Yu New Perspectives on Economic Development

A Human Agency Approach
1. st Auflage. 2011
ISBN: 978-90-8686-716-5
Verlag: Wageningen Academic
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 182 Seiten, eBook

This book is the first of its kind to use Austrian subjectivism to analyze issues in economic development. Unlike scholars in mainstream neoclassical economics who explain economic development by quantitative growth models, this book attempts to understand economic progress in human agency perspective. In this approach, human agency is placed at the centre of economic analysis. This book begins with a review of the theories of economic development in the history of Austrian economics, with the intention of extending the contributions of major Austrian economists to development economics. After pointing out the weaknesses in the orthodox neoclassical approach to economic growth, the book then puts forward a subjectivist methodology which integrates the contributions of Max Weber, Alfred Schutz and Austrian Economists to interpret economic phenomena and policies. This chapter also serves as a methodological foundation for arguments elaborated in subsequent chapters. The rest of the book discusses important issues in economic development, namely, entrepreneurial process, national capabilities, innovation, trade, government, transition and catching up strategies for firms in latecomer economies. The book ends with concluding remarks and a proposal for a new research agenda in economic development. This book is well written, free from mathematics and is highly readable. It adds new insights not only in economics, but also in management, politics and social sciences. It will be useful to scholars, policy makers and students in economic development, entrepreneurship, theory of the firm, management of innovation, government policy, economic sociology, Austrian and evolutionary economics.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Yu, Fu-Lai Tony

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface and Acknowledgements. 1. Economic development in Austrian economics. 1.1. Introduction: economic development in Austrian economics. 1.2. Carl Menger: uncertainty, knowledge and entrepreneurship. 1.3. Eugene von Bohm-Bawerk: the roundabout production process in the capitalist development. 1.4. Ludwig von Mises: entrepreneurship, economic calculation and the market process. 1.5. Friedrick A. Hayek: competition, discovery process and spontaneous growth. 1.6. Israel M. Kirzner: entrepreneurial discovery as engine of economic growth. 1.7. Implications on constructing an Austrian model of economic development. References. 2. Bringing human agency back in: a subjectivist approach to economic development. 2.1. Orthodox neoclassical approaches to economic development: a critique. 2.2. Uncertainty, knowledge problems and entrepreneurship as the centre of economic analysis. 2.3. Foundations of the Austrian subjectivist approach. 2.4. Human action, sense-making and the formation of interpretation framework. 2.5. Entrepreneurial learning and the market process. 2.6. Trial and error elimination. 2.7. Competition, market selection and coordination. References. 3. The entrepreneurial process. 3.1. Introduction. 3.2. Theories of the entrepreneurial process in economics. 3.3. The entrepreneurial process as a process of subjective interpretation. 3.4. Success or failure: profit or loss in the entrepreneurial process. 3.5. Summary. References. 4. National capabilities. 4.1. A need for a new research agenda. 4.2. Foundation of national capabilities. 4.3. Formation of agent’s capabilities: experience and interpretation. 4.4. Capabilities to innovate. 4.5. From individual agent to firm capabilities. 4.6. Capabilities to cooperate and coordinate. 4.7. National capabilities and competitiveness. 4.8. Emergence of national capabilities: international competition, market selection and rule-following. 4.9. Understanding national capabilities through the subjectivist lens. References. 5. Innovation and communication. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. The innovator in the social world. 5.3. Constructing the unknown future. 5.4. Accepting an innovation: intersubjective understanding. 5.5. Understanding Picasso’s paintings. 5.6. Implications. 5.7. Conclusion. References. 6. Economics of international trade. 6.1. The foundation of neoclassical international trade theory. 6.2. Problems in mainstream neoclassical international trade theories. 6.3. Trade between two countries versus trade between two individuals from different nations. 6.4. Comparative advantage and subjective cost: the beaver and deer revisited. 6.5. Non-entrepreneurial trading system: static uncertainty and non-creativeness. 6.6. A new direction in international trade theory: a human agency approach. 6.7. To trade or not to trade, it is a subjective interpretation problem. 6.8. Dynamic learning, experimentation and error elimination. 6.9. Entrepreneurial discovery. 6.10. International trade, knowledge transmission and the market process. 6.11. Further implications. References. 7. Government as a learner. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. The government as a national coordinator. 7.3. Government capabilities: resource-based and strategic planning. 7.4. The governmental process: an Austrian perspective. 7.5. Propositions regarding the public agent’s action. 7.6. Modeling the decision-making process in the public sector. 7.7. The government as a learning agent: error elimination, revision of plans and policy change. 7.8. Conclusion. References. 8. A new perspective on transition. 8.1. Introduction. 8.2. Contributions from new institutional economics. 8.3. Classifying external events: the Hayekian perspective. 8.4. Rules and institutions: cost-saving device. 8.5. New opportunities, mental process and economic transition. 8.6. The process of transition: from perception to market selection. 8.7. The future of transition economies: a journey into the unknown. 8.8. Resistance of change during the transition period. 8.9. Two routes of economic reform: ‘gradualism’ versus ‘shock therapy’. 8.10. Conclusion. References. 9. Entrepreneurial strategies for small firms in latecomer economies. 9.1. Introduction. 9.2. Distinctive assets of a small latecomer firm. 9.3. Survival strategies for a small Asian latecomer firm. 9.4. Strategies of growth. 9.5. Conclusion. References. 10. Conclusion. 10.1. Introduction. 10.2. Understanding economic development in subjectivist lens. 10.3. Public Choice School: understanding government in economic development. 10.4. New institutional economics: institution and economic development. 10.5. Evolutionary economics: history matters in economic development. References. Keyword index.