Perception, oppurtunity and profit: studies in the theory of entrepreneurship
- Chicago University of Chicago Press 1979
- 274 p.
In this collection of essays, Israel Kirzner continues the work he began in his earlier volume, Competition and Entrepreneurship (Chicago, 1973). Based on the Austrian approach to economics-which sees the market as a process rather than as a reflection of equilibrium Kirzner's work extends that done by Mises and Hayek. Standard economic theory, Kirzner demonstrates, excludes the entrepreneur. This omission is a crippling one, confining discussion and activity in the field to a narrow concept of economic decision making. Standard theory adheres to the idea of the supremacy of equilibrium, ignoring the consequences of error and ignorance. This lends to all traditional economic theory an air of unreality responsible for widespread dissatisfaction among younger economists.