Collapse of Development Planning

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The Collapse of Development Plannin g THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL Series General Editor: Mario Rizzo, New York University Although long associated with a deep appreciation of the free market, the Austrian Schoo l ha s no t bee n full y recognize d a s a uniqu e approac h i n analyzing th e rol e of government i n th e economy . A major contributio n of the Austrian Schoo l was to demonstrate, as early as 1920 , the impossibility o f economic calculatio n unde r socialism . Recent event s in the for mer Sovie t Unio n an d Easter n Europ e hav e dramaticall y illustrate d th e cogency of this argument. In more recent times and in contrast to conventional stati c analyses , Austria n researc h ha s bee n concerne d wit h th e impact o f governmen t contro l o n entrepreneuria l discovery . T o wha t extent does the impact o f such control go beyond the firm's stati c pricin g decision and reach into the very discovery of new opportunities and hence the transmissio n o f knowledge i n society ? Austrian s ar e als o concerne d with th e dynamic s of state intervention—th e degre e to which on e inter vention induce s furthe r intervention s and , conversely , th e degre e t o which one decontrol "necessitates" further step s in the process of deregulation . Finally , th e Austria n Schoo l i s firml y committe d t o th e value freedom o f economics , tha t is , th e separatio n o f th e analysi s o f polic y consequences fro m th e mora l an d politica l value s inheren t i n th e advocacy of particular economic policies. ...