Volume 10, No. 1 (Spring 2007)
The efficacy of the decentralized market process is perhaps the foremost contribution of Austrian economics. But if Austrians are correct about the performance of spontaneous order processes, the paucity of Austrian economists in academic positions seemingly undermines their methodological critique of neoclassical economics. Whether Austrian economics has faced a valid market test remains an issue of continuing controversy. In this paper I examine when a market can be appropriately said to offer a “test” of products and whether Austrian economics has faced a meaningful market test. In essence this paper explores the question of inefficiency in spontaneous orders.
