The Evolution of Austrian Economics: from Menger to Lachmann. by Sandye Gloria-palermo. London

Although this is a short book, 183 pages inclusive of index and bibliography, it covers a lot of ground. Drawing on her doctoral dissertation, Sandye Gloria-Palermo has undertaken a history-of-thought survey of the Austrian tradition from Menger to Lachmann. In the process, she considers the works of Böhm-Bawerk, Wieser, Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Kirzner, and Lachmann—a tall order, to say the least. In order to accomplish this task she has chosen to narrow her focus to one central theme. “[I]nstead of concentrating on researching the originality of the Austrian tradition in its widest sense, we shall limit ourselves to emphasizing the Mengerian essence” (p. 3). Indeed, the whole book is an exercise in determining how these theorists mentioned above measure up when judged in terms of the standards set by Menger and how they are likely to contribute to the development of a viable and valuable Austrian research program going forward. Gloria-Palermo’s interpretation, both of Menger and of his disciples, is likely to be controversial among Austrian scholars. I shall indicate some instances where I believe her conclusions are misleading and unwarranted. And I shall indicate where others might find her assertions problematic. This should not, however, be taken to detract from my admiration of the impressive scholarship that this work contains. The book contains four parts comprised of eleven chapters and a conclusion. Part one (chaps. 1 and 2) lays out Menger’s seminal contribution. Part two (chaps. 3, 4, and 5) indicates how Menger’s earliest well-known disciples departed from his vision and how, because of the way the literature evolved, Menger’s originality was lost. Part three (chaps. 6 through 10) chronicles the contributions of later generation Austrians—Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Kirzner, and Lachmann. Each is judged in terms of his proximity to Menger’s original