The methodological structure of mainstream economics often relies on axioms and theorems that are tautological by design, which severely limits their informational content. A prime example is modern expected utility theory. Its core weakness lies in the minimal constraints placed on individual preferences; this extreme flexibility allows the theory to be reconciled with virtually any […]
economics
The rational expectations hypothesis presupposes — largely for reasons of internal consistency — that agents possess complete knowledge of all relevant probability distributions. When economists attempt to incorporate learning into these models, it is always in a very restricted sense. Nothing genuinely unanticipated ever occurs; instead, learning is reduced to a mechanical process of updating […]
There are several reasons for the insularity of economics, most importantly the different epistemological cultures of the various social science disciplines and the power inequalities between them. First, the theory of action that comes with economists’ analytical style is hardly compatible with the basic premise of much of the human sciences, namely that social processes […]
Fackföreningsekonomen Daniel Lind och ekonomiprofessorn Lars Calmfors har under det senaste året haft en animerad diskussion om forskningen kring ‘monopsoni’ och ‘lägstalöner’ i Ekonomisk Debatt och Affärsvärlden. En central tvistefråga i diskussionen mellan Lind och Calmfors gäller lägstalönerna i Sverige. Lind hävdar att höjda lägstalöner inte med nödvändighet behöver leda till färre jobb. Han menar […]
I often get asked about cryptocurrency. And I immediately become bored. The sort of claims that people have made about this phenomenon, which is historically just another speculative asset, are over-the-top to say the least. There are two realities that seem to be ignored. First, we already have mainstream digital money and have had for…
MMT is fundamentally a reaction to the way money is described in mainstream economic theory, where money is seen as something that people save by depositing it in banks, and which banks in turn can lend out by creating credit. Thus, the money creation by banks presupposes that private individuals save. But that idea is […]
The interviews in this collection were conducted with prominent thinkers, such as Steve Keen, Herman Daly and Jayati Ghosh, with important things to say on areas of economy often neglected or distorted by mainstream economics. The subject matter ranges from ecological economics, through to development, methodology, conventions, finance, financialisation and banking. If you want to […]
We heterodox economists, who have chosen the road less travelled, are acutely aware of its costs: fewer opportunities for ample research funding or positions at prestigious institutions. Yet, I suspect few of us truly regret our choice. One does not bargain with one’s conscience. No amount of money or prestige can replace the profound satisfaction […]
One of the issues that emerges when one is studying undergraduate macroeconomics is that there is a curious disregard for the role that income and wealth distribution play in determining the aggregate outcomes, that are at the centre of the study. Most students in my cohort didn’t think about that and the curriculum certainly didn’t…
Today, economics education has all but erased courses on the history of economic thought and economic methodology. This is not just an oversight — it is an intellectual crisis. A discipline that fails to reflect on its own foundations, that neglects to question its methods and assumptions, is a discipline in decline. History and methodology […]