For much of the last three decades or more economic methodology has been dominated by the work of Karl Popper who advocated the position that science is what it is by virtue of its adherence to certain ideals. The methodology of science is therefore not empirical or descriptive, but rather a set of rules for producing rational' or objective' knowledge. This volume presents alternatives to an exclusively Popperian methodology: its purpose is not to reject Popper, but to show there are other ways of construing methodology. The book is divided into three parts. Part I contains two critical surveys -- one dealing with the rule-based tradition which has had a great influence on economic methodology in the last three decades and the other arguing for the social conditioning of knowledge. Part II is concerned with auxiliary hypotheses needed to link rational choice at the social and individual levels. Part III follows up on aspects raised in linking rational choice at the social and individual levels by looking at specific issues, including rhetoric and economics and gender and economic research.

For much of the last three decades or more economic methodology has been dominated by the work of Karl Popper who advocated the position that science is what it is by virtue of its adherence to certain ideals. The methodology of science is therefore not empirical or descriptive, but rather a set of rules for producing rational' or objective' knowledge. This volume presents alternatives to an exclusively Popperian methodology: its purpose is not to reject Popper, but to show there are other ways of construing methodology. The book is divided into three parts. Part I contains two critical surveys -- one dealing with the rule-based tradition which has had a great influence on economic methodology in the last three decades and the other arguing for the social conditioning of knowledge. Part II is concerned with auxiliary hypotheses needed to link rational choice at the social and individual levels. Part III follows up on aspects raised in linking rational choice at the social and individual levels by looking at specific issues, including rhetoric and economics and gender and economic research.

This volume examines just why and in what sense, Sir Karl Popper's view of empirical falsifiability as the distinguishing characteristic of science has found appeal among economists. The limitations of this tenet, both for a philosophy of science and as a guideline to economic inquiry, are examined, as are several of the proposed alternatives.

The methodology of economics has long been dominated by the writings of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos, two outstanding philosophers of science in the post-war period. This major new book focuses on the application of Lakatosian principles of appraisal to modern economics. An international group of distinguished economists have applied Lakatos's methodology of scientific research programs to a variety of economic theories, such as game theory, demand theory, consumption analysis, job search theory, equilibrium unemployment theory, the new classical macroeconomics, experimental economics, Austrian economics, Walrasian stability analysis and Sraffian economics. The introduction and afterword by the editors place the papers in the context of the recent rapidly evolving methodological controversy in economics. Taken as a whole, the book makes a powerful statement of the case for assessing rival economic theories with the aid of an explicit philosophy of science.

A supplement to History of Political Economy Economists and psychologists share an interest in explaining how people make the choices that they do. However, economists have tended to stress individual rationality, shaped by economic motives and expressed in formal logical or mathematical models, while psychologists have preferred to identify influences through experimentation. In recent decades, behavioral economics has bridged the two fields and challenged the traditional economic assumption that individuals choose rationally. The essays collected here provide a longer view and reflect on episodic contact between psychology and economics beginning in the late nineteenth century. They help explain why meaningful, sustained joint inquiry eluded both disciplines for so long and usefully complement the recent inclination of researchers in each field to find inadequacy in the other. Contributors: Marina Bianchi, Simon J. Cook, Neil De Marchi, Jose Edwards, Tiziana Foresti, Craufurd D. Goodwin, Judy L. Klein, Harro Maas, Ivan Moscati, John Staddon, Andrej Svorencik

Contrasts Friedman's statements on methodology with his practice as an economist.

Historically, economists have had very little to say about art: in the latter half of this century, that has begun to change. Difficult issues, like pricing and art valuation, the influence on pricing by what is fashionable in art, and the nature of the auction, have recently been tackled by economists in spite of elusive answers. "Economic Engagements with Art "suggests that taste and fashion in art need not be mysterious or outside rational discourse, and that they can be studied by economists to the great benefit of the discipline.
This volume, which deals mostly with painting, is divided into three sections that consider the interplay between art and economics from different perspectives. In the first section, "Art and Economic Theory," economists clarify the need to construct a framework for understanding the roles of taste and fashion in art valuation. A historical view is considered in a piece about the teacher of Velasquez and artistic adviser to the Inquisition in Seville, who took into account not only market factors, like demand, but also the "truth" and the nobility of the artist's profession and of the painting itself. Also in this section is an essay on Rousseau's perspective on the worth of a painting based on its envy value in social circles; other contributions focus on William Stanley Jevons, a nineteenth century British political economist, whose problems with art stemmed from the uniqueness of each work, rendering definitive market and economic terms irrelevant. The second section of the book, "Art and Economic Policy," looks at broader policy issues with regard to the historical role of art. Essays consider policy with respect to art exports and imports andfederal patronage of the arts during theDepression; Lionel Robbins and the political economy of art; and the interplay among economy, architecture, and politics as shown in certain postwar Hilton hotels. In the final section, "The Business of Art," a variety of perspectives are considered: the economics of art in early modern times, discussed in the context of both humanist and scholastic approaches; the pricing of pictures based on a study of the Smith-Reynolds connection; and the relationships between Otto Nuerath, graphic art, and the social order.
The first collaborative and historical treatment of the connection between art and economics, "Economic Engagements with Art" will appeal to people across, from history and economics to art history.
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Contributors," Marcia Balisciano, William J. Barber, Neil de Marchi, Bertil Friden, Crauford D. Goodwin, Guido Guerzoni, Robert J. Leonard, Harro Maas, Ernest Mathijs, Steven G. Medema, Bert Mosselmans, Zarines Negron, Marcia Pointon, Helen Rees, Toon van Houdt, Annabel Wharton, Sara Zablotney

While the history of early modern science is well-charted terrain, less has been recorded on the economic thinking of the same period and less still on the intersection of these fields. Addressing this gap in scholarship, "Oeconomies in the Age of Newton" offers a detailed account of economic concepts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The volume focuses on "oeconomics"--as "economics" was spelled at that time--which implies a view of economics as shaped by the Greek concept of the household. Examining a range of "oeconomic" curiosities, "Oeconomies in the Age of Newton" provides intriguing insights into a historical conceptualization of economic relations that differs markedly from the more narrowly defined economics of today.