ABSTRACT
Regardless of how far the study of economics has advanced, the disorderly and ambiguous terminology cited by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk over a century ago still exists. For example, Friedrich Hayek complained about the kaleidoscope of definitions surrounding the word “capital” (1941). Fritz Machlup also emphasized this point in Economic Semantics (1991), with a call for clarity in definition. It is only after analysts – armed with first principles – develop definitions and classification systems that data can be properly collected, sorted, and analyzed, in a way that can be replicated.
