Dr. Israel Kirzner has been an exemplar of scholarly civility for at least two generations of economists. Seriousness of purpose, deep commitment, and the courage of his convictions are the defining traits of Dr. Kirzner’s career. As the contemporary leader of the Austrian School of Economics, he has worked tirelessly to revitalize a scientific tradition that embodies a deep appreciation for market processes as well as the political, legal, and social framework within which these processes are embedded.
As the limits of mainstream theory are more widely recognized and admitted, Dr. Kirzner’s fundamental contributions to economic science have continued to grow in influence. He has striven to refine and deepen our appreciation of the adjustment mechanisms that assure efficient operation of market economies. His major works, such as Competition and Entrepreneurship (1973), Perception, Opportunity and Profit (1979), Discovery and the Capitalist Process (1985), and The Meaning of Market Process (1992), have led many to reconsider the modern theoretical formulation of markets. The implications of Dr. Kirzner’s work for economics are vast, even if they are not always heeded within the professional community.
The son of a well-known rabbi and Talmudic scholar, Israel Kirzner was born in London, England, and came to the United States via South Africa. He received his B.A. from Brooklyn College in New York in 1954, an MBA in 1955 and Ph.D. from New York University in 1957 where he studied under Ludwig von Mises.
Dr. Israel Kirzner is Professor Emeritus of Economics in New York University. He is also an ordained rabbi and a brilliant scholar of the Talmud. In Brooklyn, New York, he serves as the rabbi of the congregation once headed by his father.