Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich August von Hayek (May 8, 1899 in Vienna – March 23, 1992 in Freiburg) was an economist and social scientist of the Austrian School, noted for his defense of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism against a rising tide of socialist and collectivist thought in the mid-20th century. He also made important contributions to the fields of jurisprudence and cognitive science. He shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with ideological rival Gunnar Myrdal.

Life

Hayek was born in Vienna to a Catholic family of prominent intellectuals. At the University of Vienna, where he received doctorates in 1921 and 1923, he studied law, psychology, and economics. Initially sympathetic to socialism, Hayek's economic thinking was transformed during his student years in Vienna by his exposure to the work of Ludwig von Mises.

Related Topics:
Vienna - Catholic - University of Vienna - Doctorate - 1921 - 1923 - Psychology - Ludwig von Mises

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Hayek worked as a research assistant to Prof. Jeremiah Jenks of New York University from 1923 to 1924. He then served as director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research before joining the faculty of the London School of Economics in 1931. Unwilling to return to Austria after its annexation to Nazi Germany, Hayek became a British citizen in 1938.

Related Topics:
Jeremiah Jenks - New York University - 1923 - 1924 - London School of Economics - 1931 - Nazi - Germany - British - 1938

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In the early 1940s, Hayek enjoyed a considerable reputation as a leading economic theorist. But after the end of World War II, Hayek's laissez-faire doctrines were challenged by J. M. Keynes and others who argued for active government intervention in economic affairs. The debate between the two schools of thought remains unresolved today with Hayek's position gaining currency since the late 1970s. Unable to find employment in any of the major university departments of economics, Hayek became a professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He remained there from 1950 to 1962. From 1962 until his retirement in 1968, he was a professor at the University of Freiburg. Later he was a visiting professor at the University of Salzburg. Hayek died in 1992 in Freiburg, Germany.

Related Topics:
1940s - World War II - Laissez-faire - J. M. Keynes - Committee on Social Thought - University of Chicago - 1950 - 1962 - 1968 - University of Freiburg - University of Salzburg

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