The controversy between Hayek and Knight over capital theory

• Grant number: 11/24047-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Economic Theory
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Eduardo de Castro Soromenho
• Grantee: Gabriel Oliva Costa Cunha
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade (FEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The issue of how economic theory should treat capital is a problem of great complexity that created many controversies among economists of various theoretical frameworks throughout the history of economic thought.This paper will discuss, specifically, the debate on capital theory between Frank H. Knight and Friedrich A. Hayek which took place in the 1930s, seeking to summarize the arguments of both sides of the controversy, identifying points of agreement and disagreement and emphasizing how the capital theories of both authors relate to the theoretical core defended by each one of them. (AU)