Lecture series · Courses on economics
The Austrian School of Economics: An Introduction
Four lectures delivered to the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado in the 1970s, featuring Friedrich Hayek, Israel Kirzner and Ludwig Lachmann.
Special thanks to Mr. Fred Glahe for his generous donation of these recordings to the Mises Institute.
Lecture one
Austrian Economics
A full-employment policy produces unemployment. Keynesian economics became the dominant theory wherein inflation was endorsed as a method of increasing aggregate demand which should boost employment.
Lecture two
History of the Austrian School of Economics
Biographical remarks about Lachmann. Then, Lachmann describes Austrian economics as being subjectivism (individual human action), a certain attitude to time (the future is unknowable), and a distrust of macroeconomic entities (they exist, but Austrians look at macro as mechanistic).
Lecture three
History of the Austrian School of Economics: Question and Answer Session
Was George Stigler sympathetic to the Austrian school? Lachmann doesn't think so because Stigler was a favorite student of Knight. Austrians should have dealt with Keynes, instead they quarreled with Knight. What policies do Austrians pursue? Those that favor the market.
Lecture four
The Austrian Approach to Competition
The term Austrian will include people like Schumpeter and Morgenstern. Competition is seen as a state of affairs of perfect knowledge and equilibrium by mainstream economists. This fails to provide explanations as to how those market prices have been achieved.
Copyright 2026. Provided to the Mises Institute for evaluation. The designs, code and copy remain the property of the author and are not licensed for reuse or reimplementation without a written agreement.
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito
Or join the mailing list — new writing, events, and recordings, sent as they publish.
Read & Listen
Begin Here
The Institute
Mises Institute is a tax‑exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax‑deductible to the full extent the law allows. Tax ID 52‑1263436. Rated four stars by Charity Navigator. Website powered by Mises Institute donors.
Copyright 2026. Provided to the Mises Institute for evaluation. The designs, code and copy remain the property of the author and are not licensed for reuse or reimplementation without a written agreement.
