Finance Behind the Veil of Money, A Rejoinder To Dr. Braun

Howden, David (2016): Finance Behind the Veil of Money, A Rejoinder To Dr. Braun. Published in: Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics , Vol. 2, No. 19 (2016): pp. 178-186.

Abstract

In Finance Behind the Veil of Money, Eduard Braun (2014: 30-36) takes the minority view that opportunity costs are not only unnecessary but even unhelpful to understanding choice. In doing so he follows George Reisman (1996: 460) who also views the “doctrine of opportunity cost” as not only unnecessary to ascertain how one makes better decisions, but that its “sole contribution is obfuscation, not perception.” Both Braun and Reisman believe that it is unnecessary to include foregone alternatives in the calculus of cost since it implies that “one must suffer by virtue of possessing the very qualities that create one’s success [i.e., better opportunities]” (Reisman 1996: 460). Such a view errs by overlooking the difference between the actor’s ex-ante expectations of an action with the ex-post results. More importantly, it mistakes what role costs in general, and opportunity costs by extension, serve in economic theory.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: opportunity cost
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A11 - Role of Economics ; Role of Economists ; Market for Economists; A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics; A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics > A22 - Undergraduate

References

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Howden, David. 2016a. “Finance Behind the Veil of Money: Response to Dr. Braun’s Comment.” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 19(1): 124-28.

Howden, David. 2016b. On Opportunity Costs. Working paper.

Howden, David. 2015. Review of “Finance Behind the Veil of Money: An Essay on the Economics of Capital, Interest, and the Financial Market, by Eduard Braun.” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 18(4): 578-83.

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