian economics due to its strong faculty, rigorous curriculum, and extra-curricular opportunities such as the Civil Society Institute. The university's location in California also provides a vibrant and diverse environment for students to explore and discuss libertarian ideas.

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Ludwig von Mises Institute

The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, also known as the Mises Institute, is a non-profit think tank based in Auburn, Alabama. Founded in 1982 by Lew Rockwell, it is named after the economist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and promotes the Misesian version of heterodox Austrian economics. The institute's mission is to promote teaching and research in the Austrian school of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, following the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

The Mises Institute is politically neutral and non-partisan, advocating for a shift away from statism towards a private property order. It believes in the permanent value of its foundational ideas and rejects any compromise or amalgamation with fashionable political, cultural, or social doctrines that may be inimical to its spirit. The institute has influenced various political campaigns, including those of Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and Donald Trump.

The Mises Institute offers various academic programs, including Mises University, the Rothbard Graduate Seminar, the Austrian Economics Research Conference, and a summer research fellowship program. It also publishes the Journal of Libertarian Studies, previously published by the Center for Libertarian Studies until the institute took over in 2000. In 2020, the Mises Institute introduced a graduate program.

The Ludwig von Mises Institute has inspired the creation of approximately 30 Mises Institutes worldwide, including a notable branch in Brazil. The German Mises Institute, founded in 2012, is a think tank of libertarian gold traders and investment advisors associated with Swiss-based German billionaire August von Finck. This institute promotes the Austrian School of economics and libertarian political theory, favoring a Darwinian view of society" that opposes government intervention in social justice matters.

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Austrian Economics Center

The Austrian Economics Center (AEC) is an incorporated society in Vienna, Austria. The AEC is focused on promoting the ideas of the Austrian School of Economics as a viable economic alternative in Austria and beyond. It does this through a public think tank and an academic institute. The center also runs a separate 501(c)(3) organization called "Friends of the Austrian Economic Center", also known as "AEC US", which allows US donors to contribute to the AEC.

The AEC's main goal is to help create a free and responsible society. It opposes expanded government and promotes free markets and limited government. The center has a board that includes notable climate change skeptics such as Nigel Lawson, founder of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, Vernon L. Smith, and Matte Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks. Many board members share affiliations with George Mason University and other right-wing organizations.

The center's website states that "donation is one way you can defend the heritage of individual liberty, free markets, and constitutionally limited government". However, the group does not publicly reveal its donors. The AEC previously maintained a page on the environment that included a statement on climate change, which has since been removed from their website. The statement argued that governments should not make rash decisions to control the climate and that nature should be allowed to regulate itself.

In terms of educational institutions teaching Austrian economics, there are several universities that offer programs in this field. George Mason University in northern Virginia offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Austrian economics, with affiliated fields of study including public choice, history of thought, and constitutional economics. Auburn University in Alabama has also attracted many students due to its proximity to the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Additionally, California is home to two universities with an Austrian bent: Santa Clara University, which offers the Civil Society Institute, and California State University at Hayward, where half the tenure-track economists are described as "unabashedly free-market".

Frequently asked questions

George Mason University in Virginia is a popular choice for students wanting to study Austrian Economics. The University of Virginia, UCLA, Florida State University, and the University of Chicago are also good options.

Austrian Economics is a method to study the economy, focusing on autonomous entrepreneurial action and the free interaction of individuals in the marketplace. It is not based on a fictitious homo oeconomicus but on people as they are and how they behave. It also does not rely on data and mathematical models like other mainstream schools of economics.

Yes, some notable figures in Austrian Economics include Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk.

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