Friedrich A. Hayek
Economist and philosopher
Friedrich A. Hayek was an Austrian-born economist and philosopher who shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is known for defending classical liberalism.
1 summary 18 min of listening
Born 1899 in Vienna, Austria Died 1992
Influenced by Adam Smith, David Hume, Max Weber
About Friedrich A. Hayek
Friedrich August von Hayek was born in Vienna in 1899 and died in 1992. He fought in World War I as a teenager, and later said the experience drew him to economics. He earned doctoral degrees in law and in political studies at the University of Vienna. His working life was spread across Austria, Britain, the United States and Germany, and he became a British national in 1938. He was a student and then a teacher at the London School of Economics, taught at the University of Chicago, and later taught at the Universities of Salzburg and Freiburg. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel prize with Gunnar Myrdal. Many regard his explanation of how prices carry information as a significant contribution to economics. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. Among his writings is The Constitution of Liberty.