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Israel M. Kirzner: An Outstanding Austrian Contributor to the Economics of Entrepreneurship

Author Info

  • Robin Douhan

    ()

  • Gunnar Eliasson

    ()

  • Magnus Henrekson

    ()

Abstract

Israel M. Kirzner is the 2006 winner of The International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. In this essay, we present and evaluate his main contributions to the economics of entrepreneurship. The focus is on how Kirzner defines the entrepreneurial function. In order to better understand his theory, we posit Kirzner’s notion of an entrepreneur in the Austrian tradition. In so doing we emphasize that this concept opens up different perspectives as compared to the neoclassical theoretical framework. The three areas of economic policy, justice and freedom, and economic growth are discussed. We also show why the Kirznerian entrepreneur makes these issues relevant. Perhaps most importantly, Kirzner has made the Austrian School intelligible for non-Austrians. By bridging the chasm between Austrian and mainstream thinking, the crucial role of entrepreneurship and the individual entrepreneur has become visible to a much broader audience. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11187-006-9041-y
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Article provided by Springer in its journal Small Business Economics.

Volume (Year): 29 (2007)
Issue (Month): 1 (June)
Pages: 213-223

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Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:29:y:2007:i:1:p:213-223
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=100338

Keywords: Austrian economics; economic development; entrepreneurship; small business economics; B49; B52; B53; O31; L26;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • B49 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Other
  • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Institutional; Evolutionary
  • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
  • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
  • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
  • A - General Economics and Teaching
  • A - General Economics and Teaching

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Aghion, P. & Howitt, P., 1990. "A Model Of Growth Through Creative Destruction," DELTA Working Papers 90-12, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
  2. Vernon L. Smith, 1962. "An Experimental Study of Competitive Market Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70, pages 111.
  3. David Colander, 2002. "The Death of Neoclassical Economics," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0237, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
  4. Segerstrom, P.S., 1990. "Innovation, Imitation And Economic Growth," Papers 8818, Michigan State - Econometrics and Economic Theory.
  5. Douhan, Robin & Henrekson, Magnus, 2007. "The Political Economy of Entrepreneurship: An Introduction," Working Paper Series 688, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  6. Baumol, William J, 1990. "Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 893-921, October.
  7. Demsetz, Harold, 1969. "Information and Efficiency: Another Viewpoint," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, April.
  8. Israel M. Kirzner, 1997. "Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 60-85, March.
  9. Bianchi, Milo & Henrekson, Magnus, 2005. "Is Neoclassical Economics still Entrepreneurless?," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 584, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 02 Feb 2005.
  10. Audretsch, David B. & Baumol, William J. & Burke, Andrew E., 2001. "Competition policy in dynamic markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 613-634, April.
  11. Richard R. Nelson & Sidney G. Winter, 2002. "Evolutionary Theorizing in Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 23-46, Spring.
  12. Baumol, William J, 1982. "Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, March.
  13. Horn, Henrik & Persson, Lars, 1999. "The Equilibrium Ownership of an International Oligopoly," CEPR Discussion Papers 2302, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  14. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
  15. Vernon L. Smith, 2003. "Constructivist and Ecological Rationality in Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 465-508, June.
  16. Holcombe, Randall G, 2003. "The Origins of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 25-43, March.
  17. Tony Yu, 2001. "An Entrepreneurial Perspective of Institutional Change," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 217-236, September.
  18. Kirzner, Israel M, 1999. "Creativity and/or Alertness: A Reconsideration of the Schumpeterian Entrepreneur," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer, vol. 11(1-2), pages 5-17.
  19. Lachmann, Ludwig M, 1976. "From Mises to Shackle: An Essay on Austrian Economics and the Kaleidic Society," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 54-62, March.
  20. Jakee, Keith & Spong, Heath, 2003. "Praxeology, Entrepreneurship and the Market Process: A Review of Kirzner's Contribution," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(04), pages 461-486, December.
  21. R. Koppl, 2006. "Austrian economics at the cutting edge," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 231-241, December.
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Cited by:

  1. Jeroen de Jong & Orietta Marsili, 2015. "The distribution of Schumpeterian and Kirznerian opportunities," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 19-35, January.
  2. Kirzner, Israel M., 2008. "The Alert and Creative Entrepreneur: A Clarification," Working Paper Series 760, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  3. Magnus Henrekson & Anders Lundström, 2009. "The Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 1-14, January.
  4. Israel Kirzner, 2009. "The alert and creative entrepreneur: a clarification," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 145-152, February.
  5. Joshua Hall, 2008. "Randall G. Holcombe, Entrepreneurship and economic progress," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 219-222, September.

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