Over the last twenty years, Ross B. Emmett has explored the work of Frank H. Knight, the philosopher of the Chicago School of economics. Knight occupies a paradoxical place in the history of Chicago economics: vital to the tradition’s teaching of price theory and the twentieth-century re-articulation of the defense of free enterprise and liberal democracy, yet a critic (in advance) of the empirical and methodological orientation that has characterized Chicago economics and the rest of the discipline in the post-war period, and skeptical of liberalism’s prospects. In the course of his investigation of Knight’s work, Emmett has written not only about Knight’s economics and philosophy, the nature of Chicago economics, and Knight’s place in the Chicago tradition, but also about the application of hermeneutic theory to the history of economics, the relation of the history of economic thought to the discipline of economics, and the relation between economics and religion. His eight-volume collection of primary-source material on The Chicago Tradition in Economics, 1892-1945 was published by Routledge in 2001.

In this book, Ross B. Emmett looks at Frank Knight's economics and philosophy, the nature of Chicago economics, his place in the Chicago tradition and also about the application of hermeneutic theory to the history of economics.

In this book, Ross B.Emmett looks at Frank Knight's economics and philosophy, the nature of Chicago economics, his place in the Chicago tradition and also about the application of hermeneutic theory to the history of economics.

A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.

When originally released, Frank Hyneman Knight’s The Economic Organization revitalized the teaching of economic theory in America during the 1930s, laying the foundation for the price theory revolution led by economists emerging from Knight’s circle at The University of Chicago. Knight shows that when societies choose to allow market organization, their economy simultaneously solves the fundamental functions of valuation and efficiency. It also organizes the production and distribution of resources, providing incentives for progress. The Economic Organization provides a short introduction to the basic principles of supply, demand, and distribution that emerge from neoclassical price theory. The central role of the price mechanism in market organization is illustrated neatly by Knight’s "wheel of wealth"—the circular flow diagram most often identified with macroeconomic flows, but introduced here for price theoretic reasons. This version also includes his essay on "Utility and Cost," which provides a seamlessly integrated alternative-cost interpretation of neoclassical theory. This expanded edition of The Economic Organization includes a new introduction by Ross B. Emmett, which expands upon the short note on capital theory inserted in the original. Knight wrote three versions of the note for student use, and all three are included in the second chapter. Few books have changed the landscape of American economics and economic education as much as Knight’s The Economic Organization. This book should be read by all economists, historians, and policy makers.

Over the past forty years, economists associated with the University of Chicago have won more than one-third of the Nobel prizes awarded in their discipline and have been major influences on American public policy. Building Chicago Economics presents the first collective attempt by social science historians to chart the rise and development of the Chicago School during the decades that followed the Second World War. Drawing on new research in published and archival sources, contributors examine the people, institutions and ideas that established the foundations for the success of Chicago economics and thereby positioned it as a powerful and controversial force in American political and intellectual life.

Chicagonomics explores the history and development of classical liberalism as taught and explored at the University of Chicago. Ebenstein's tenth book in the history of economic and political thought, it deals specifically in the area of classical liberalism, examining the ideas of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, and is the first comprehensive history of economics at the University of Chicago from the founding of the University in 1892 until the present. The reader will learn why Chicago had such influence, to what extent different schools of thought in economics existed at Chicago, the Chicago tradition, vision, and what Chicago economic perspectives have to say about current economic and social circumstances. Ebenstein enlightens the personal and intellectual relationships among leading figures in economics at the University of Chicago, including Jacob Viner, Frank Knight, Henry Simons, Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Aaron Director, and Friedrich Hayek. He recasts classical liberal thought from Adam Smith to the present.