Pierre Garrouste

Towards an Austrian Theory of the Firm

In this contribution, our aim is to melt in the same analytical framework the Austrian conceptions, on the one hand, of the structure of production, and on the other hand, of the dynamics of knowledge; and then to propose a renewed theory of the firm and more generally of the analysis of the coordination of activities of the firms. In the debate concerning the new theories of the firm, we show that it is necessary to take into account the processual dimension of both production and knowledge in order to analyse as a process the coordination of firms plans.

Theory and evidence in psychology and economics about motivation crowding out: A possible convergence?

The empirical relevance of motivation crowding out is a controversial issue in economics and psychology. As already pointed out by Frey and Jegen (2001), this is partly due to the historical development of two distinct and parallel strands of literature that stem from different theoretical traditions, have radically different tenets and therefore, are difficult to reconcile. In this survey, we go back to the details of the debates that took place independently among psychologists and economists, and sketch an integrative interdisciplinary approach likely to favor a more fruitful collaboration between economics and psychology. From this perspective, experimental economics (both field and laboratory) is viewed as a major research field shedding new light on the conditions of relevance of motivation crowding out.

Rationality, behavior, institutional, and economic change in Schumpeter

In 1940 Schumpeter wrote a paper entitled: ‘The Meaning of Rationality in the Social Sciences’, which was intended as a contribution to one of the meetings of a seminar including Talcott Parsons, Wassily Leontief, Paul Sweezy and other Harvard scholars, that he initiated. In this paper Schumpeter develops thoroughly his own conception of rationality in economics. First, this paper is interesting in itself because it relates to contemporary methodological debates on rationality in the social sciences. Second Schumpeter’s conception of rationality is linked to his methodological background (both individualistic and holistic), which is rooted in his economic sociology and explains the relationships he stresses between individual behavior and collective entities. In this contribution we present the arguments developed by Schumpeter in his 1940 paper and analyze the reason why his notion of rationality can be seen as a key component of his conception of economic and institutional change.

Knowledge: A Challenge for the Austrian Theory of the Firm

In this paper I argue that the unequal distribution of knowledge implies that an Austrian theory of the firm must investigate two items. The first is the growth of knowledge within the firm (learning process), the second the way in the rights to decide over the distribution of knowledge are assigned and controlled. Finally, because those two elements are interdependent, we must define what their possible relations can be. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

The New Property Rights Theory of the Firm

Economics is a matter of choice and growth, of interaction and exchange among individuals. Because property rights define the rules of these interactions and the objects of exchange, it is vital to fully understand the institutions and implications of the various property-rights regimes. With over 20 original and specially commissioned chapters, this book takes the reader from the historical and moral foundations of the discipline to the frontiers of scholarly research in the field.

Markets, Information and Communication : Austrian Perspectives on the Internet Economy

Jack Birner Introduction Part 1: Digitally Connected Networks 1. Don Lavoie Subjectivism, Entrepreneurship and the Convergence of Groupware and Hypertext 2. Giampaolo Garzarelli Open Source Software and the Economics of Organization 3. Mark Miller and Marc Stiegler The Digital Path Part 2: Some History 4. Don Lavoie, Howard Baetjer and Bill Tulloh with comments by Marc Stiegler and Pietro Terna High-tech Hayekians 5. Elise Tosi and Dominique Torre The New Economy as a Co-ordinating Device: Some Mengerian Foundations Part 3: The Organization of the Firm 6. Nicolai Foss Austrian Determinants of Economic Organization in the Knowledge Economy 7. Philippe Dulbecco and Pierre Garrouste The New Economy and the Austrian Theory of Firm 8. Guido Fioretti The Small World of Business Relationships Part 4: Markets and Market Failure 9. Richard Arena and Agnes Festre Some Specific Austrian Insights on Markets and the New Economy 10. Mark Steckbeck and Pete Boettke Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Adverse Selection Problems in E-Commerce 11. Roger Koppl and Ivo Sarjanovic Big Players in the New Economy Part 5: The Monetary Sector in the Internet 12. Antony Mueller Bubble or New Era? Monetary Aspects of the New Economy 13. Jean-Pierre Centi and Gilbert Bougi Possible Economic Conseuqneces of Electronic Money Part 6: The Legal Framework 14. Elizabeth Krecke The Emergence of Private Lawmaking on the Internet: Implications for the Economic Analysis of Law

THEORY AND EVIDENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND ECONOMICS ABOUT MOTIVATION CROWDING OUT: A POSSIBLE CONVERGENCE?: RELEVANCE OF MOTIVATION CROWDING OUT

The empirical relevance of motivation crowding out is a controversial issue in economics and psychology. As already pointed out by Frey and Jegen (2001), this is partly due to the historical development of two distinct and parallel strands of literature that stem from different theoretical traditions, have radically different tenets and therefore, are difficult to reconcile. In this survey, we go back to the details of the debates that took place independently among psychologists and economists, and sketch an integrative interdisciplinary approach likely to favor a more fruitful collaboration between economics and psychology. From this perspective, experimental economics (both field and laboratory) is viewed as a major research field shedding new light on the conditions of relevance of motivation crowding out.

The Respective Effects of Being Observed and Sanctioned in Modified Dictator and Ultimatum Games

We experiment within a laboratory the respective effects of being observed and sanctioned in both a dictator and an ultimatum game. We obtain the classical results that individuals do not play the subgame perfect equilibria. We also show that being observed increases the offers made by the proposer in the dictator game but this effect is difficult to identify in the ultimatum game. We also find that in the dictator game, the more the individuals are sensitive to observation the less they are to sanction.