This book is an examination of the nature of economic explanation. The opening chapters introduce current thinking in the philosophy of science and review the literature on methodology. Professor Blaug then turns to the troublesome question of the logical status of welfare economics, giving the reader an understanding of the outstanding issues in the methodology of economics. This is followed by a series of case studies of leading economic controversies, which shows how controversies in economics may be illuminated by paying attention to questions of methodology. A final chapter draws the strands together and gives the author's view of what is wrong with modern economics. This book is a revised and updated edition of a classic work on the methodology of economics, in which Professor Blaug develops his discussion of the latest developments in macroeconomics, general equilibrium theory and international trade theory. A new section on the rationality postulate is also added.

Economic Methodology explores the status and character of economics as a social science and introduces students to philosophical issues underlying modern science. Approaching the subject as philosophy of science for economists, the authors use the historical developments in philosophy of science to frame this introduction to the field of economic methodology. By doing this they strengthen students' understanding of economics as a science to enhance their reasoning skills, introducing them to the wider philosophical issues surrounding our understanding of the area.

A team of world-renowned experts cast new light on Milton Friedman's 1953 essay 'The methodology of positive economics'.

The experimental approach in economics is a driving force behind some of the most exciting developments in the field. The 'experimental revolution' was based on a series of bold philosophical premises which have remained until now mostly unexplored. This book provides the first comprehensive analysis and critical discussion of the methodology of experimental economics, written by a philosopher of science with expertise in the field. It outlines the fundamental principles of experimental inference in order to investigate their power, scope and limitations. The author demonstrates that experimental economists have a lot to gain by discussing openly the philosophical principles that guide their work, and that philosophers of science have a lot to learn from their ingenious techniques devised by experimenters in order to tackle difficult scientific problems.

Economic Methodology: An Inquiry presents a clear and accessible introduction to the methodology of economics. An essential introduction to the subject for those who would like to pursue the more specialist literature, explaining both the role of methodology in assisting economists to address fundamental issues and also the different approaches to methodology that are on offer. The book begins with a discussion of the nature and scope of economics as a discipline and of the issues currently facing it. Dow then goes on to introduce some of the central theoretical and empirical issues in economics and demonstrates the need for methodological awareness in approaching these issues. This is followed by a brief account of the methodological ideas that have influenced economics over the last two centuries and a detailed chapter on current methodological ideas, showing how they are discussed today in the field of economic methodology and how these ideas are related to current practice in economics. The book concludes with a discussion of what economics can reasonably be expected to do and what possible future directions the subject might take. Written in a clear and accessible style with suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, this book will be the ideal starting point for all those wanting an introduction to the methodology of economics, both as it has developed in the past and as it now stands.

In recent years there has been a flowering of work on economic methodology. However there is no longer any consensus about which direction this should take or, indeed, even what the role and content of economic methodology should be. This book reflects this diversity. Its contributors are responsible for the major developments in this field and tog

What is the correct concept behind measures of inflation? Does money cause business activity or is it the other way around? Shall we stimulate growth by raising aggregate demand or rather by lowering taxes and thereby providing incentives to produce? Policy-relevant questions such as these are of immediate and obvious importance to the welfare of societies. The standard approach in dealing with them is to build a model, based on economic theory, answer the question for the model world and then apply the results to economic phenomena outside. Data come in, if at all, only in testing a limited number of the model's consequences. Despite some critical voices, economic methodology too has by and large subscribed to a "theory first" approach to applied economics. Error in Economics systematically develops an alternative to the theory-based orthodoxy. It places the methodical study of evidence at the centre of the scientific enterprise and thus provides a foundation for a methodology of evidence-based economics. But the book does not stop at the truism that claims should be based on the best available evidence. Rather, detailed studies in the areas of measurement, causal inference and policy analysis show what it means for a claim to be evidence-based in the context of a concrete case. The examples discussed concern topics as diverse as consumer price indices, radio spectrum auctions, the transmission mechanism, natural experiments on minimum wages and the evaluation of counterfactuals for policy. Error in Economics is essential reading for economic methodologists, philosophers of science and anyone interested in how claims about socio-economic matters are validated.

A multidisciplinary reference in which over 100 commissioned essays provide details of topics and issues that have developed in recent decades and introduce a variety of emerging themes that economic methodologists have begun to explore. The encyclopedia- type articles discuss such topics as aggregation, evolutionary economics, Otto Neurath, survey methods, Thorstein Veblen, selectionist arguments, the marginalist controversy, game theory, economic sociology, and causality. Each includes an extensive bibliography. Practicing economists and students of the philosophy or history of economics might find useful information and an entry into deeper investigation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In 21 prescriptive rather than descriptive treatments, well known academic economists set out how they think the discipline should be practiced both internally and in relation to other fields and arenas of society. They explore economics as a historical process and as a public science, realism in model buildings, social science, normative and positive aspects, extracting information from data, and worthwhile economics. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Since its publication in 1982, Beyond Positivism has become established as one of the definitive statements on economic methodology. The book‘s rejection of positivism and its advocacy of pluralism were to have a profound influence in the flowering of work methodology that has taken place in economics in the decade since its publication. This editi