The F. A. v. Hayek Institute was founded in 1993 to commemorate the work of Nobel Laureate Friedrich August von Hayek, and to promote the ideas of the Austrian School of Economics. As a private and independent academic research institution, it is modeled predominantly after Stanford University's Hoover Institute, the IEA in London, and the ICER in Turin. The Institute extensively cooperates with other like-minded think tanks, and organizes academic conferences, seminars, and lectures that tackle current economic issues.

The F.A. v. Hayek Institute funds and produces academic research, in the interest of providing concrete data and logical analysis to a range of public policy debates. The Hayek Institute is the publisher of the successful book series, The International Library of Austrian Economics. Contributions to the Hayek Institute are tax deductible.

The F.A.v. Hayek Institut is the only Austrian organization listed among the top 40 think tanks of Western Europe, ranking 27th overall, according to a recent study by the University of Pennsylvania of 6.305 Institutes worldwide!