Introduction to “The social theories of classical political economy and modern economic policy”

This is the first-ever English translation of an 1891 essay by Carl Menger published in the most important newspaper of the Habsburg Empire, the Neue Freie Presse. Menger writes the piece as a defense of classical political economy in general and of Adam Smith in particular, focusing on misinterpretations of Smith’s work by the Younger Historical School in Germany. The essay reveals that Menger saw himself as working in a liberal tradition going back to Smith and classical political economy, rather than as a marginalist revolutionary who broke with classical political economy. It is a rare instance where Menger, holding the chair of economic theory at the University of Vienna, publicly expresses recommendations on economic policy. The essay represents Smith and the other classical political economists as socially motivated scholars concerned with just reforms to benefit ordinary people. Menger argues that the classical political economists were inclined toward liberal reforms but were by no means rigid exponents of laissez-faire. The essay is preceded here by an introduction authored by the translators Erwin Dekker and Stefan Kolev

A pénz eredetéről = On the Origins of Money

A pénzelmélet, azaz a pénz fogalmának és gazdaságban betöltött szerepének megértése sokat vesztett súlyából az elmúlt évszázad során, viszont az új blockchain technológiák megjelenése miatt ma ismét sürgetővé vált az újragondolása. A pénzelmélet a 19. és 20. század fordulóján, azaz az említett hangsúlyvesztés előtt, a gazdaságpolitika egyik legintenzívebb területének számított. Ennek bizonyítéka a marginalista Carl Menger 1892-ben, az Osztrák–Magyar Valutabizottság számára készített szakértői véleménye, amely a kor nagy kérdését, az aranystandardba való belépést szorgalmazza. Úgy gondolom, a bemutatott műfordítás legalább részben segít megérteni napjaink vitáit és trendjeit. = Monetary theory i.e. the understanding of the concept and role of money in economy has lost much of its importance during the last century. Rethinking money however became urgent because the appearance of new blockchain technologies. On the turn of the 19th and 20th century, monetary theory was regarded as one of the most intensive fields of economic policy. As evidence I represent the expert’s report of the marginalist Carl Menger, on the importance of joining the gold standard for Austria which he testified in 1892, in front of the Currency Commission of Austria-Hungary. I believe the presented translation at least partly helps to understand the debates and trends of our times

Gli studi sulla banca

This paper looks at banking following the way of thinking of J.A. Schumpeter and F. Besta, and addresses two main points: a) the idea that 'loans make deposits', as opposed to the popular view that 'deposits make loans', and b) the poor quality of information on banking performance delivered by double-entry bookkeeping, following either the equity-centered accounting system ('sistema patrimoniale') or the Zappa's profit-centered accounting system ('sistema del reddito'). The most important problems of banking, indeed, are loan liquidity and solvency, which are difficult to evaluate from the balance sheet items, so that additional information is needed from outside the balance sheet to evaluate, for example, maturities and durations. This critical point implies that the risk taker is CET1 and not savers, as the Basel Committee stated

Economia como Ciência Teórica e suas Relações com as Ciências Econômicas Históricas e Práticas – Parte 2

Neste texto Menger continua sua crítica aos princípios metodológicos da Escola Histórica Alemã, argumentando que existem diferentes ramos válidos da pesquisa econômica. A vertente teórica ou geral, em contraste com a histórica ou particular, identifica tipos e estabelece leis. Esta forma de investigação teórica é então dividida nas “orientações de pesquisa” realista e exata, sendo que a primeira contempla os vários aspectos de um fenômeno econômico complexo particular e o último isola os efeitos de uma causa específica, como a busca por ganho material, e estabele leis exatas que são válidas somente neste cenário abstrato

La teoria generale dei beni / The General Theory of Goods

Il classico è un estratto dal libro di Carl Menger Principi di economia politica (1a edizione, Wien 1871)The classic is an excerpt from the text of Carl Menger Principles of Economics (1th edition, Wien 1871