Author: Alexander Rosenberg
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226727233
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
"Economics will never be able to move beyond these vague predictions because it treats human behavior - individual and social - as the product of expectations and preferences - beliefs and desires - the variables that cannot be measured independently of the actual choices we want to predict. These factors, combined with the economist's commitment to the search for equilibrium solutions to theoretical problems, condemn economic theory to permanent predictive weakness. In the end, Rosenberg's analysis is not merely a critique. His aim is to redefine the scope and value of neoclassical theory, suggesting that its character and most important accomplishments need to be correctly understood to defend economics against the charge that it is a science of diminishing returns."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Bert Tieben
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1781953511
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 689
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Book Description
'Bert Tieben is very well read in the history of economic thought and provides an overview of one of the basic concepts of economics that is unrivalled both in its scope and in its thoughtful and detailed discussion of the various currents and schools. It goes right to the heart of economic theory and asks some pertinent questions about the limits and the future of economic theorizing. That is, I think, what sets it apart from many other studies in the history of economic thought: it is history with an eye to the future, and it does all this without making any demands on the mathematical skills of the reader. This book should therefore appeal to everybody who is interested in the methodology of economics and in exploring the boundaries of economic analysis.' Hans Visser, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands This book deals with one of the most puzzling concepts in economic science, that of economic equilibrium. In modern economics, equilibrium is considered a key assumption, but its role is contested by economists both from within the mainstream and from rival schools of thought. What explains the contradictory assessments of the equilibrium concept in economics? Do economists belonging to different traditions disagree about the definition of equilibrium or do they adopt different rules for assessing scientific status? In this unique and exhaustive study, Bert Tieben answers these questions by investigating the history of equilibrium economics from 1700 to the present day. He concludes that ideology strongly coloured the development of this branch of theory, helping to explain the vehemence of the debates surrounding the concept. He also argues that scientific progress in economics may indeed be fostered by such opposition and contention, and calls for cross fertilization and stronger cooperation between the different schools of thought. This resourceful book will appeal to post graduate students and scholars in the history of economic thought and economic methodology. Both neoclassical and heterodox economists, most notably Austrian, post Keynesian and institutional economists, will also find much to interest them.
Author: Vincente Navarro
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351863908
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 519
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Book Description
In the last two decades of the 20th century, we witnessed a dramatic growth in social inequalities within and among countries. This has had a most negative impact on the health and quality of life of large sectors of the populations in the developed and underdeveloped world. This volume analyzes the reasons for this increase in inequalities and its consequences for the well-being of populations. Scholars from a variety of disciplines and countries analyze the different dimensions of this topic.
Author: Maurice Lagueux
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135150346
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
This book analyses the role of rationality in economics focusing on which conditions the rationality assumption makes valuable explanations possible and what kinds of explanation are then involved.
Author: Andrea Salanti
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781781959633
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
Pluralism in Economics sheds new light on the various meanings & consequences of pluralist approaches to the history & methodology of economics. It focuses on philosophical & methodological issues, & contains case studies.
Author: D. Wade Hands
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521797962
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 496
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Book Description
This book is a comprehensive and often controversial survey of economic methodology.
Author: Tobias Henschen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000961788
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 219
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Book Description
Central banks and other policymaking institutions use causal hypotheses to justify macroeconomic policy decisions to the public and public institutions. These hypotheses say that changes in one macroeconomic aggregate (e.g. aggregate demand) cause changes in other macroeconomic aggregates (e.g. in inflation). An important (perhaps the most important) goal of macroeconomists is to provide conclusive evidence in support of these hypotheses. If they cannot provide any conclusive evidence, then policymaking institutions will be unable to use causal hypotheses to justify policy decisions, and then the scientific objectivity of macroeconomic policy analysis will be questionable. The book analyzes the accounts of causality that have been or can be proposed to capture the type of causality that underlies macroeconomic policy analysis, the empirical methods of causal inference that contemporary macroeconomists have at their disposal, and the conceptions of scientific objectivity that traditionally play a role in economics. The book argues that contemporary macroeconomists cannot provide any conclusive evidence in support of causal hypotheses, and that macroeconomic policy analysis doesn’t qualify as scientifically objective in any of the traditional meanings. The book also considers a number of steps that might have to be taken in order for macroeconomic policy analysis to become more objective. The book addresses philosophers of science and economics as well as (macro-) economists, econometricians and statisticians who are interested in causality and macro-econometric methods of causal inference and their wider philosophical and social context.
Author: Terence Hutchison
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134869371
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
Terence Hutchison has made a unique contribution to debates in the history of economic thought and in economic methodology. The material collected here - much of which is appearing for the first time - includes some of the most significant and provocative parts of this contribution. Working from the principle that an idea that offends no one is not worth entertaining, the essays selected here offer a major reinterpretation of what has been called `the Smithian Revolution', and especially of Ricardo, plus a re-assessment of subjectivism and the methodology of the Austrian school.
Author: Perri Six
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351887661
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1134
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Book Description
These two volumes present the most important recent developments in the institutional theory of culture and demonstrate their practical applications. Sometimes called 'grid-group analysis' or 'cultural theory', they derive from the work of Durkheim in the 1880s and 1900s and develop the insights of the anthropologist Mary Douglas and her followers from the 1960s on. First redefined within social and cultural anthropology, the theory's influence is shown in recent years to have permeated all the main disciplines of social science with substantial implications for politics, history, business, work and organizations, the environment, technology and risk, and crime and consumption. Today, the institutional theory of culture now rivals the rational choice, Weberian and postmodern outlooks in influence across the social sciences.
Author: Uskali Mäki
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521000208
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 420
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Book Description
The beliefs of economists are not solely determined by empirical evidence in direct relation to the theories and models they hold. Economists hold 'ontological presuppositions', fundamental ideas about the nature of being which direct their thinking about economic behaviour. In this volume, leading philosophers and economists examine these hidden presuppositions, searching for a 'world view' of economics. What properties are attributed to human individuals in economic theories, and which are excluded? Does economic man exist? Do markets have an essence? Do macroeconomic aggregates exist? Is the economy a mechanism, the functioning of which is governed by a limited set of distinct causes? What are the methodological implications of different ontological starting points? This collection, which establishes economic ontology as a coordinated field of study, will be of great value to economists and philosophers of social sciences. -- Back cover.
