Schools of Thought
From classical liberalism to Keynesian macroeconomics, the intellectual traditions that shape how we think about the economy.
Austrian School
Founded c. 1870s
A heterodox tradition emphasizing subjective value, individual choice, the role of knowledge and time in economic processes, and deep skepticism toward central planning and government intervention.
Behavioral Economics
Founded c. 1970s
A research program that integrates insights from psychology into economic analysis, documenting systematic departures from the rational-agent model and exploring their consequences for markets, policy, and welfare.
Chicago School
Founded c. 1930s
A neoclassical tradition centered at the University of Chicago, known for monetarism, faith in competitive markets, rigorous empirical methods, and influential contributions to deregulation and free-market policy.
Classical Economics
Founded c. 1770s
The foundational school of modern economics, rooted in Enlightenment rationalism, emphasizing free markets, the division of labor, and the self-regulating nature of economies.
Institutional Economics
Founded c. 1890s
A broad tradition that places institutions — the rules, norms, habits, and organizations shaping economic life — at the center of analysis, challenging the notion that markets operate independently of their social and legal context.
Keynesian Economics
Founded c. 1936
A macroeconomic framework originating with John Maynard Keynes that emphasizes aggregate demand, the potential for prolonged unemployment, and the role of government fiscal policy in stabilizing economies.
Marxian Economics
Founded c. 1860s
An analytical tradition rooted in Karl Marx's critique of capitalism, centering on the labor theory of value, the extraction of surplus value, class conflict, and the inherent tendencies of capitalist economies toward crisis and transformation.
Neoclassical Economics
Founded c. 1870s
The dominant framework in modern economics, built on the marginal revolution of the 1870s, characterized by rational optimizing agents, equilibrium analysis, and the mathematical formalization of market processes.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Founded c. 1950s
A heterodox tradition that seeks to recover and extend the most radical insights of John Maynard Keynes — fundamental uncertainty, the non-neutrality of money, and the central role of effective demand — against the dilutions of the neoclassical synthesis.