The Austrian Economics Center's goal is to help create a free, responsible and prosperous society. It promotes the ideas of the Austrian School of Economics.
Vienna, Austria
Joined January 2012
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We are pleased to welcome Max Rangeley to the Hayek Institute in Vienna on November 3 for an evening of discussion exploring the question: Is the West in Civilisational Decline?
November 3, 2026 | 5:00 PM
Hayek Institute, Vienna
Register here: hayek-institut.at/veranstalt…
One group project. Absolutely no chance of reaching a consensus.
Who would you trust to lead the group?
What could a frozen pond in Massachusetts possibly have to do with the heat of Calcutta?
In the early 19th century, American entrepreneur Frederic Tudor saw a business opportunity where others saw nothing but frozen water.
He began shipping ice from New England to the Caribbean and eventually as far as India, overcoming enormous logistical challenges and helping create an international ice trade.
But Tudor wasn't simply selling frozen water. He was selling something people valued: comfort, preservation, and relief from the heat.
Decades later, Carl Menger's subjective theory of value would provide an economic explanation for this remarkable story.
So what determines the value of something: the good itself, or the importance we attach to it?
Same continent. Same year. Completely different housing markets.
In Q2 2026, house prices across the EU increased by 4.7% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Bulgaria (+15.5%) and Lithuania (+14.3%) were also among the countries recording the strongest increases, while Luxembourg (−2.2%) and France (−0.8%) experienced declines.
The infographic compares annual house price changes in Q1 and Q2 2026, revealing where price growth accelerated, slowed, or turned negative.
Which European housing market surprises you the most?
Source: Eurostat, House Price Index
Meet the A·U·S·T·R·I·A·N·S. Part II
Israel Kirzner, Murray Rothbard, Friedrich von Wieser, and Fritz Machlup.
Which Austrian economist should join the cast next?
AI modified images.
By August 16, 2026, full-time employees in Austria had effectively spent 227 of 365 days working just to cover taxes and social contributions. That equals 62.12% of their total labour costs. From August 16 onward, they finally work for themselves.
Two economists. Two different conclusions.
In the late 1920s, Irving Fisher believed that monetary stabilization could stabilize the dollar and help overcome the business cycle.
Ludwig von Mises did not agree with that approach. In 1928, he challenged Fisher’s monetary views, arguing that artificially low interest rates and credit expansion could fuel an economic boom that would eventually end in crisis.
Fisher remained confident in the stock market even in October 1929. Then came the crash and the Great Depression.
