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from Lars Syll To achieve explanatory success, a theory should, minimally, satisfy two criteria: it should have determinate implications for behavior, and the implied behavior should be what we actually observe. These are necessary conditions, not sufficient ones. Rational-choice theory often fails on both counts. The theory may be indeterminate, and people may be irrational. In […]
from Peter Radford I wonder why it is that neoliberals so reject the label we have given them. Is it because they’e embarrassed? I don’t think so. They all seem very proud of their attachment to the old order. Every so often one of them will surface and proclaim bitterly that they are misunderstood and […]
from Asad Zaman and WEA Pedological Blog . . . conventional modern textbooks of economics do not correctly describe monetary economies.. . . For instance, a popular textbook by Mankiw states that: . . . I am planning to write a textbook on monetary economies. I will draft it section by section and chapter […]
from Jamie Morgan and RWER issue 106 ‘How can we construct an economics consistent with the biophysical limits to economic growth?’. As any ecological economist is aware, this is a foundational issue not an afterthought chapter tacked on to the end of a textbook or delegated to a sub-disciplinary specialist who can ‘deal with that […]
from Lars Syll The impossibility of proper specification is true generally in regression analyses across the social sciences, whether we are looking at the factors affecting occupational status, voting behavior, etc. The problem is that as implied by the three conditions for regression analyses to yield accurate, unbiased estimates, you need to investigate a phenomenon […]
from Tony Lawson and RWER current issue I fear, though, that many economists, even some that present themselves as radical thinkers, are too caught up in their own survival (or promotion ambitions, etc.) in the academy to move in a direction of any relevance. The convenient, often seemingly compulsory, recourse is to stay on the […]
from Clive L. Spash and Clíodhna Ryan and RWER issue 106 The aim of an economy should not be to grow so that a welfare State can be funded to ameliorate the social, health and ecological impacts of growth, but rather to engage directly in social provisioning that avoids exploitation and deliberate harm. Long ago, […]
from Lars Syll Ainsi, la crise de 2008 a créé la surprise dans les rangs des économistes influents, qui croyaient voir le monde entrer au XXIe siècle dans le temps de « la grande modération » – c’est-à-dire la prévention des mouvements économiques erratiques grâce au pilotage « scientifique » des politiques monétaires … Cet […]
from Richard Parker and RWER issue 106 “If economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people on a level with dentists, that would be splendid.” — John Maynard Keynes I cite The Master because I don’t think economists, working within “economics” in its present form can really address the crisis of […]
from Dean Baker We have been seeing numerous stories in the media about how people support Donald Trump because he did such a great job with the economy. Obviously, people can believe whatever they want about the world, but it is worth reminding people what the world actually looked like when Trump left office (kicking […]