Economics Commons^™

Spencer's Tragedy, Arthur M. Diamond Jr.

Economics Faculty Publications

At Dinner with Huxley, Spencer mentioned that he had once written a tragedy. Huxley immediately replied that he knew what the plot must be: a beautiful theory gets murdered by a nasty fact. Spencer himself delighted in retelling Huxley’s barb, displaying thereby both his good humor and self-awareness. What he was probably not aware of was that he actually did write a tragedy with Huxley’s plot. In The Principles of Ethics the beautiful theory is that an individual’s conduct is to be judged by how well it furthers the individual’s survival. The nasty fact is that much conduct that furthers …

F. A. Hayek On Constructivism And Ethics, Arthur M. Diamond Jr.

Economics Faculty Publications

Long before receiving his Nobel Prize, Friedrich von Hayek was well respected in the academic community. John Maynard Keynes had glowing praise for Hayek's 1944 The Road to Serfdom. Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson, antagonists on many issues, agree that Hayek's 1945 "The Use of Knowledge in Society" was a major contribution to political-economic thought. These early works by Hayek led a writer for the Nation to express what must have been the view of a great many, that "because [Hayek] is among the most thoughtful and consistent supporters of a market economy. . . those who disagree with him …

Rothbard's Intellectual Ancestry, Arthur M. Diamond Jr.

Economics Faculty Publications

Murray Rothbard is a prominent spokesman for neo-Austrian economics, yet the economics profession has not taken him seriously enough to investigate his claims. He and his disciples invite this neglect by treating the Rothbardian corpus more as creed-to-be-adhered-to than as theory-to-be-tested-and-improved-on. The profession's neglect is nonetheless unwise. Even if neo-Austrian economics turns out to be unsound, it should be taken seriously because of the growing number of intelligent people who identify themselves as Austrians.

Life-Cycle Costing: A Guide For Selecting Energy Conservation Projects For Public Buildings, Rosalie T. Ruegg, John S. Mcconnaughey, G. Thomas Sav, Kimberly A. Hockenbery

Economics Faculty Publications

Report issued by the Bureau of Standards discussing the energy conservation of public buildings. As stated in the introduction, "this report focuses on the establishment of a technically correct, practical, standardized approach for evaluating proposed energy conservation improvements in public buildings" (p. 2). This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Toward A Physical Theory Of Economic Activities, Tran Huu Dung

Economics Faculty Publications

A critical survey of all definitions of economics shows that, logically, a study of economic activities from a physical point of view must be considered an integral part of the discipline. One such study could reveal the nature of value-in-use often overlooked in economic theory.

It is posited that the process of use can be taken as the basic analytical building block of whose variations and combinations all economic activities can be shown to be composed. Each use can appear in one of three forms: pure use, consumption, and production (or productive use). The physical criterion on which this distinction …

Natural Disasters: Some Empirical And Economic Considerations, G. Thomas Sav

Economics Faculty Publications

Losses resulting from hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes are examined. The data will help individuals, communities, and the Federal government make better decisions as to how and what extent protection against disasters should be provided. The application of benefit-cost analysis for choosing the optimal level of protection against disasters is also discussed. Recommendations are made for further research in determining the economic feasibility of various techniques designed to mitigate the losses from disasters.