Israel Kirzner

Israel Meir Kirzner (also Yisroel Mayer Kirzner ; born February 13, 1930) is a British-born American economist, historian, rabbi, and Talmudist closely identified with the Austrian School. Kirzner is known for his work on entrepreneurial economics, particularly the role of the entrepreneur as an alert arbitrageur and agent of economic discovery in the market process.

Early life and education

The son of a well-known rabbi and Talmudist, Kirzner was born in London to a Jewish family and reached the United States by way of South Africa.

After studying at the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1947–48, and with the University of London External Programme in 1950–51, Kirzner received his B.A. summa cum laude from Brooklyn College in 1954, and an MBA in 1955 and Ph.D. in 1957 from New York University, where he studied under Ludwig von Mises.

Economics

Kirzner is emeritus professor of economics at New York University and a leading authority on Ludwig von Mises's thinking and methodology in economics. Kirzner's research on entrepreneurship economics is also widely recognized. His book, Competition and Entrepreneurship criticizes neoclassical theory for its preoccupation with the model of perfect competition, which neglects the important role of the entrepreneur in economic life. Kirzner's work integrating entrepreneurial action into neoclassical economics has been more widely accepted than nearly any other Austrian idea of the late twentieth century.

In 2006, Kirzner received the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research "for developing the economic theory emphasizing the importance of the entrepreneur for economic growth and the functioning of the capitalist process." While Kirzner's ideas have greatly impacted the field of entrepreneurship studies, he has mainly been associated with the opportunity discovery view. However, a careful reading of Kirzner's work would suggest that his work on entrepreneurship can be split into two camps, one focusing on discovery and the other on creation.