Economic models are not expected to be even approximately true, and Hausman’s idea that even the ceteris paribus laws in economics are vague as to what exactly has to be equal makes it clear that economic laws must be abstract rather than idealized. This leads us to the question: What are the criteria of, if […]
economics
The object of our analysis is, not to provide a machine, or method of blind manipulation, which will furnish an infallible answer, but to provide ourselves with an organized and orderly method of thinking out particular problems; and, after we have reached a provisional conclusion by isolating the complicating factors one by one, we then […]
The rational expectations hypothesis assumes—primarily for reasons of internal consistency—that agents possess complete knowledge of all relevant probability distribution functions. When attempts are made to incorporate learning into these models, often in response to longstanding criticism, it is invariably a highly constrained form of learning. This type of learning excludes the truly unexpected or surprising. […]
Die Koalition gefährdet mit ihrem Haushalt die finanzielle Stabilität, sagt der Wirtschaftsprofessor Lars Feld, der Christian Lindner beraten hat. Jens Südekum, der Berater von Lars Klingbeil, entgegnet: Deutschland muss ins Risiko gehen. ZEIT: Das Institut für Weltwirtschaft in Kiel hat errechnet, dass die Schuldenquote bis zum Jahr 2040 auf bis zu 118 Prozent des Brutto-inlandsprodukts […]
Mill provides a good illustration of the tension between fallibilism and anti-foundationalism. Mill’s first principles are supposed to be empirical and not necessary truths, but for economics to be an empirical subject at all, they have to be beyond genuine doubt, since they provide the only empirical element in an otherwise deductive system. The certainty […]
. One of the most valuable contributions of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)—particularly from a European perspective—is how clearly it exposes the fundamental flaws of the euro experiment. The neoliberal dream of a supranational currency detached from national fiscal sovereignty simply does not align with economic or political reality. In times of crisis, a state must […]
The more I learned about economics, the more I discovered a landscape that is surpassingly strange. Like the land of Mordor, it is dominated by a single theoretical edifice that arose like a volcano early in the 20th century and still dominates the landscape. The edifice is based upon a conception of human nature that […]
The parallelism between economic laissez-faire and Darwinianism … is very close indeed. Darwin invoked sexual love, acting through sexual selection, as an adjutant to natural selection by competition, to direct evolution along lines which should be desirable as well as effective, so the individualist invokes the love of money, acting through the pursuit of profit, […]
During my whole career, I have considered myself somewhat of a schizophrenic, which might be a universal characteristic. On the one hand, I was interested in science qua science, and I have tried — successfully I hope — not to let my ideological viewpoints contaminate my scientific work. On the other, I felt deeply concerned […]
Givet de omfattande behoven är det inte underligt att allt fler röster höjs för en mer expansiv finanspolitik. Det tidigare överskottsmålet, vars syfte var att skapa en buffert för kommande ekonomiska kriser, har nyligen slopats vilket frigör 20–25 miljarder kronor. Likaså har en ökad statlig upplåning redan aviserats, till exempel vad gäller kärnkraft och försvar. Risken […]