Conclusion: the future of “Austrian†law and economics

The future of “Austrian†law and economics is informed and draws its inspirations from past methodological battles faced by the Austrian School in its development. From this past methodological battles arose Austrian-inspired developments, including transaction cost economics, property rights economics, public choice economics, and market process economics. Central to this interpretive slant in the narrative on the history of modern economic thought is law and economics. The research program in law and economics related to endogenous rule formation takes on, as we argued, a new urgency in a world where, analytically and empirically, we are effectively reasoning “out of anarchy.†Methodologically and analytically, this is best tackled by pursuing “invisible hand†theorizing. One of the real intellectual conundrums of the modern world is that if we recognize the role of spontaneously grown institutions, we must admit that actors within the society do not necessarily have to understand the function and purpose of those institutions to benefit from their operation. But, citizens may indeed have to understand and appreciate these spontaneously grown institutions in order for these institutions to be sustained and respected in our modern democratic societies.