Introduction

This chapter provides context for the The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics. The Handbook was designed to give an overview of the main methodological, analytical, and practical implications of the Austrian school of economics. The contributors provide a brief history of the intellectual tradition of the Austrian school of economics starting with Carl Menger in the late nineteenth century. In tracing this intellectual tradition, the authors provide the necessary background to understand the main methodological, analytical, and practical implications of the Austrian school. They also argue that Austrian economics is a lively and progressive research program in the social sciences.