Herbert Joseph Davenport (August 10, 1861 – June 15, 1931[1]) was an American economist and critic of the Austrian School, educator and author.

His studies were apparently motivated, like many other revolutionary political economists of his time, by a desire to find the flaws in socialism.

His first article, written while an undergraduate in South Dakota, was "The Formula of Sacrifice" (1894), an exploration of the concept of subjective opportunity cost.

[6] The latter was a full-fledged critical examination of the major economic doctrines of classical and early neoclassical thought.

Although one biographer and student saw him as a reformer (Homan), another lamented the absence of real reformist ideas and even of the awareness of the need to follow criticism with clear statements about what was right and how it could be achieved (Frank Knight).

He subjected them to grilling cross-examination capped by the decisive point and apt illustration, punctuated by satirical amusement toward the inept and the unprepared.

"[5] Perhaps the best reflection on Davenport as a person comes from the fact that for many years, he used his savings to pay friends in South Dakota who had made real estate investments through him in the early 1890s.