Cost and Choice: An Inquiry in Economic Theory, Vol. 6 of the Collected Works

Vol. 6 of The Collected Works. A short work in which Buchanan develops his ideas on opportunity cost. He takes an individualist and subjectivist perspective and attempts to integrate this into the orthodox classical and neoclassical framework.
Another copy of this book can be found in HTML format at our sister website Econlib.
The Collected Works of James M. Buchanan, Foreword by Geoffrey Brennan, Hartmut Kliemt, and Robert D. Tollison, 20 vols. (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999-2002). Vol. 6 Cost and Choice: An Inquiry in Economic Theory.
Copyright:
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
People:
- Author: James M. Buchanan
- Foreword: Hartmut Kliemt
Formats:
Format | Description | Size |
---|---|---|
EBook PDF | This text-based PDF or EBook was created from the HTML version of this book and is part of the Portable Library of Liberty. | 450 KB |
Facsimile PDF | This is a facsimile or image-based PDF made from scans of the original book. | 4.24 MB |
HTML | This version has been converted from the original text. Every effort has been taken to translate the unique features of the printed book into the HTML medium. | 292 KB |
LF Printer PDF | This text-based PDF was prepared by the typesetters of the LF book. | 450 KB |
Table of Contents
- CONTENTS
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowlegments
- Cost and Choice
- 1.: Cost in Economic Theory
- Classical Economics
- Marginal-Utility Economics
- The Marshallian Synthesis
- Frank Knight and American Neoclassical Paradigms
- 2.: The Origins and Development of a London Tradition
- Wicksteed and the Calculus of Choice
- H. J. Davenport
- Knight on Cost as Valuation
- Robbins, 1934
- Mises, Robbins, and Hayek on Calculation in a Socialist Economy
- Hayek, Mises, and Subjectivist Economics
- The Practical Relevance of Opportunity Cost: Coase, 1938
- G. F. Thirlby and “The Ruler”
- Mises’ Human Action
- The Death of a Tradition?
- Appendix to Chapter 2: Shackle on Decision
- 3.: Cost and Choice
- The Predictive Science of Economics
- Cost in the Predictive Theory
- Cost in a Theory of Choice
- Choice-Influencing and Choice-Influenced Cost
- Opportunity Cost and Real Cost
- The Subjectivity of Sunk Costs
- Cost and Equilibrium
- 4.: The Cost of Public Goods
- The Theory of Tax Incidence
- Costs and Fiscal Decision-Making: The Democratic Model
- Costs and Decision-Making: The Authoritarian Model
- Costs and Decision-Making: Mixed Models
- The Choice Among Projects
- The Costs of Debt-Financed Public Goods
- Ricardo’s Equivalence Theorem
- Tax Capitalization
- 5.: Private and Social Cost
- Summary Analysis
- A Closer Look
- Internal Costs, Equilibrium, and Quasi-Rents
- An Illustrative Example
- Pigovian Economics and Christian Ethics
- Narrow Self-Interest and Alternative-Opportunity Quasi-Rents
- Conclusion
- 6.: Cost Without Markets
- Prices, Costs, and Market Equilibrium
- Resource-Service Prices as Final-Product Costs
- Market Equilibrium, Costs, and Quasi-Rents
- The Cost of Military Manpower: An Example
- The Cost of Crime: Another Example
- Artificial Choice-Making
- Socialist Calculation and Socialist Choice
- Costs in Bureaucratic Choice
Loading...