Abstract
This paper traces the idea of Capital from Adam Smith to modern times and shows how different conceptions of Capital give rise to different approaches to economics and the range of problems that can be investigated. A structural, as opposed to a stock, approach to Capital is shown to be more conducive to a studies of business institutions and practices, and to rules, institutions and standards in a changing world.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barro, R. J. (1998) Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study (Lionel Robbins Lectures). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Böhm-Bawerk, E. von (1959) Capital and Interest. South Holland: Libertarian Press.
Cassirer, E. (1946 [1953 reprint]) Language and Myth. New York: Dover Publications.
Callahan. (2002). Economics for Real People: An Introduction to the Austrian School. Auburn: Ludwig Von Mises Institute.
Clark, J. B. (1893) “The Genesis of Capital.” Yale Review. November: 302–315.
Clark, J. B. (1988 [1888]) Capital and Its Earnings. New York: Garland.
Coase, R. (1937) “The Theory of the Firm.” Economica, (New Series) 4: 386–405.
Dahlman, C. (1979) “The Problem of Externality.” Journal of Law and Economics, 22: 141–162.
Garrison, R. W. (1985) “A Subjective Theory of A Capital Using Economy.” In: Chapter 8 of G. P. O”Driscoll and M. J. Rizzo (Ed.). The Economics of Time and Ignorance. London: Routledge, 2nd ed., 1996.
Garud, R., Kumaraswamy, A. and Langlois, R. N. (Eds.) (2003) Managing in the Modular Age: Architectures, Networks, and Organizations. Malden, MA: Basil Blackwell.
Hayek, F. A. (1937) “Investment that Raises the Demand for Capital.” Review of Economic Statistics, 19: 174–77.
Hayek, F. A. (1941) The Pure Theory of Capital. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hennings, K. H. (1987a) “Eugen Von Böhm-Bawerk.” Entry in Capital Theory (The New Palgrave). New York: Macmillan, pp. 97–107.
Hennings, K. H. (1987b) “Capital as a Factor of Production.” Entry in Capital Theory (The New Palgrave) New York: Macmillan, pp. 108–122.
Hennings, K. H. (1987c) “Maintaining Capital Intact.” Entry in Capital Theory (The New Palgrave) New York: Macmillan, pp. 200–205.
Hennings, K. H. (1987d) “Roundabout Methods of Production.” Entry in Capital Theory (The New Palgrave). New York: Macmillan, pp. 232–236.
Hennings, K. H. (1997) The Austrian Theory of Value and Capital: Studies in the Life and Work of Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk. Brookfield, Vermont: Edward Elgar.
Hicks, J. R. (1946) Value and Capital. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hicks, J. R. (1965) Capital and Growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hicks, J. R. (1973) Capital and Time: A Neo-Austrian Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Klein, B., Crawford, R. G., and Alchian, A. (1978) “Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents and the Competitive Contracting Process.” Journal of Law and Economics, 21: 297–326.
Knight, F. H. (1936) “The Quantity of Capital and the Rate of Interest.” Journal of Political Economy, 44: 433–463.
Kregel, J. A. (1976) Theory of Capital. London: Macmillan.
Lachmann, L. M. (1947) “Complementarity and Substitution in the Theory of Capital.” Economica, 14: 108–119.
Lachmann, L. M. (1978 [1956]) Capital and its Structure. Kansas City: Sheed, Andrews and McMeel.
Lachmann, L. M. (1996 [1968]) “Time Complexity and Change: Ludwig M. Lachmann’s Contributions to the Theory of Capital.” Advances in Austrian Economics, 3: 107–165. P. Lewin (Ed.).
Langlois, R. N. (1991) “Transaction Cost Economics in Real Time.” Industrial and Corporate Change, 1(1): 99–127 as reprinted in N. Foss, J. (Ed.). (1997). Resources, Firms and Strategies: A Reader in the Resource Based Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 286–307.
Lewin, P. (1997a) “Capital and Time: Variations on a Hicksian Theme.” Advances in Austrian Economics, 4: 63–74.
Lewin, P. (1997b) “Capital in Disequilibrium: A Reexamination of the Capital Theory of Ludwig M. Lachmann.” History of Political Economy, 29(3): 523–548.
Lewin, P. (1999) Capital in Disequilibrium: An Examination of The Role of Capital in a Changing World. London and New York: Routledge.
Lewin, P. and Phelan, S. E. (2002) “Rent and Resources: A Market Process Perspective.” In: Nicolai Foss and Peter Klein (Ed.), Entrepreneurship and the Firm: Austrian Perspectives on Economic Organization. Aldershot: Edward Elgar.
Mathews, J. A. (2002) Strategizing vs. Economizing: Prolegomena to a Theory of Competitive Behavior. Manuscript (draft 2.2).
McCloskey, D. N. (1985) The Rhetoric of Economics. University of Wisconsin Press.
Menger, C. (1981 [1871]) Principle of Economics. Translated by J. Dingwall and B. F. Hoselitz. New York: New York University Press.
Penrose, E. T. (1995 [1959]) The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Ricardo, D. (1973 [1817]) The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. London: The Guernsey Press.
Richardson, G. B. (1972) “The Organization of Industry.” Economic Journal, 82: 883–896.
Richardson, G. B. (1990 [1960]) Information and Investment: A Study in the Working of the Competitive Economy. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Romer, P. M. (1990) “Are Nonconvexities Important for Understanding Growth?” American Economic Review, 80(2): 97–103.
Romer, P. M. (1994) “The Origins of Endogenous Growth.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(1): 3–22.
Schumpeter, J. A. (1954) History of Economic Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, A. (1982 [1776]) “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” Campbell, R. H. and Skinner, A. S. (Eds.), Indianapolis: Liberty Classics.
Solow, R. (1956) “A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70(1): 65–94.
Williamson, O. (1985) The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. New York: The Free Press.
Williamson, O. and Winter, S. G. (Eds.). (1991) The Nature of the Firm: Origins, Evolution, and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lewin, P. The Capital Idea and the Scope of Economics. Rev Austrian Econ 18, 145–167 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11138-005-6824-3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11138-005-6824-3