Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson was born in 1909, in Eastbourne, Sussex. Her father was a solicitor and retired to Malaga (Spain) in 1920 with his daughter. She earned a degree in Spanish at the University of London, and completed a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics, under the supervision of Friedrich Hayek and R. S. Sayers.
Grice-Hutchinson is best known for her work on the history of economic thought in Spain, and particularly that of the late Scholastic School of Salamanca.
In 1993, she was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Complutense University of Madrid. She became a Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society in 1995, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1975, and in Spain she was named to the Order of Civil Merit. In 1996 she was awarded the Premio Castilla y León de las Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades.
In 1952, she wrote The School of Salamanca. Readings in Spanish Monetary Theory, 1544-1605. Her book was reprinted in 2009 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
The Spanish economist Jesus Huerta de Soto, founder of the Austrian School of Economy of Madrid, has showed in many books and conferences how the causes of the speculative bubbles that led to different economic crisis were already pointed out by the scholars from the School of Salamanca: “three centuries have been lost as a consequence of ignoring our Scholastics”.
Huerta de Soto has been a pivotal figure in introducing the Austrian method of praxeology to the Spanish academic sphere. He has been practically the sole proponent advocating for an alternative to the neoclassical method of mathematical inductions for developing economic theory. Throughout his career, Huerta de Soto has spearheaded a significant critique against the mainstream economic method, which relies on solving differential equations based on given information. Instead, he has focused on how individuals generate practical information through the coordination of diverse behaviors, a topic we will revisit later.
Huerta de Soto’s main contribution in this field is encapsulated in The Theory of Dynamic Efficiency. This work, a collection of essays from the Austrian perspective, primarily addresses entrepreneurship and the history of the Austrian school.
The book The School of Salamanca. Readings in Spanish Monetary Theory, 1544-1605 can be read on line in the following link:
The School of Salamanca also contributed significantly to philososy, physics science, theology, and many more. Here some links:
- Fundación Gustavo Bueno (philosophy): Breve historia de la Segunda Escolástica, A vueltas con la filosofía española y la filosofía en español
- Domingo de Soto and physics: Domingo de Soto y el nacimiento de la Mecánica Clásica (in Spanish).
- La recuperación de la Escuela de Salamanca en el contexto de la Kulturkampf alemana (The revival of the School of Salamanca in the context of the German Kulturkampf) by María Martín Gómez
- Presentation of the book La Escuela de Salamanca, cuando el pensamiento español iluminó al mundo (The School of Salamanca, when Spanish thought enlightened the world)