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2 results

  • 9 - Inexactness in Economic Theory

  • from Part II - Theory Assessment
  • Daniel M. Hausman, Rutgers University, New Jersey
  • Book:
    The Inexact and Separate Science of Economics
    Published online:
    25 May 2023
    Print publication:
    08 June 2023, pp 231-255

  • Summary

    Chapter 9 develops the traditional conception of economics as an inexact science that investigates deductively the implications of assumptions that are known to be true statements of tendencies, but that are only approximately true as generalizations concerning behavior. I consider interpretations of the problematic notion of inexactness as probabilistic, as approximate, as qualified with ceteris paribus clauses, and as stating tendencies that state the contribution that causes make to outcomes and hence how things would be in the absence of interferences. The chapter argues for an account that combines a view of inexactness in terms of tendencies with an account in terms of implicit qualification. Chapter 9 explains how statements of tendencies can be true.

The Inexact and Separate Science of Economics
  • 2nd edition
  • Daniel M. Hausman
  • Published online:
    25 May 2023
    Print publication:
    08 June 2023
  • Is economics a science? What distinguishes it from other sciences, both natural and social? Like many of the natural sciences, its theories are mathematically complex. Yet, like the social sciences, its 'laws' are largely everyday generalizations. Can such generalizations, which are far from universal truths, constitute a science? Does economics have a distinctive method? The first edition answered these and other questions about the scientific status of economics and its underlying methodology. In this fully updated new edition, Dan Hausman reflects on developments in both economics and the philosophy of economics over the last thirty years. It includes a new chapter on the methodology of macroeconomics, an updated discussion on the use of models, and new discussions causal inference and behavioural economics and their implications for theory appraisal. It is the perfect choice for a new generation of students studying the methodology of modern economics.