Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I always knew that economists were more knowledgeable than mathematicians and scientists....

 http://economics.com.au/?p=6674

A definition of competition

I was reading an article whilst traveling home on the train last night.  The following definition of competition was noted "a procedure for discovering facts which, if the procedure did not exist, would remain unknown or at least would not be used."  Hayek, F.A. 1968/2002 Competition as a discovery procedure (Marcellus S. Snow Trans.) Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 5, 9-23.


Therefore, based on this definition, one may assert that were competition is stifled, facts are mysteries waiting to be discovered but forever hidden.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

What is economics?

A question that is often asked is, "what is economics?"  Many answers to this question have been presented.  For example:
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/economics-science-or-art/

A recent installment that I found thought provoking was: economics is a science, an art, a competition and politics.  (note you may need a NBER subscription to access this article)
http://www.nber.org/papers/w16416 - by Harald Uhlig