Behavioral Economics Commons^™

The Problem Of Rationality: Austrian Economics Between Classical Behaviorism And Behavioral Economics (Uncorrected Proof), Mario J. Rizzo

Mario Rizzo

In Part One we establish the rationale and substance of the Robbinsian middle ground – the psychical or mind-dependent character of economics. To accomplish this we explore three post-Wieserian frameworks for Austrian economics: (1) the phenomenological social science of Alfred Schutz; (2) the structure of mind analyzed by Hayek in The Sensory Order; and (3) the later Wittgenstein’s logical analysis of thought. While there are no doubt differences among these approaches we find that they are broadly consistent way of establishing the essential mind-dependency of economics. In Part Two we directly examine the basic issues involved in the characterization of …