This year, INESS organized the 4th Seminar on Austrian Economics.

September 19th – 22nd was a time when a group of 25 students eager to broaden their knowledge of Austrian Economics met at Chateau Mojmírovce. The program, rich with the topics per se, was complemented by vigorous discussions, which – thanks to the students obsessed with acquiring new knowledge – did not stop before midnight. Everyone was satisfied – six Slovakian and two foreign speakers joined the students in their search for questions and answers on the end of the crisis, property rights, legal systems, taxes, socialism, intellectual property rights, state budget or natural resources.

On Thursday, Juraj Karpiš (INESS) launched the event with his lecture on basic principles and various faces of Austrian Economics. He went on the next day when he explained inflation and elaborated on the origin of the financial and economic crisis. After that, it was the time for Martin Vlachynský (INESS) and his provocative thoughts and facts about the (in)exhaustibility of natural resources. Considerable space was occupied by the afternoon lecture and discussion on the topic of intellectual property – patents and copyrights – lead by Richard Ďurana, Ph.D. (INESS). Homeland topics – government budget and pension funds – were covered by Radovan Ďurana (INESS) and an associate professor, Ján Śebo (Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica). Now the moment we have all been waiting for: the foreign guests, professor Alexander Fink (University of Leipzig) and David Lipka, Ph.D. (Anglo-American University in Prague). Professor Fink got us thinking about analytical anarchism, history of Iceland and future of Somalia, while Lipka, Ph.D. ignited a discussion about (not) being a communist and also on the relationship between economics and ideology.

Each lecture was followed by a short discussion, which was later resumed during lunch, dinner and during the leisure time. Students were determined and passionate, and lecturers happy to answer any questions and confront opinions, also in the discussion panel called „Austrian theory vs. practice – what’s next for Slovakia and Europe?“

We’d like to express our warmest thanks to Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and Nadácia Tatra banky for their support and also to our media partners TREND and “Týždeň weekly”.

Photogallery: http://www.iness.sk/srek/2013/gallery.php

Translation: Ján Struhár