View source for Finance:Economic methodology

{{Short description|Subfield of economics}}
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'''Economic methodology''' is the study of methods, especially the  [[Scientific method|scientific method]],  in relation to [[Finance:Economics|economics]],  including principles underlying economic reasoning.<ref>:'''Press + button to enlarge small-text links below.'''<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Roger Backhouse (economist)|Roger E. Backhouse]], 2008. "methodology of economics", ''[[The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics]]'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_M000393&q=methodology&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Lawrence A. Boland, 1987. "methodology", ''The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 3, pp. 455-56.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Daniel M. Hausman|Daniel M. Hausman]], 1989. "Economic Methodology in a Nutshell", ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 3(2), pp. [http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/aheed/Carl/supplementary%20readings/Hausman_1989_Economic_Methodology_in_a_Nutshell.pdf 115-127.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kevin D. Hoover, 1995. "Review Article: Why Does Methodology Matter for Economics?" ''Economic Journal'', 105(430), pp. [http://econ.duke.edu/~kdh9/Source%20Materials/Research/WhyMethodologyMatters.pdf 715-734.]</ref>  In contemporary English, 'methodology' may reference  theoretical or systematic aspects of a method (or several methods). Philosophy and economics also takes up methodology at the intersection of the two subjects.

==Scope==
{{prose |date=July 2012|section}}
General [[Methodology|methodological]] issues include similarities and contrasts to the [[Natural science|natural science]]s and to other social sciences and, in particular, to:
* the definition of economics<ref>• [[Biography:John Stuart Mill|John Stuart Mill]], 1844. "On the Definition of Political Economy; and on the Method of Investigation Proper to It", Essay  V, in ''Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Roger E. Backhouse and Steven Medema, 2008. "economics, definition of", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_E000291&q=definitions&topicid=&result_number=5 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____. 2009. "Retrospectives: On the Definition of Economics", ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 23(1), pp. [http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.23.1.221 221–33] (close Bookmarks tab) [http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.23.1.221 Abstract.]</ref>
* the scope of economics as defined by its methods<ref>[[Biography:John Neville Keynes|John Neville Keynes]], 1891. ''The Scope and Method of Political Economy''.  Annotated chapter [https://books.google.com/books?id=5GcVAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Keynes%22+%22Scope+*+Method+*+Political%22&pg=PP20 links.]  4th ed., 1917 [1999].  Full [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/keynesjn/Scope.pdf#page=3 Contents.]
</ref> 
* fundamental principles and operational significance of economic theory<ref>• [[Biography:John Hicks|John R. Hicks]], 1939. ''[[Finance:Value and Capital|Value and Capital]]: An Inquiry into Some Fundamental Principles of Economic Theory''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Terence W. Hutchison, 1938. ''The Significance and Basic Postulates of Economic Theory''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [[Biography:Martin Hollis (philosopher)|Martin Hollis]] and Edward J. Nell, 1975. ''Rational Economic Man'', ch. 3,4,5 and 7. Cambridge University Press.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;•  Paul A. Samuelson, 1947. ''[[Organization:Foundations of Economic Analysis|Foundations of Economic Analysis]]''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Richard G. Lipsey, 2008. "positive economics." ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics''. 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_P000130&q=positive%20economics&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Lawrence A. Boland, 2008. "instrumentalism and operationalism", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_I000265&q=instrumentalism&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]
<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2003. ''The Foundations of Economic Method'', 2nd Edition. [https://books.google.com/books?id=q-Umw-h2T98C Description] and chapter [https://www.sfu.ca/~boland/book1pdf.htm links.]</ref> 
* [[Philosophy:Methodological individualism|methodological individualism]] versus [[Holism#In economics|holism]] in economics<ref>• Kaushik Basu, 2008. "methodological individualism", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_M000352&q=methodological%20individualism&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• Edward J. Nell, 1998. ''General Theory of Transformational Growth'', Part I. Cambridge University Press.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Harold Kincaid, 2008. "individualism versus holism", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition.  [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_I000277&q=methodological%20individualism&topicid=&result_number=2 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • F.A. Hayek, 1948. ''[[Philosophy:Individualism and Economic Order|Individualism and Economic Order]]''. Chapter-preview [https://books.google.com/books?id=kr2YmpGamZIC&pg=PR7=gbs_atb  links.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  George J. Stigler and Paul A. Samuelson, 1963. "A Dialogue on the Proper Economic Role of the State." ''Selected Papers'', [http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/selectedpapers/sp7.pdf No. 7.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527140041/http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/selectedpapers/sp7.pdf |date=2010-05-27 }} University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  [[Biography:James M. Buchanan|James M. Buchanan]], 1990. "The Domain of Constitutional Economics", ''Constitutional Political Economy'', 1(1), pp. [https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02393031 1]-18, adapted as "Constitutional Political Economy" in C. K. Rowley and F. Schneider, ed., 2004, ''The Encyclopedia of Public Choice'', v. 2, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YUVMr-aFYwYC&pg=PA60 60-67.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  Kenneth J. Arrow, 1994. "Methodological Individualism and Social Knowledge", ''American Economic Review'', 84(2), pp. [http://socsci2.ucsd.edu/~aronatas/project/academic/Arrow%20on%20meth.%20indiv.pdf 1-9.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, 2008. ''Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness''. Yale. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dSJQn8egXvUC&pg=PR7=false Description] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=dSJQn8egXvUC&pg=PR7=false preview.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  Shiozawa, Y. 2004 Evolutionary Economics in the 21st Century: A Manifest, ''Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review'', '''1'''(1): 5-47.</ref>
* the role of simplifying assumptions such as rational choice and [[Finance:Profit maximization|profit maximizing]] in explaining or predicting phenomena<ref>• Lawrence A. Boland, 2008. "assumptions controversy", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_A000231&q=assumptions&topicid=&result_number=1  Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Milton Friedman|Milton Friedman]], 1953. "The Methodology of Positive Economics" in ''Essays in Positive Economics''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Paul A. Samuelson, 1963.  "Problems of Methodology: Discussion", ''American Economic Review'', 53(2) ''American Economic Review'', pp. 231-236. Reprinted in J.C. Wood & R.N. Woods, ed., 1990, ''Milton Friedman: Critical Assessments'', v. I, pp. 107-13. [https://books.google.com/books?id=goa--dQ_eHUC&pg=PA107 Preview.] Routledge.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Stanley Wong, 1973. "The 'F-Twist' and the Methodology of Paul Samuelson", ''American Economic Review'', 63(3) p [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1914363 p. 312]-325.  Reprinted in J.C. Wood & R.N. Woods, ed., ''Milton Friedman: Critical Assessments'', v. II, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=t4-nLZRU_GAC&pg=PA224 224-43].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Shaun Hargreaves Heap, 2008. "economic man", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_E000020&q=rationality&topicid=&result_number=24 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kenneth J. Arrow, [1987] 1989. "Economic theory and the hypothesis of rationality", in ''The New Palgrave: Utility and Probability'',  [https://books.google.com/books?id=EBCCa8HtfkUC&dq==q-64UY5FMB&pg=PA25 pp. 25-39.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Duncan K. Foley, 2004. "Rationality and Ideology in Economics", ''Social Research'', pp. 329-342. Pre-publication [http://homepage.newschool.edu/~foleyd/ratid.pdf version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030811024005/http://homepage.newschool.edu/~foleyd/ratid.pdf |date=2003-08-11 }}.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •
[[Biography:Thomas J. Sargent|Thomas J. Sargent]], 1994. ''Bounded Rationality in Macroeconomics'', Oxford. [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Economics/MacroeconomicTheory/?view=usa&ci=9780198288695 Description] and chapter-preview 1st-page [https://www.questia.com/library/book/bounded-rationality-in-macroeconomics-thomas-j-sargent-by-thomas-j-sargent.jsp links.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Vernon L. Smith|Vernon L. Smith]], 2008. ''Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms'', Cambridge. Description/contents [http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1174232/?site_locale=en_GB links]  and [https://books.google.com/books?id=0E-aFJ09nPAC&pg=PR7= preview].</ref>
* descriptive/[[Finance:Positive economics|positive]], [[Decision theory#Normative and descriptive decision theory|prescriptive]]/[[Finance:Normative economics|normative]], and [[Finance:Applied economics|applied]]<ref>•  David Colander (1992). "Retrospectives: The Lost Art of Economics", ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 6(3), pp. [http://community.middlebury.edu/~colander/articles/retrospectives_lost_art.pdf 191-198].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:John Neville Keynes|John Neville Keynes]], 1891. ''The Scope and Method of Political Economy''.  ch. I-II. Annotated chapter [https://books.google.com/books?id=5GcVAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Keynes%22+%22Scope+*+Method+*+Political%22&pg=PP20 links.]  4th ed., 1917 [1999].  Full [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/keynesjn/Scope.pdf#page=3 Contents.]
</ref> uses of theory<ref>• Richard G. Lipsey, 2008. "positive economics." ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics''. 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_P000130&q=positive%20economics&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Amartya Sen, 1980.  "Description as Choice", ''Oxford Economic Papers'', N.S., 32(3), pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/2662796 353]-369. Reprinted in Sen, 1982, ''Choice, Welfare and Measurement'', Oxford, Basil Blackwell. Chapter-preview link, p.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=u8GPYeT1qAUC&pg=PA432 432]-449.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:John Neville Keynes|John Neville Keynes]], 1891. ''The Scope and Method of Political Economy''.  ch. I, III. Annotated chapter [https://books.google.com/books?id=5GcVAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Keynes%22+%22Scope+*+Method+*+Political%22&pg=PP20 links.]  4th ed., 1917 [1999].  Full [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/keynesjn/Scope.pdf#page=3 Contents.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Colin F. Camerer, 2003. ''Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction'', pp. 5-7 (scroll to at [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7517.html 1.1 What Is Game Theory Good For?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514201411/http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7517.html |date=2011-05-14 }}).<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kenneth E. Boulding, 1969. "Economics as a Moral Science", ''American Economic Review'', 59(1), pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1811088?searchUrl=%2Fsici%3Fsici%3D0002-8282%281969%2959%253A1%253C%253E1.0.CO%253B2-X%26origin%3Drepec&Search=yes 1]–12.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  A. B. Atkinson, 2009. "Economics as a Moral Science", ''Economica'', 76(1), pp.  [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2009.00788.x/full 791–804].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • "Economics as a Moral Science" session, 2011.  ''American Economic Review'', 101(3), article-abstract [http://www.economicsandethics.org/2011/06/economics-as-a-moral-science-in-american-economic-review.html links].</ref>
* the scientific status<ref>• Lionel Robbins, 1932. ''An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Richard G. Lipsey, 2009.  "Some Legacies of Robbins' ''An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science''", ''Economica'', 76(302), pp. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2009.00792.x/pdf 845-56] (press '''+''' button).<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Alexander Rosenberg|Alexander Rosenberg]] (1983). "If Economics Isn't Science, What Is It?" ''Philosophical Forum'', 14, pp. 296-314.  Reprinted in M. Martin and L. C. McIntyre (1996), ''Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science'', pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oUx60TFkLxoC&dq=false&pg=PA661 661-674.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Douglas W. Hands, 1984. "What Economics Is Not: An Economist's Response to Rosenberg", ''Philosophy of Science'', 51(3), p [https://www.jstor.org/pss/187496 p. 495]-503.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Daniel M. Hausman, 1992. ''The Inexact and Separate Science of Economics''. [http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521415019 Description], to ch. 1 [http://assets.cambridge.org/97805214/25230/excerpt/9780521425230_excerpt.pdf link], [https://books.google.com/books?id=F7Vf3sb-ck4C preview], and  reviews, 1st pages: [https://www.jstor.org/pss/2185742][https://www.jstor.org/pss/687635].</ref> and expanding domain of economics<ref>• Edward P. Lazear, 2000. "Economic Imperialism", ''Quarterly Journal of Economics'', 115(1), pp. [http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~kyu/E5111/Lazear2000.pdf 99-146.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730023344/http://flash.lakeheadu.ca/~kyu/E5111/Lazear2000.pdf |date=2017-07-30 }}<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • George J. Stigler, 1984. "Economics—The Imperial Science?" ''Scandinavian Journal of Economics'', 86(3), p [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3439864 p. 301]-313.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Ben Fine, 2000. " Economics Imperialism and Intellectual Progress: The Present as History of Economic Thought?" ''History of Economics Review'', 32, pp. [http://www.hetsa.org/pdf/32-A-2.pdf 10-36] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426014937/http://www.hetsa.org/pdf/32-A-2.pdf |date=2012-04-26 }}.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Jack Hirshleifer, 1985. "The Expanding Domain of Economics", ''American Economic Review'', 75(6), pp. [http://www.econ.ucla.edu/people/papers/Hirshleifer/Hirshleifer175.pdf 53-68] (press '''+'''). Reprinted in Jack Hirshleifer, 2001, ''The Dark Side of the Force: Economic Foundations of Conflict Theory'',
ch.14, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=C5uYCmjn0DoC&pg=PA306 306-] 42.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Gary S. Becker, 1976. ''The Economic Approach to Human Behavior''.  [http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo5954985.html Description] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=iwEOFKSKbMgC&pg=PA3=gbs_v2_summary_r preview].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 1992. "The Economic Way of Looking at Life." Nobel Lecture [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1992/becker-lecture.pdf link], also in 1993, ''Journal of Political Economy'', 101(3), pp. 383-409.</ref>
* issues critical to the practice and progress of [[Econometrics|econometrics]]<ref>• Kevin D. Hoover, 2008. "causality in economics and econometrics", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_C000569&q=experimental%20methods%20in%20economics&topicid=&result_number=11 Abstract] and [http://econ.duke.edu/~kdh9/Source%20Materials/Research/Palgrave_Causality_Final.pdf galley proof.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Herman Wold|H. Wold]] 1954. "Causality and Econometrics", ''[[Finance:Econometrica|Econometrica]]'', 22(2), p [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1907540 p. 162]-177.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Clive Granger|C. W. J. Granger]] and P. Newbold,  1974. "Spurious Regressions in Econometrics", ''Journal of Econometrics'', 2(2), pp. [http://www.climateaudit.info/pdf/others/granger.1974.pdf 111-120].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • David F. Hendry, 1980.  "Econometrics — Alchemy or Science?" ''Economica'', N.S., 47(188), pp. [http://www.climateaudit.info/pdf/others/hendry.1980.pdf 387-406].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____ 2001a. "Achievements and Challenges in Econometric Methodology", ''Journal of Econometrics'', 100(1), pp. 7-10. [http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~chsiao/Hendry.pdf PDF, pp. 1-4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043548/http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~chsiao/Hendry.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2001b. ''Econometrics: Alchemy or Science  Essays in Econometric Methodology'',  2nd Edition. Oxford.  [http://economics.ouls.ox.ac.uk/9462/ Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051550/http://economics.ouls.ox.ac.uk/9462/ |date=2012-04-25 }} and  [http://www.lib.muohio.edu/multifacet/record/mu3ugb3820922 contents.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518115537/http://www.lib.muohio.edu/multifacet/record/mu3ugb3820922 |date=2013-05-18 }} [http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~bhansen/papers/ej_96.pdf Review] in the ''Economic Journal''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Edward E. Leamer, 1983.  "Let's Take the Con Out of Econometrics", ''American Economic Review'', 73(1), pp. [http://www.international.ucla.edu/media/files/Leamer_article.pdf 31-43.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Christopher A. Sims|Christopher A. Sims]], 1980. "Macroeconomics and Reality", ''Econometrica'',48, No. 1, pp. [http://www.terry.uga.edu/~last/classes/8130/readings/sims_1980.pdf 1-48] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402163650/http://www.terry.uga.edu/~last/classes/8130/readings/sims_1980.pdf |date=2012-04-02 }}.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Fischer Black, 1982. "The Trouble with Econometric Models", ''Financial Analysts Journal'', 38(2), pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/4478530 29]-37. Reprinted in Black, 2009, ''Business Cycles and Equilibrium'', Wiley. Updated version, pp. 135 [https://books.google.com/books?id=V8N48sPixrEC&pg=PA136 -] 150. <br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;  • From Truman F. Bewley, ed., 1987. ''Advances in Econometrics: Fifth World Congress'',  Cambridge v. 2:<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Edward E. Leamer, "Econometric Metaphors", pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5p4APIQhqd8C&pg=PA1=onepage 1-] 28.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; David F. Hendry. "Econometric Methodology: A Personal Perspective", pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5p4APIQhqd8C&pg=PA29=onepage 29-] 42.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • P.C.B. Phillips, 1988. "Reflections on Econometric Methodology",  ''Economic Record'', 64(4), pp.  344–359. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4932.1988.tb02075.x/abstract Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • David F. Hendry, Edward E. Leamer, and Dale J. Poirier, 1990. "The ET Dialogue: A Conversation on Econometric Methodology", ''Econometric Theory'', 6(2),  pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3532275 171]-261.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Deirdre N. McCloskey and Stephen T. Ziliak, 1996. "The Standard Error of Regressions", ''Journal of Economic Literature'', 34(1), pp. [http://www.deirdremccloskey.com/docs/pdf/Article_189.pdf 97–114.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kevin D. Hoover and Mark V. Siegler, 2008. "Sound and Fury: McCloskey and Significance Testing in Economics", ''Journal of Economic Methodology'', 15(1), pp. [http://econ.duke.edu/~kdh9/Source%20Materials/Research/Sound%20and%20Fury%20Published%20Version.pdf 1–37]; McCloskey and Ziliak, "Signifying Nothing:
Reply to ..." [http://www.deirdremccloskey.com/docs/hoover.pdf [preprint<nowiki>]</nowiki>] and Hoover and Siegler, [http://www.usp.br/feaecon/media/fck/File/P9_Hoover-Siegler_Rejoinder.pdf{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} "... Rejoinder to ...], pp. 39–68;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Edward J. Nell and Karim Errouaki, 2011. ''Rational Econometric Man'',Part I and ch. 10. Edward Elgar.</ref>
* the balance of empirical and philosophical approaches<ref>• Mark Blaug, 2007. "The Social Sciences: Economics", Postwar developments, Methodological considerations in contemporary economics, ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', v. 27, pp. 346-47.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Edward J. Nell (2004) "Critical Realism and Transformational Growth." In ''Transforming Economics''. Edited by P. Lewis. London: Routledge.76-95.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Frank H. Knight, 1924. "The Limitations of Scientific Method in Economics", in ''The Trend of Economics'', R.G. Tugwell, ed., pp. 229-67. Reprinted in  Frank H. Knight, 1935 [1997], ''The Ethics of Competition'', pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wOIXxxywikIC&pg=PA97=gbs_v2_summary_r 97-] 139.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •Daniel M. Hausman, 1983. "The Limits of Economic Science", in ''The Limits of Lawfulness: Studies on the Scope and Nature of Scientific Knowledge'', N. Rescher, ed. Reprinted in  D.M. Hausman, 1992, ''Essays on Philosophy and Economic Methodology'', pp.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=pM57-DJ2yDcC&pg=PA99=gbs_atb 99-108.]
<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Ludwig von Mises, 1949. ''Human Action''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Bruce Caldwell, [1987] 2008. "positivism", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_P000131&q=empiricism&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.]</ref>
* the role of [[Finance:Experimental economics|experiments]] in economics<ref>• C.F. Bastable, [1925] 1987. "experimental methods in economics", i, ''The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 241.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Vernon L. Smith|Vernon L. Smith]], [1987] 2008a. "experimental methods in economics", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_E000186&q=Experimental%20economics&topicid=&result_number=2 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2008b. "experimental economics", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition, [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_E000277&q=experimental%20&topicid=&result_number=2 Abstract.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Herman O. Wold (1969). "Econometrics as Pioneering in Nonexperimental Model Building", ''Econometrica'', 37(3), p [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1912787 p. 369]-381.</ref>
* the role of [[Mathematics|mathematics]] and [[Finance:Mathematical economics|mathematical economics]] in economics<ref>• W. Stanley Jevons, 1879. ''The Theory of Political Economy'',  2nd ed., ch. I, "Introduction", pp.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=aYcBAAAAQAAJ&q=false&pg=PA1 1-29.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Paul A. Samuelson, 1952. "Economic Theory and Mathematics — An Appraisal", ''American Economic Review'', 42(2), pp. [http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/P/cp/p00b/p0061.pdf 56-66.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • D.W. Bushaw and R.W. Clower, 1957. ''Introduction to Mathematical Economics'', pp. [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3513586;page=root;view=image;size=100;seq=11;num=vii vii-viii] and ch. 1, pp. [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3513586;page=root;view=image;size=100;seq=19;num=3 3-8.] <br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; •  [[Biography:Gérard Debreu|Gérard Debreu]], ([1987] 2008). "mathematical economics", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_M000107&edition=current&q=Mathematical%20economics&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract.] (First published with revisions from 1986, "Theoretic Models: Mathematical Form and Economic Content", ''Econometrica'', 54(6), pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1914299 1259]-1270.)<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____ 1991. "The Mathematization of Economic Theory", ''American Economic Review'', 81(1), [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/texts/method/debr91.htm pp. 1-7.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231123418/http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/texts/method/debr91.htm |date=2008-12-31 }}<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Robert W. Clower|Robert W. Clower]], 1994. "Economics as an Inductive Science", ''Southern Economic Journal'', 60(4), pp. [http://cas.umkc.edu/ECON/economics/faculty/Lee/courses/502/reading/methcrit1.pdf 805-814.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 1995. "Axiomatics in Economics", ''Southern Economic Journal'', 62(2), pp. [http://cas.umkc.edu/ECON/economics/faculty/Lee/courses/502/reading/gewecrit2.pdf 307-319.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Mark Blaug, 2003. "The Formalist Revolution of the 1950s", ''Journal of the History of Economic Thought'',  25(2), pp. 145-156. [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5802604  Abstract].  Reprinted in Warren J. Samuels, ''et al''., ed., 2003, ''A Companion to the History of Economic Thought'', Wiley, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oEG74UiYP10C&pg=PA396 395-] 409.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____,
1998. "Disturbing Currents in Modern Economics", ''Challenge'', 41(3), pp. 11-34. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1093/is_n3_v41/ai_20809839/ Reprint.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Paul Krugman|Paul Krugman]], 1998, "Two Cheers for Formalism", ''Economic Journal'', 108(451), pp. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/2565846 1829]-1836.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Terence Hutchison, 2000. ''On the Methodology of Economics and the Formalist Revolution'', Edward Elgar. [http://www.e-elgar.com/Print_product_detail.lasso?id=1719 Description] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=d-jZBhjpSC8C&pg=PP11= preview].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • E. Roy Weintraub, 2008. "mathematics and economics", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_M000372&edition=current&q=&topicid=&result_number=1 Abstract].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2002.  ''How Economics Became a Mathematical Science'', Duke University Press. [http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=6807&viewby=series&categoryid=47&sort=newest Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729022635/http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=6807&viewby=series&categoryid=47&sort=newest |date=2010-07-29 }},  [https://books.google.com/books?id=ntc_Fs36AoQC&pg=PR7 preview], and [http://www.nd.edu/~pmirowsk/pdf/Weintraub_review_Isis.pdf review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928235616/http://www.nd.edu/~pmirowsk/pdf/Weintraub_review_Isis.pdf |date=2011-09-28 }} [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3132446 extract].<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kenneth J. Arrow, 1951. ''[[Philosophy:Social Choice and Individual Values|Social Choice and Individual Values]]''.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Amartya K. Sen, 1970 [1984]. ''Collective Choice and Social Welfare'' {{ISBN|0-444-85127-5}}.<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2008. "social choice", ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd Edition. [http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_S000164&q=methodology&topicid=&result_number=40 Abstract.]</ref> 
* the writing<ref>• William Thomson, 1999. "The Young Person's Guide to Writing Economic Theory,"
''Journal of Economic Literature'', 37(1), pp. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110615184729/http://web.cenet.org.cn/upfile/70156.pdf 157-183.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, 2001. ''A Guide for the Young Economist: Writing and Speaking Effectively about Economics''. Chapter-preview [https://books.google.com/books?id=GuDcMokIZaQC&pg=PR7 links.]  <br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Eric Rasmusen, 2001. "Aphorisms on Writing, Speaking, and Listening", in E. Rasmusen, ed., ''Readings in Games and Information'', pp. 389-420. [http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&amp;context=rasmusen PDF.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809113811/http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=rasmusen |date=2015-08-09 }}<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Donald McCloskey, 1985. "Economical Writing", ''[[Finance:Economic Inquiry|Economic Inquiry]]'', 23(2), pp. [http://business.nmsu.edu/~mhyman/M610_Articles/McCloskey_EconInquiry_1985.pdf 187-222.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512004537/http://business.nmsu.edu/~mhyman/M610_Articles/McCloskey_EconInquiry_1985.pdf |date=2011-05-12 }}<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • David N. Laband and Christopher N. Taylor, 1992. "The Impact of Bad Writing in Economics", ''[[Finance:Economic Inquiry|Economic Inquiry]]'', 30(4), pp. 673-688. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1992.tb01289.x/abstract.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519183825/https://books.google.com/books?id=GuDcMokIZaQC&printsec=find&pg=PR7 |date=2016-05-19 }}</ref> and rhetoric of economics<ref>• D.N. McCloskey, 1983. "The Rhetoric of Economics", ''Journal of Economic Literature'', 21(2), pp. [http://www.deirdremccloskey.com/docs/pdf/Article_110.pdf 481-517.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • _____, [1985] 1998, 2nd ed.  ''The Rhetoric of Economics''. Chapter-preview [https://books.google.com/books?id=RDwsPG2KmXYC&pg=PR7=onepage links.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Roger Backhouse, T. Dudley-Evans, and Willie Henderson, 1993. "Exploring the Language and Rhetoric of Economics", in Willie Henderson ''et al.'', ''Economics and Language'', pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=y7MOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1=gbs_atb 1-20] (preview)<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • John Kenneth Galbraith, 1962.  "The Language of Economics", ''Fortune'', LXVI(6), Dec. pp. 12-30, 169, 31. Excerpt at [CNN]  [https://money.cnn.com/2006/05/17/news/newsmakers/galbraith_fortune_052906/index.htm "FORTUNE: John Kenneth Galbraith, excerpts from his writing"], May 17, 2006.</ref>
* the relation between theory, observation, application, and methodology in contemporary economics.<ref>• [[Biography:Wassily Leontief|Wassily Leontief]], 1971. "Theoretical Assumptions and Nonobserved Facts", ''American Economic Review'', 61(1), pp. 1-7. Reprinted in W. Leontief, 1977, ''Essays in Economics'', v. 1, ch. III, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OPGg2K2ZJ6MC&dq=%22Theoretical+Assumptions+and+Nonobserved+Facts%22&pg=PA24 24-34.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Mark Blaug, 1992. ''The Methodology of Economics: Or How Economists Explain'', 2nd ed., Cambridge. [http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1143239/?site_locale=en_GB Description] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=T4y7HyduGnIC&q=%22The+Methodology+of+Economics,+or+How+Economists+Explain%22 Preview.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Roger Backhouse and Mark Blaug, 1994. ''New Directions in Economic Methodology'', Routledge. Contents [https://books.google.com/books?id=T4y7HyduGnIC&pg=PR7 preview.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • P.A.G. van Bergeijk ''et al.'', 1997. ''Economic Science and Practice: The Roles of Academic Economists and Policy-Makers''. [http://www.e-elgar.co.uk/bookentry_mainUS.lasso?id=1360 Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416050849/http://www.e-elgar.co.uk/bookentry_mainUS.lasso?id=1360 |date=2014-04-16 }} & preview [https://books.google.com/books?id=nSdX1zjn1aYC&pg=PR5=false links.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • D. Wade Hands, 2001. ''Without Rules: Economic Methodology and Contemporary Science Theory'', Oxford. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FUZZAXGF7qsC&q=methodology+OR+methodological+economic Description] and contents [https://books.google.com/books?id=FUZZAXGF7qsC&pg=PR7 preview.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • [[Biography:Christopher A. Sims|Christopher A. Sims]], 1996. "Macroeconomics and Methodology", ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 10(1), pp. [http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/pingle/Teaching/Sims%201996.pdf 105-120.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510022622/http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/pingle/Teaching/Sims%201996.pdf |date=2011-05-10 }}<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Kevin D. Hoover, 2001. ''The Methodology of Empirical Macroeconomics'',  Oxford. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lCG9PQqCf_UC Description] and  [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkTjC7SlRTcC&pg=PR9 preview.]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp; • Bruno S. Frey, 2001. "Why Economists Disregard Economic Methodology'', ''Journal of Economic Methodology'', 8(1), pp. [http://www.bsfrey.ch/articles/352_01.pdf 41–47] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105202620/http://www.bsfrey.ch/articles/352_01.pdf |date=2010-11-05 }}.</ref>

Economic methodology has gone from periodic reflections of economists on method to a distinct research field in economics since the 1970s. In one direction, it has expanded to the boundaries of philosophy, including the relation of economics to the [[Philosophy:Philosophy of science|philosophy of science]] and the [[Philosophy:Epistemology|theory of knowledge]]<ref>Lawrence A. Boland, 2006. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=udfyv7humtoC&dq=false&pg=PA222 Seven Decades of Economic Methodology: A Popperian Perspective]", in ''Karl Popper: A Centenary Assessment'', v. 3, ed. Ian Charles Jarvie ''et al.'', pp. 219</ref>  In another direction of philosophy and economics, additional subjects are treated including [[Decision theory|decision theory]] and [[Philosophy:Ethics|ethics]].<ref>• _____, [1994] 2006, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZR_QJXfrfuEC&dq=F1FK11cwip&pg=PA3 Economic Analysis and Moral Philosophy]'', 2nd ed. New York, Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521558506}}</ref>

==See also==
* Economic systems
* [[Methodology of econometrics]]
* Model (economics)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* John Bryan Davis, D. Wade Hands, Uskali Mäki (1998). ''Handbook of Economic Methodology'', E. Elgar
* Hands, D. Wade, ed. (1993). ''The Philosophy And Methodology Of Economics'', Duke University
* Hausman, Daniel M. (1984). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NqNGaJBahWoC&pg=PP1 The Philosophy of Economics: An Anthology]''. New York: Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|052145929X}}
* Boland, L. (1982) ''The Foundations of Economic Method'', London: Geo. Allen & Unwin.
* Boland, L. (1989) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jR0OAAAAQAAJ&dq=The%20Methodology%20of%20Economic%20Model%20Building&pg=PP1 The Methodology of Economic Model Building: Methodology after Samuelson]'', London: Routledge.
* Boland, L. (1997) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Shmckd6oVSQC&dq=Economic%20Methodology&pg=PP1 Critical Economic Methodology: A Personal Odyssey]'', London: Routledge
* Boland, L. (2003) The Foundations of Economic Method: A Popperian Perspective, London: Routledge
* D.N. McCloskey (1983). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RDwsPG2KmXYC&dq=The%20Rhetoric%20of%20Economics&pg=PP1 The Rhetoric of Economics]'', Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1998
* Daniel M. Hausman (1992). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pM57-DJ2yDcC&dq=Essays%20on%20Philosophy%20and%20Economic%20Methodology&pg=PP1 Essays on Philosophy and Economic Methodology]'', Cambridge University Press, 1992
* Nell, E.J. and Errouaki, K. (2011) ''Rational Econometric Man''. Edward Elgar.
* Düppe, T. (2011). ''[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1350178X.2011.580196#.UtawdbTe_6M How Economic Methodology Became a Separate Science]'', Journal of Economic Methodology, 18 (2): 163-176.

==External links==
* ''[http://econpapers.repec.org/article/tafjecmet/ Journal of Economic Methodology]'' - page @ EconPapers
* Daniel M. Hausman, [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/economics Philosophy of Economics] (with focus on methodology), ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
* [[Biography:Milton Friedman|Milton Friedman]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20081118134352/http://mikael.cozic.free.fr/friedman53(extraits).pdf "The Methodology of Positive Economics"] (excerpts) 

{{Economics}}

[[Category:Economic methodology| ]]

{{Sourceattribution|Economic methodology}}