Herbener wins prestigious Fertig prize

​Dr. Jeffrey M. Herbener, professor and chair of the Department of Economics at Grove City College, won the 2017 Lawrence W. Fertig Prize in Austrian Economics. 

The prize, awarded by the Ludwig von Mises Institute at its annual Austrian Economic Research Conference earlier this month, recognizes the author of the scholarly article that best advances economic science in the Austrian tradition. Herbener shares the award with his co-author David Rapp, assistant professor at the Institute of Accounting at the University of Saarland, Germany and a recent visiting professor at Grove City College.

Their article “Toward a Subjective Approach to Investment Appraisal in Light of Austrian Value Theory” explores the implications of influential theoretical economist Ludwig von Mises’s theory of economic calculation for asset acquisitions and disposals, especially the acquisition and disposal of entire business enterprises. In particular they seek to demonstrate that the subjective approach to investment appraisal developed in German-language, business-management literature is compatible with Austrian value theory.

“We are very proud of Dr. Herbener for winning a prize of this stature on an international stage teamed up with a respected European economist,” said Dr. David Ayers, Dean of the Calderwood School. “Dr. Herbener is carrying on a decades-long tradition of excellence in Austrian and free market economics that our college is known for.”

“Since its inception in 2001, the Lawrence W. Fertig prize has been awarded for published articles that have broken new ground in advancing or making innovative applications of Austrian economic theory,” said Joseph T. Salerno, academic vice president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and professor of economics at Pace University. 

“In most cases the prize-winning articles have gone on to achieve great influence and garner numerous citations. Jeffrey M. Herbener and David Rapp's article makes a seminal contribution by extending Mises's notion of price appraisement to the arena of investment in the purchase of business firms. I believe that it is destined to become one of the most influential and oft-cited articles in the burgeoning literature on Austrian finance,” Salerno noted.

The Austrian Economics Research Conference is the international, interdisciplinary meeting of the Austrian school, bringing together leading scholars doing research in a vibrant and influential intellectual tradition. The conference is hosted by the Mises Institute at its campus in Auburn, Alabama. 

In addition to his work at Grove City College, Dr. Herbener is also a fellow for economic theory and policy with The Center for Vision and Values and assistant editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. His work has been published by The Free Market Review of Austrian Economics, Austrian Economics newsletter and the Journal of Libertarian Studies.

To learn more about economics at Grove City College, please visit www.gcc.edu/econ.