Austrian Perspective Research Articles

Critically appraising health indicators for policy implementation: an Austrian perspective

Critically appraising health indicators for policy implementation: an Austrian perspective

Portuguese cultural standards from an Austrian perspective

The goal of this paper is to identify Portuguese cultural standards from the perspective of Austrian culture.The Cultural Standards Method is based on interviews with members of one culture who have extended working experience in a different culture. This method, based on a qualitative research approach, seeks to identify cultural differences on a subtler level than more traditional methods, such as cultural dimensions.The Portuguese cultural standards identified through interviews with 20 Austrians are as follows: fluid time management, relaxed attitude towards professional performance, importance of social relationships, bureaucracy and slow decision-making processes, indirect communication style, and flexible planning and organisational skills.

The Depression of 1920-1921: An Austrian Perspective

This paper examines the American post-WW1 boom and bust. It finds that the Federal Reserve’s monetary easing from 1919-1920 created an Austrian Business Cycle (ABC), or an unsustainable credit boom. The collapse of the boom initiated the Depression of 1920-1921. The subsequent laissez faire policy promoted a swift recovery. In particular, the recovery began following a severe liquidation of firms, reallocation of resources, and wage cuts stimulated by fiscal and monetary contraction. Contrary to some other accounts, we find that significant recovery began before the Federal Reserve’s 1921-1922 monetary easing affected the economy. We also address other criticisms of the credit-cycle interpretation.

Impact of endometriosis on quality of life, anxiety, and depression: an Austrian perspective.

Several studies on the quality of life in patients with endometriosis have been performed with conflicting results. This cross-section survey examines the influence of endometriosis on the psychological well-being and the quality of life and the incidence of anxiety and depression among these patients, recruited from a tertiary care center in Austria. Three standardized questionnaires of 62 patients with endometriosis were evaluated: status of health questionnaire (SF-36), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS-D), and endometriosis health profile (EHP-30). Quality of life status (EHP-30) was compared with published samples of the Oxford hospital and the Charite Berlin. Chi-square tests, independent sample t-tests, and one-way independent ANCOVA's were used to compare SF- 36 and HADS- D scores to 61 healthy controls. Pearson product-moment-correlation coefficients were used to investigate correlations between symptoms of depression and anxiety in the patient sample. Moderate to severe anxiety symptoms were found in 29 %; depressive symptoms were present in 14.5 % of the patients. Both symptoms occurred in 12.9 %. We found significant better values in all subscales of the EHP compared to the Oxford and Berlin samples. The control sample showed significant better subjective general health (p < 0.001), vitality (p < 0.001), mental health (p < 0.001), and better emotional role functioning (p < 0.001). Participants age significantly influenced mental health and emotional role functioning. The impact of endometriosis on life quality in our study was considerably less than in other studies but equivalent to other chronic medical conditions. It could be shown that endometriosis is influenced by biopsychosocial variables. However, the elevated presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms indicates the need of psychosomatic treatment of affective disorders to prevent manifestation.

The Sensory Order, Neuroeconomics, and Austrian Economics

We discuss the content and significance of Hayek's cognitive theory for social science and the role of neuroeconomics from an Austrian perspective.

African Entrepreneurs and International Coordination in Petty Businesses: The Case of Low-End Mobile Phones Sourcing in Hong Kong

This paper examines the contribution of African entrepreneurs to world trade through global coordination. Unlike the multinational giants which earn impressive profit through global sourcing, small African entrepreneurs survive by identifying opportunities in petty businesses and exploiting narrow profit margin. Through careful economic calculation, they buy low-end goods from one part of the globe and sell them in the other part. Their self-interest activities enhance global well-being. This paper begins with an Austrian perspective of international entrepreneurship and global coordination. The theory is illustrated by African entrepreneurs who source Shenzhen-made mobile phones in Hong Kong and sell them in Africa. By arbitraging price differentials, they earn pure entrepreneurial profit. A detailed case study of the global coordination of a Tanzanian entrepreneur will be presented. This paper concludes that, as a result of the effort of African entrepreneurs, low-end mobile phones manufactured in Shenzhen are shipped to Hong Kong and consumed by people in Tanzania, bringing benefits to all parties concerned. The case study fully illustrates the principle of the ‘invisible hand’ in the global market.

Who Benefits Most From AEO Certification? An Austrian Perspective

In this paper, the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General (European Commission) (TAXUD) Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Database was employed and supplemented with company data to develop a census of AEO certifications per company size (in terms of employees and revenue) and export/import quotas in the case of Austria 2008-2013 in order to determine who benefits most from AEO certification. Findings can be simply summarised as follows: the more export-orientated a sector is, the more AEO certifications are granted. More specifically, about 49% of all AEO certifications in Austria are granted to companies from the manufacturing industry, followed by about 29% to transport and logistics service providers and 18% to wholesale or retail companies. Others such as the primary sector, energy provision and service industries are negligible. Looking more closely at the Austrian AEO certified companies, most of them from the manufacturing industry can be classified as ‘SME’ in the European Union (EU) sense but are being heavily export-orientated at the same time and in need of an AEO certificate to smooth their export/import operations. Transport and logistics service providers do benefit from AEO certification, too, but are being pushed to apply for certification by their customers.

The Keynesian Liquidity Trap: An Austrian Critique

Our contention is that the real opponents of Keynes are the Austrians, who belong to the school of thought that best champions the theory of a self-correcting market economy. The countercyclical policies embraced by Keynesians as well as the Chicago School Monetarists are generally seen as counterproductive. In particular, this chapterprovides critiques of the liquidity trap theory from an Austrian perspective. It is argued that if prices are allowed to freely fall and are not propped up by government intervention, the liquidity trap roadblock poses no genuine threat for the free market economy. Only when prices are rigid and government intervention is pervasive does the phenomenon of a “liquidity trap” and hoarding money result in a stagnant economy.

U.S. Debt Bubble Crisis and Implications of Rising China’s RMB -From the Austrian Perspective of Monetary Policy-

U.S. Debt Bubble Crisis and Implications of Rising China’s RMB -From the Austrian Perspective of Monetary Policy-

The Depression of 1873-79: An Austrian Perspective

This paper analyzes the period 1867-79 in American economic history from an perspective. The post-Civil War boom, the Panic of 1873, and the subsequent downturn are investigated in light of Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) and its structure of production framework. This paper shows how recent legislation allowed for monetary inflation and a boom to develop that inevitably turned into a bust. However, since the federal government pursued a policy of relative laissez faire, the economy successfully recovered. Consequently, there was no prolonged depression in the 1870s.

The Origin, Classification and Utility of Bitcoin

Bitcoin seems to create a great confusion among Austrian economists, leading to contradictory statements and a fictional history for Bitcoin. In this paper, I attempt to explain the origin of Bitcoin, its classification and utility from Austrian perspective.

The Dangers of Deflation

Beginning no later than Mises’s The Theory of Money and Credit in 1912, the causes and consequences of inflation have been a central concern of the Austrian School of Economics. Unfortunately, that has meant relatively few analyses of the problems of deflation from a distinctly Austrian perspective. Deflation has dangers of its own, and there are important insights that are unique to the Austrian tradition that can add to our understanding of those dangers. This paper explores those dangers, both at the broad macroeconomic level and at a more microeconomic level by integrating the Austrian theory of capital with the monetary equilibrium theory account of deflation. Austrian concerns about inflation should not lead them to overlook the very real dangers of deflation.

Modern library in contact with children: experiences, ideas, propositionsfrom Austrian perspective

AbstractRecently an increasing number of children comes to scientific libraries, not for scientific research of course, but as visitors: they take part in guided tours or workshops, visit exibitions or celebrate their birthdays in the rooms of the library. Therefore special educational programmes should be focusing on this important group of visitors more and more. The author makes some suggestions on how to develop a tailored concept to address the group of young customers.

Remembering Jim Buchanan

James Buchanan was an important influence on the Austrian revival and not incidentally on my own career. By taking the work of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Israel Kirzner seriously at a time when Austrian economics was ignored by the economics profession and by making his own contributions to subjectivist economics, Buchanan helped make the Austrian perspective professionally respectable, and inspired a generation of young economists interested in the Austrian school.

The kaleidic world of entrepreneurs

Purpose – Austrian economics figures centrally in organizational entrepreneurship research. However, researchers have focussed almost entirely on the Austrian school's “gales of creative destruction” and “entrepreneurial discovery” metaphors, which are rooted in equilibrium assumptions and thus downplay the more subjective and dynamic aspects of entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to question such assumptions, proposing instead a “kaleidic” metaphor drawn from the radical subjectivist strand of Austrian economics. The paper develops, grounds, and enriches the theoretical concepts this metaphor embodies in order to advance the general understanding of entrepreneurship as a radically subjective, disequilibrium phenomenon, as well as the specific knowledge of entrepreneurs’ career and venture experiences. In doing so, the paper highlights creative imagination as a wellspring of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a case study design to inductively develop the theoretical concepts embodied in the kaleidic metaphor and deductively ground them in the accounts 12 entrepreneurs provided about their career and venture experiences. The paper employs symbolist methods to develop thicker descriptions, generate alternative understandings, and facilitate richer interpretations. Moreover, the paper adopts a reflexive approach in considering the study's implications. Findings – The results suggest the kaleidic metaphor comprises five overarching ideas that resonate, often very strongly, with entrepreneurs. Originality/value – The study is the first to theoretically develop and empirically ground the ideas the kaleidic metaphor embodies. The paper contributes to a growing body of conceptual work and joins a handful of empirical studies by organizational entrepreneurship scholars using the radical Austrian perspective.

In Defense of the Euro: An Austrian Perspective (With a Critique of the Errors of the ECB and the Interventionism of Brussels)

AbstractEconomists of the Austrian School are supporters of the gold standard because it hinders and restricts arbitrary policies and rulers: it disciplines the behavior of all the agents involved in the democratic process and encourages people to act orderly and morally. It is, in fact, an obstacle to the lies and demagoguery because it spreads and facilitates transparency and truth in social relations. The creation of the euro in 1999 and its final implementation in 2002 assumed the disappearance of monetary nationalism and flexible exchange rates in most of continental Europe. We will discuss the errors committed by the European Central Bank. It is now seen how the different states of the European Monetary Union have given and completely lost their monetary autonomy, that is to say the ability to manipulate their local currency to serve political needs. In this sense, the euro has therefore acted, at least for the countries of the euro area, very similar to that which was, in its time, the gold standard manner. This is why the euro should be considered a real equivalent, albeit imperfect, of the gold standard.

Services and the Service PE under Treaty Law from an Austrian Perspective

The concept of the ' Service PE' is an increasingly relevant concept of double tax treaties also in countries that use the OECD Model Treaty. A Service PE may not only arise in case it is explicitly provided for in a treaty, but also - along the lines of the painter example of the OECD Model Commentary - merely because services are provided at a particular location (a house that is painted, offices in which consulting services are rendered, or hotel facilities that are cleaned). Instead of such disguised Service PEs, an explicit rule of a treaty provides more planning certainty and avoids disputes among revenue services. This article covers the different approaches of the OECD Model Commentary, the UN Model Convention and certain particular double tax treaties regarding the concept of the Service PE and discusses different views of courts and authorities in relation to this context.

Knowledge and Power in the Mechanical Firm: Planning for Profit in Austrian Perspective

This essay draws on the transaction costs model of the firm and an Austrian perspective on the knowledge problem in centrally planned orders to propose an empirically useful Austrian theory of central planning. After an initial review of existing theories of the firm, part two develops insights from the calculation debate to sketch a theory of planning centered on the interrelated problems of purpose, information and control in both individual and central planning. Part three joins this theory to the basic framework of the transaction cost model to produce an Austrian theory of the private firm that addresses the relation between knowledge and power in planned orders, and illustrates its principal themes through a discussion of the historical development of American manufacturing in the fifty years prior to World War I.

Labor Economics from an Austrian Perspective

The compelling case offered by Austrians regarding the recent economic downturn has no doubt encouraged many to take a closer look at the broader Austrian perspective. Similarly, the jobless recovery has prompted some soul searching in labor economics. We briefly review the history and methodology of the Austrian school and describe major contributions to labor economics from those working in the Austrian tradition. Then, we offer a sketch of the Austrian theory of labor markets and discuss its implications. In doing so, we hope to have helped the interested reader along both lines.

Identification of MGD in dry eye patients and its treatment in the practical clinical setting &amp; The Austrian perspective on MGD

AbstractMGD can be found in about 70% of patients with ocular discomfort as evaluated in a large clinic‐based population of Austria. It is characterized by a continuum of clinical severity. Especially discrete cases are often underestimated und receive not enough attention. In patients with ocular discomfort it is important to investigate the blinking action, the lid margins (crusts, vascularisation, Marx line, meibomian orifices) and also to perform the expression of the meibomian glands. Tear deficiency is often accompanied with MGD therefore the function of the lacrimal glands should be tested. To evaluate the damage of the ocular surface, staining with fluorescein and lissamine green are recommended. Further important diagnostic measures are the evaluation of the lipid layer and the examination of the meibomian glands with meibography. Although there is an overlap between different subtypes of dry eye, proper diagnostic evaluation is important to identify adequate therapeutic treatments that would best target the underlying dysfunctions. The most commonly recommended treatment option for every stage of MGD remains eyelid hygiene that should be performed on a regular basis. Eyelid warming to melt the meibum and eyelid massage to express secretion shall prevent obstruction of the terminal ducts. To improve compliance special devices that are more convenient for the patients can be used. Instillation of artificial lubricants, especially with lipid containing components may stabilize the tear film. Essential fatty acids, topical and systemic antibiotics and other anti‐inflammatory medication are further important therapeutic options.