Hayek's Price Fan Simile: Roundaboutness, the Proliferation of Prices, and the Economy of Knowledge

Friedrich Hayek’s research focus shifted from a formal analysis of the capital structure in the early 1930s to the study of the economy of knowledge in 1945. He never, as it is too often said, abandoned economics. The abandonment narrative impedes understanding of Austrian economics generally and Hayek’s works more specifically. Toward correcting the false narrative, we explore connections between his 1945 thesis and the price fan simile he set...