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.

This collection of articles taken from the Journal of Economic Issues offers both a fresh perspective and a persuasive diagnosis on economic methodology. It simultaneously presents institutional economists' approaches to economic inquiry and policy, as well as a running critique of conceptual flaw and inadequacies of the traditional orthodox neoclassical approach that dominates college curriculums and media.

An introduction to the major schools of thought in economics. Examines the scientific status of economics from the perspective of practicing economists, studying how economists evaluate theories, the relationship between theories and the phenomena they are supposed to represent, and the philosophy, methodology, and scientific credentials of economics. Surveys five influential schools of thought in the methodology of economics, and discusses the purposes of economic inquiry and legitimate sources of economic knowledge. For students and scholars of economics, philosophy, and economic methodology. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The major methodological task for modern economists has been to establish the testability of models. Too often, however, methodological assumptions can make a model virtually impossible to test even under ideal conditions, yet few theorists have examined the requirements and problems of assuring testability in economics. In The Methodology of Economic Model Building, first published in 1989, Lawrence Boland presents the results of a research project that spanned more than twenty years. He examines how economists have applied the philosophy of Karl Popper, relating methodological debates about falsifiability to wider discussions about the truth status of models in natural and social sciences. He concludes that model building in economics reflects more the methodological prescriptions of the economist Paul Samuelson than Popper’s ‘falsificationism’. This title will prove invaluable to both students and researchers, and represents a substantial contribution to debates about the scientific status of economics.

'Pheby's volume is especially to be welcomed as a clear and critical introduction to a large, complex and confusing methodological literature...It is recommended for all students of economics however experienced. ' A.W.Coats, Kyklos 'Professor Pheby in this much needed book gives a brilliant conducted tour ofour subject.' G.L.S.Shackle, foreword to the Japanese edition. Pheby has provided an antidote to the dangers of adopting, an excessively paradigmatic attitude, by supplying a well written, comprehensible guide to this esoteric field. More advanced scholars will appreciate his 168-entry bibliography.' D. Whitehead, Economics Methodology and Economics is a straightforward and interesting introduction in some of the methodologies that have influenced the work of economistswhich also quation their attempts to imitate the natural science. The way in which such 'naturalistic' methodologies, for example those of Bacon, descartes, Popper Kuhn and Friedman, have moulded much of the contemporary economics is discussed in a systematic and sequential fashion. Against such approaches it is suggested that the contributions of Austrian methodologists and Marx deserve greater attention. In conclusion, an agenda for future methodological work is outlined.

Methodology of Economics and Other Social Sciences covers the problems in the methodological aspects of economics and other social science disciplines. This book is organized into seven parts encompassing 26 chapters. The first parts review the nature and significance of methodology of economics, along with the models and theories in the field. The succeeding parts deal with the verification problems, operational concepts, and interpretation of reality in economics. Other parts explore the methodological aspects of other social sciences. The last parts discuss some aspects and applications of economic methodologies. This book will be of value to economists, social scientists, and researchers.

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.

This edited volume provides an in-depth exploration into the influential work of Wade Hands, examining the changing relationship between methodology and the history of economics in connection with contemporary developments in economics. The papers in this volume fall into four parts, each devoted to an important theme in Wade Hands’ work. The first part explores the influence and scope of Reflection without Rules, capturing the rich debate that the book generated about what guides methodological and philosophical thinking in economics. The second part examines Hands’ research on Paul Samuelson’s economics and the methodological dimensions of Samuelson’s thinking. Part three looks to Hands’ long-standing interest in the philosophical foundations of pragmatist thinking. The final part addresses his more recent research in the methodological import of the emergence of behavioural economics. Together, the contributors show how Hands’ insights in complexity theory, identity, and stratification are key to understanding a reconfigured economic methodology. They also reveal how his willingness to draw from multiple academic disciplines gives us a platform for interrogating mainstream economics and provides the basis for a humane yet scientific alternative. This unique volume will be essential reading for advanced students and researchers across social economics, history of economic thought, economic methodology, political economy, and philosophy of social science.

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.