Culture has been a relatively understudied subject within economics. Economists who have studied it often conceived of culture as a form of capital, treating it as a set of tools or a resource that certain groups possess and other groups do not. Austrian economics, in contrast, is a science of human behavior that is primarily concerned with making sense of meaningful human action. Because of this, Austrian economists are particularly well suited to inject cultural considerations into economic analysis. This edited volume, a collection of both theoretical essays and empirical studies, presents an Austrian economics perspective on the role of culture in economic action. The authors illustrate that culture cannot be separated from economic action, but that it is in fact part of all decision-making. Culture and Economic Action is an enlightening cross-disciplinary exploration that will appeal to all scholars in the social sciences, from anthropologists to economists.
Contents: 1. Introduction Laura E. Grube and Virgil Henry Storr PART I THEORIZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 2. Economists Should Study Culture Virgil Henry Storr 3. The Discovery and Interpretation of Profit Opportunities: Culture and the Kirznerian Entrepreneur Don Lavoie 4. The Determinants of Entrepreneurial Alertness and the Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs Virgil Henry Storr and Arielle John 5. Markets as an Extension of Culture Emily Chamlee-Wright 6. Institutional Stickiness and the New Development Economics Peter J. Boettke, Christopher Coyne and Peter Leeson 7. How does Culture Influence Economic Development? Don Lavoie and Emily Chamlee-Wright 8. Context Matters: The Importance of Time and Place in Economic Narratives Virgil Henry Storr 9. A Critical Appraisal of the Concept of Cultural Capital Virgil Henry Storr 10. Culture as a Constitution Arielle John 11. Weber's Spirit of Capitalism and the Bahamas' Junkanoo Ethic Virgil Henry Storr PART II UNDERSTANDING ECONOMIC LIFE BY USING CULTURE 12. Pastor Response in Post-Katrina New Orleans: Navigating the Cultural Economic Landscape Emily Chamlee-Wright 13. National Cultures, Economic Action and the Homogeneity Problem. Insights from the Case of Romania Paul Dragos Aligica and Aura Matei 14. Between Community and Society: Political Attitudes in Transition Countries Petrik Runst 15. Subalternity and Entrepreneurship. Tales of Marginalized but Enterprising Characters, Oppressive Settings and Haunting Plots Virgil Henry Storr and Bridget Colon 16. Indigenous African Institutions and Economic Development Emily Chamlee-Wright 17. The Role of Culture in the Persistence of Traditional Leadership: Evidence from Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa Laura E. Grube 18. Network Closure, Group Identity and Attitudes toward Merchants Ryan Langrill and Virgil Henry Storr 19. The Cultural and Political Economy of Drug Prohibition Kyle W. O'Donnell 20. Cultural and Institutional Co-determination: the Case of Legitimacy in Exchange in Diablo II Solomon Stein Index
