Production, Prices and Time: A Comparison of Some Alternative Concepts

This paper compares alternative concepts of production and prices with a special emphasis on time. First, it is demonstrated that the point-input point-output representation of processes used in von Neumann-Sraffa models is not restrictive and can be derived from general flow-input flow-output processes. Second, the concept of long-period positions, which can be traced back to the work of the classical authors, is discussed. Third, the von Neumann-Sraffa approach is compared with the neo-Austrian model and the flow-fund model developed by Hicks and Georgescu-Roegen respectively. It turns out that these latter two models are, at best, a special case of the former. Finally, some problems and intricacies concerning observable input-output coefficients are discussed and, as an alternative, a possibly applicable method to determine coefficients for general flow-input flow-output processes is presented.Sraffa Von Neumann, (NEO) Austrian Production Theory, Georgescu Roegen'S Flow-FUND Approach,

The Entrepreneurial Organization of Heterogeneous Capital

Transaction cost, property rights, and resource-based approaches to the firm assume that assets, both tangible and intangible, are heterogeneous. Arranging these assets to minimize contractual hazards, to provide efficient investment incentives, or to exploit competitive advantage is conceived as the prime task of economic organization. None of these approaches, however, is based on a systematic theory of capital heterogeneity. In this paper we outline the approach to capital developed by the Austrian school of economics and show how Austrian capital theory provides a natural bridge between theory of entrepreneurship and the theory of the firm. We refine Austrian capital theory by defining capital heterogeneity in terms of subjectively perceived attributes, the functions, characteristics, and uses of capital assets. Such attributes are not given, but have to be created or discovered by means of entrepreneurial action. Conceiving entrepreneurship as the organization of heterogeneous capital provides new insights into the emergence, boundaries, and internal organization of the firm, and suggests testable implications about how entrepreneurship is manifested. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.