Market Theory and the Price System (The Collected Works of Israel M. Kirzner)

by Israel M. Kirzner

The second volume in Liberty Fund’s Collected Works of Israel M. Kirzner series, Market Theory and the Price System was published in 1963 as Kirzner’s first (and only) textbook. This volume presents an integrated view of Austrian price theory. The basic aim of Market Theory is to utilize the tools of economic reasoning to explain the market process. The unique framework Kirzner develops for microeconomic analysis, following Mises and Hayek, examines errors in decision-making, entrepreneurial profit, and competition as a process of discovery and learning. Israel M. Kirzner is a leading economist in the Austrian School and Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University. Peter J. Boettke is University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center. Frédéric Sautet is a visiting associate professor of economics at the Catholic University of America. Previously, he has taught at George Mason University, New York University, and the University of Paris Dauphine.

Genres: Economics

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Leading economist of the Austrian School.

Wikipedia Bio

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially a detailed Microeconomics textbook. Kirzner has great insight, but a lot you learn in Micro 101, although there are a few things in this book that I don't remember covering in micro like how detailed Kirzner is about the discovery process and how we reach equilibrium.

One thing that annoyed me about this book (and all other not textbooky textbooks) is the usage of visual displays. This book by Liberty Fund is a great book. The pages are great, cover is fine, but it's just that: a book. The build is not a textbook so having to flip back to a page to see the isoquant is super distracting sometimes. Overall, even though most you can learn in Micro 101, I still suggest this book because of the detailed work on the discover process, great work on equilibrium possibilities, and it's easily readable (when you don't have to look at all the graphs).

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stars for effectively explaining basics of price theory. Two stars for being so soporific that I was never able to finish more than 6 or 7 pages at a time on the bus before falling asleep. Made reading this take months longer than expected.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough and, no doubt, robust working through of the principles of marginalism set out by Carl Menger in his Principles of Economics, this is also an unnecessarily hard read - I’ve never read a book with so much of its text appearing in brackets. Not for the general audience or casual reader.