An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science
Chapters (6)
The object of this Essay is to exhibit the nature and significance of Economic Science. Its first task therefore is to delimit the subject-matter of Economics —to provide a working definition of what Economics is about.
We have now established a working definition of the subject-matter of Economics. The next step is to examine its implications. In this chapter we shall be concerned with the status of ends and means as they figure in Economic Theory and Economic History. In the next we shall be concerned with the interpretation of various economic “quantities”.
That aspect of behaviour which is the subject- matter of Economics is, as we have seen, conditioned by the scarcity of given means for the attainment of given ends. It is clear, therefore, that the quality of scarcity in goods is not an “absolute” quality. Scarcity does not mean mere infrequency of occurrence. It means limitation in relation to demand. Good eggs are scarce because, having regard to the demand for them, there are not enough to go round. But bad eggs, of which, let us hope, there are far fewer in existence, are not scarce at all in our sense. They are redundant. This conception of scarcity has implications both for theory and for practice which it is the object of this chapter to elucidate.
We have now sufficiently discussed the subjectmatter of Economics and the fundamental conceptions associated therewith. But we have not yet discussed the nature of the generalisations whereby these conceptions are related. We have not yet discussed the nature and derivation of economic laws. This, therefore, is the purpose of the present chapter. When it is completed we shall be in a position to proceed to our second main task—investigation of the limitations and significance of this system of generalisations.
It is a characteristic of scientific generalisations that they refer to reality. Whether they are cast in hypothetical or categorical form, they are distinguished from the propositions of pure logic and mathematics by the fact that in some sense their reference is to that which exists, or that which may exist, rather than to purely formal relations.
We now approach the last stage of our investigations. We have surveyed the subject-matter of Economics. We have examined the nature of its generalisations and their bearing on the interpretation of reality. We have finally to ask: What is the significance of it all for social life and conduct? What is the bearing of Economic Science on practice?
... Ahora bien, una ciencia se define por las preguntas que se supone debe responder. Una vez que se definió la economía como el estudio de los problemas de asignación de recursos en condiciones de escasez (Robbins, 1932), el siguiente paso en el análisis económico fue suponer la existencia de preferencias, recursos y bienes determinados. Un enfoque microeconómico estático se convirtió en el núcleo del análisis económico. ...
El punto de partida de este artículo es que la economía es una ciencia aplicada. Es una herramienta para comprender la economía del mundo real y una guía para la política económica. La teoría económica debe partir del mundo real –los supuestos deben ser realistas- y el punto de destino también debe ser el mundo real. La elección de los supuestos juega un papel fundamental si se pretende que la teoría económica sirva para interpretar la realidad. La cuestión clave es la similitud entre el modelo teórico y el mundo real. Los fenómenos económicos transcurren en el tiempo. No se puede ignorar la dimensión temporal de los fenómenos económicos. El enfoque evolutivo apunta a analizar la economía como el resultado de un proceso dinámico que conduce, a partir de condiciones iniciales conocidas o plausiblemente conjeturadas en el pasado, hasta la realidad analizada.
... The growing prominence of behavioural economics (Said et al., 2015) stems from the issue that traditional economics, based on rational models, fails to fully capture actual human behaviour (Robbins, 2007). Behavioural economics attempts to gain a deeper understanding of human behaviour and decision-making processes by incorporating psychologically observed factors such as behaviour, thinking, habits, cognitive biases, emotions, and social context into economic theory. ...
This study examines the concept of 'insight' across various academic fields, including psychology, behavioural economics, business administration (marketing), design studies, and Kansei engineering. It aims to consistently define 'insight' across disciplines and develop a methodological framework for its discovery. We introduced and empirically validated two innovative tools: the 'Meta-Perspective Structure' and the 'Insight Discovery Map'. These tools were validated through more than 100 semi-structured interviews, demonstrating their utility in capturing and analysing consumer insights deeply. This interdisciplinary approach not only highlights the differences in insight conceptualization but also proposes practical applications for these findings in industry. Further empirical research is necessary to validate and refine these methods. The unique contribution of this study lies in its comprehensive integration of interdisciplinary insights and their practical applications.
... The concept of scarcity was first mentioned by Robbins (1932) as a situation where the unlimited human wants and needs exceed the limited availability of resources. According to Percival and Homer-Dixon (1998), there are three types of scarcity: (1) supply-induced scarcity happens when there is a degradation or depletion of the resource supply, (2) demand-induced scarcity occurs when there is a rise in the demand for the resource, and (3) structural scarcity is caused by unequal distribution of resources to different parts of a population. ...
... El significado sustantivo de "económico" deriva de que para vivir el ser humano depende de la naturaleza y sus semejantes, y se refiere a la interacción del primero con su entorno natural y social para proveerse de los medios de satisfacción de sus necesidades materiales. La definición formal del término "económico" es la más familiar para los economistas y corresponde a la "relación entre fines y medios escasos que tienen usos alternativos" para expresarlo en las palabras de Lionel Robbins (1932). Según Polanyi, el enfoque sustantivo se aplica a todas las sociedades mientras que el formal solo a la sociedad de mercado. ...
Palabras clave: Historia del pensamiento económico, keynesianismo, fundamentos microeconómicos de la macroeconomía, economía conductual
... Adam Smith (1723Smith ( -1790 mendefinisikannya sebagai "penyelidikan terhadap sifat dan penyebab kekayaan suatu bangsa." Di sisi lain, Robbins (1935) mendefinisikannya sebagai ". . . ilmu yang mempelajari perilaku manusia sebagai hubungan antara tujuan dan sarana yang langka yang memiliki kegunaan alternatif". ...
Ekonomi Islam, sebagai salah satu komponen pengetahuan Islam, telah muncul sebagai disiplin baru dalam ilmu-ilmu sosial, mendapatkan pengakuan di berbagai institusi pendidikan tinggi di dunia Muslim kontemporer. Berbagai sumber pengetahuan Islam telah memainkan peran penting dalam membentuk pertumbuhan dan kemajuannya. Namun prinsip-prinsip hukum Islam, khususnya qawa‘id al-fiqhiyyah, belum banyak dieksplorasi mengenai penerapannya dalam paradigma fiqh saat ini. Melalui pendekatan analisis isi, tulisan ini mengkaji relevansi qawā‘id al-fiqhiyyah, khususnya dengan fokus pada lima prinsip normatif dan variasinya, dalam memahami ekonomi Islam dari perspektif fiqh. Tujuannya adalah untuk mengevaluasi signifikansinya dalam kegiatan ekonomi Islam dan kemampuan adaptasinya dalam konteks temporal dan spasial yang berbeda. Penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa qawa‘id al-fiqhiyyah secara signifikan memperkaya pemahaman ekonomi Islam dalam ranah pendidikan tinggi. Prinsip-prinsip ini membantu dalam menafsirkan teori-teori ekonomi melalui lensa etika Islam. Oleh karena itu, dapat disimpulkan bahwa upaya bersama para ilmuwan sosial Muslim, khususnya ekonom, untuk mempelajari cabang fiqh ini dengan tekun dan penuh dedikasi akan memfasilitasi pemahaman yang lebih mendalam tentang teori-teori ekonomi dari sudut pandang fiqh.
... En palabras del autor: "Economics, social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth". Ahora bien, en contraste con esta definición, podemos resaltar el trabajo realizado por Lionel Robbins (1932) en su trabajo An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. La definición de Robbins no pone el énfasis en la "riqueza", sino que desplaza el foco de su análisis hacia un concepto esencial: el comportamiento humano: "Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses" (p. ...
El capitalismo contemporáneo ha mostrado una fuerte capacidad de adaptación y de superación de sus crisis inherentes, radicalizadas en el ámbito financiero; sin embargo, la superación económica de estas crisis no implica, en lo absoluto, que las implicaciones no económicas de dichas crisis se vayan cuando las burbujas se estabilizan. De hecho, la crisis en su sentido ético se perpetúa. En este paper analizamos desde un enfoque fenomenológico-crítico los postulados de Touraine, para pensar la crisis social contemporánea desde el concepto desde lo postsocial, mostrando que la política no debe ser reducida a su sentido operacional y, desde allí, puede repensarse el alcancé ético de las transformaciones históricas de las sociedades actuales.
... Value, in this context, typically refers to economic value. According to a traditional definition, economics is the discipline concerned with the study of human behaviour concerning the fulfilment of human needs and desires using limited resources that can be employed in different ways (Robbins, 1932). In essence, the economic value of an asset stems from its practical function in achieving human objectives. ...
Ecosystem services provided by forests have become essential in contemporary forest management and utilization. This chapter critically examines the current approach to assessing and managing ecosystem services within forest ecosystems. It highlights the evolutionary concept of ecosystem services and its integration into forest management paradigms. It explores the shift from traditional timber-centric forestry models towards holistic approaches that recognize the diverse array of services forests provide. It further discusses the valuation and assessment techniques of ecosystem services and presents an overview of advancements that have taken place in this field. Case studies from various regions are presented to illustrate real-world applications of ecosystem services concepts in forest management. These examples showcase innovative approaches to balancing conservation goals with socio- economic development objectives while maximizing the benefits derived from forests. Furthermore, this chapter uncovers the importance of adopting an integrated and adaptive approach to understanding and managing ecosystem services in forests through sustainable or modern forestry practices. It highlights the underlying importance of sustainable management of forest ecosystem services. It calls for continued research, capacity building, and policy innovation to address the complexities of sustaining forest ecosystems while meeting the diverse needs of society. By embracing a holistic perspective, forest managers can optimize the utilisation of ecosystem services and ensure the long-term health and resilience of forest ecosystems.
... Así, se ha pasado de la Economía Política (como se llamaba originariamente, cuando aún era parte de las Ciencias Jurídicas, Sánchez-Bayón, 2021a; 2021b), centrada en: a) según los clásicos, en el estudio de la naturaleza y causa de la riqueza (la Ilustración escocesa) y de sus leyes (los utilitaristas y los socialistas); b) según los institucionalistas, es el estudio de la Historia concreta de instituciones de desarrollo (los institucionalistas o escuela historicista alemana y estadounidense -ya que sus académicos decimonónicos preferían formarse en Prusia, dada la relación calidad-precio de la educación superior, Novick, 1988). c) según los marginalistas, en el estudio de la escasez y la acción humana al respecto -preparándose para satisfacer necesidades y deseos para vivir y prosperar-(EAE), más la optimización y equilibrio -para volver eficiente la gestión-(la Escuela de Lausana) d) los neoclásicos, paradójicamente, pese a considerar la economía como el estudio de los negocios cotidianos y de los precios, tienden a matematizarla (Marshall, 1890), alejándose de la población; igualmente, dicen atender a la relación entre las necesidades y su satisfacción (Robbins, 1932), pero se termina derivando la economía a la ciencia de la elección -psicologizando y facilitando el avance del intervencionismo, ya que el Sector público propone y los particulares seleccionan-. ...
Introducción: Revisión crítica de Economía Política sobre la disputa del método en Economía y la reactualización de su debate para revisar el estado del conocimiento económico y afrontar así, sus retos en curso. Dicha disputa parte de la anterior, relativa a la renuncia teórica y el exceso instrumental y aplicado de la Economía con la Síntesis Neoclásica, alejándose con sus modelizaciones de la realidad y sus cambios, además de generar un malestar estudiantil. Objetivo: Sintetizar el desarrollo de las disputas del método según la Escuela Austriaca, para sacar a la Economía del ámbito de las Ciencias Naturales e Ingenierías, y sus reducciones a modelos de equilibrio y excesos matemáticos. Metodología: se recurre a los marcos teóricos y metodológicos de la Escuela Austriaca, compartidos con otros enfoques heterodoxos de fundamentos (Neoinstitucionalistas), para contrastarlos con los préstamos de Ciencias Naturales e Ingenierías y asumidos por la Síntesis Neoclásica, con la pretensión más predictora que realista. Resultados: se sistematizan los principales problemas del conocimiento económico y cómo corregirlos (científica y docentemente) para transitar a la Economía del conocimiento y la complejidad. Conclusiones: la actual disputa del método no sólo permite recuperar los fundamentos de la Economía (vía giro hermenéutico y revolución copernicana en la ciencia y en su docencia), sino también su reconexión con las Ciencias Sociales y la cambiante realidad social. Se favorece también el tránsito a la Economía del conocimiento y la complejidad, y se evidencia la secular polémica de desarrollistas vs. decrecentistas.
... Mirowski 1989, or Keen 2011. In terms of argumentation and rhetoric, such influences are excluded from the neoclassical framework as outside the purview of economists, but rather left to psychologists, sociologists, and others (e.g., Robbins 1962). Later attempts at integration of such issues in a neoclassical framework have generally introduced logical inconsistencies into the analytical structures applied. ...
Economies are complex systems. To enhance our understanding in analyses, we have to introduce simplifying assumptions to allow the construction of analytical frameworks. Under different assumptions, different analytical frameworks result. The vantage point that we choose for analyses can shape what we see, and how we see it. There is no singular nature of socio-economic reality, then. Insofar as economic analyses serve to inform policy makers, differences in analytical frameworks may be expected to lead to differences in policy frameworks developed from them. We discuss different areas in which decisions about the construction of analytical frameworks impact policy approaches. We focus in particular on conceptualizations of individual agents and their relation to and position in their social and economic environment, time, and space. @font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}
The aim of this paper is to analyze the main publications of Ludwig von Mises in terms of research topics, results, and methodology. This makes it possible to see in which substantive positions he deviated from the mainstream of the economic discipline. A short description of his remarkable achievements in the academic discipline of economics and related research fields is the basis to explore and better understand Mises’s professional position in economics and the social sciences. Based on these results, Mises’s extraordinary position in the field of economics will become clear. Contrary to often quoted statements in the economic literature, it will become clear that Mises’s position was unique but not isolated.
In Chapter 5, the normative-ethical evaluation of international development is explored with development being defined as a process between means (institutions and policy instruments) and ends (objectives and outcomes). Normative-ethical analysis evaluates this relationship. The chapter explains why positive economics is penetrated by normative-ethical analysis and addresses the position that the normative nature of neoclassical economics is principally represented by social choice theory and welfare economics. In turn, international development theory and policy are associated with the dominant normative-ethical dimension of neoclassical economics. The chapter also offers a clear view of the normative-ethical goals and strategies in international development from the angle of development ethics as an alternative normative-ethical proposal to neoclassical economics and neoliberalism.
Chapter 4 explores the meta-ethical basis of international development, which results in a specific vision for a better life and a good society. The chapter also points out that the “more is better” ethical position, along with outcome-based economic development, in the existing social and productive relationships leads international development to ecological destruction, resource exploitation, and highly unequal distribution of world wealth. To this unpleasantness, development ethics approaches the vision of a good society differently: it considers the good lives of all people in the world in the sense of human ascent. Finally, sustainability with the natural environment is considered as a component of a good society.
Chapter 3 provides the analytical framework of the book, which develops the study’s techniques and processes as the modus operandi of the inquiry. The chapter puts the research questions into the different categories of moral philosophy—meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics—from the perspective of social ethics. The chapter also deploys the position that international development is viewed by neoclassical economics and its neoliberal counterparts as a globalised market economy.
Economic science, its contents, scope, and significance have been, for over a century and a half, dominated by intense methodological debates among scholars concentrating over issues of positivism, normativity, optimality, and empiricism. The debates are still going on. In this brief review, the author wishes to refresh the ongoing methodological debates that have haunted thewider field of social sciences.
Un ensayo sobre el núcleo del pensamiento acerca de las expectativas en Oskar Morgenstern: Un hombre hecho a sí mismo
La eponimia en economía suele estar presente a lo largo de la historia del pensamiento. El "tenedor de Hume" no es la excepción. Atribuyéndose en libros de textos únicamente a John Neville Keynes, la dicotomía ser-debe ser halla sus raíces en el pensamiento del escocés David Hume quien coloca la piedra angular en una trayectoria representacional que atraviesa el pensamiento de los clásicos hasta ser recogida y explicitada por Keynes padre. Atribuible generalmente al pensamiento ortodoxo, la dicotomía difiere del pensamiento heterodoxo donde se levantan voces discordantes. Sin embargo, la dicotomía logra zanjar las dificultades y asoma su nariz con nueva vestimenta en la teoría de la elección racional. Este trabajo analiza desde el aspecto epistemológico el surgimiento y evolución del "tenedor de Hume" el cual, se esboza, se halla implícito a lo largo del pensamiento económico. Clasificación JEL: B3-B4 Introducción La discusión contemporánea sobre las nociones de positivo y normativo en economía halla su raíz en David Hume (1711-1776). La "dicotomía de Hume", "el tenedor de Hume (Hume's forke)" y "la guillotina de Hume" (Hands, 2009) entonces está enraizada en la filosofía donde sigue siendo tema de debate continuo (Searle, 1965, 2001). Sin embargo, la realidad histórica de "la dicotomía de Hume" con el transcurso del tiempo deja de ser fiel a su génesis desde que se la atribuye comúnmente a John Neville Keynes. La eponimia expuesta no es de extrañar. Utilizando epónimos cuya función es asignar reconocimiento a los economistas por su trabajo académico en el avance en el conocimiento en el área de la economía matemática y la econometría principalmente,
Heterodox economics is a diverse set of approaches inquiring into the economy in different social and historical contexts. Is there a comprehensive and cogent term which represents a view of the economy common to most heterodox schools of thought? We demonstrate in this chapter that in the history of economics, except mainstream economics, economics has been understood as the social provisioning process (SPP) which emphasizes the production of resources and the distribution of incomes. Theoretically, SPP is translated into the core heterodox theories of circular, monetary, and surplus production economy. Methodologically, SPP enables an analysis of a wide range of activities including non-market and unpaid activities. As such, SPP helps establish a positive identity of heterodox economics. In our revision, we will enrich our discussion by incorporating recent literature as well as other heterodox perspectives that were overlooked previously.
Yeni Kurumsal İktisat; sosyal, politik ve iktisadi kurumları anlamak için iktisat, hukuk, organizasyon teorisi, siyaset bilimi ve sosyoloji alanlarını birleştirerek hızla büyüyen bir literatüre sahiptir. Yeni Kurumsal İktisat; kurumların ne olduğunu, nasıl ortaya çıktığını, hangi amaçlara hizmet ettiğini, nasıl değiştiğini, nasıl reforme edilebileceğini açıklamaya çalışmaktadır. Ronald Coase, Douglas North ve Olivier Williamson'un öncü çalışmaları sayesinde kurumların artık endüstriler, ülkeler ve bölgeler arasındaki performans farklılıklarını açıklamada önemli bir faktör olduğu kabul edilmektedir. İktisat alanında önemli bir akım haline gelen kurumsal analiz; organizasyon teorisi, mülkiyet hakları, sözleşme teorisi, vekalet teorisi ve yönetişim yapılarını inceleyerek ekonomik büyüme/kalkınma gibi alanlarda uygulamalı çalışmalara ve politik analizlere yol açmıştır. Bu çalışmada Yeni Kurumsal İktisat Okulu’nun temel çerçevesi incelenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı kurumların iktisadi performansa olan etkilerine ilişkin tahminde bulunabilmek için gereken iktisadi mantığa dair başlıca konuları ele almaktır.
This paper aims to explore the fundamental principles of sound monetary policy, fiscal prudence, and entrepreneurial innovation, which have historically supported the economic prosperity of nations. It seeks to identify the factors leading to an impending financial crisis and proposes countermeasures based on market liberalization and individual entrepreneurial resilience. Using a critical analysis of prevailing economic conditions, this paper evaluates the unchecked expansion of the monetary supply, fiscal policies, and government interventions. The methodology includes a review of historical economic trends and the application of theoretical frameworks concerning monetary policy, fiscal responsibility, and market innovation. The research identifies that the unchecked expansion of the monetary supply has contributed to inflationary pressures, diminished savings incentives, and led to the misallocation of capital. In addition, fiscal looseness and increased government intervention have exacerbated these economic vulnerabilities, creating conditions ripe for an economic crisis of substantial magnitude, possibly surpassing previous crises such as the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes that this impending crisis is not an unforeseeable "black swan" event but rather one with clear warning signs that require immediate action. The findings advocate for a departure from interventionist policies and emphasize the importance of returning to foundational economic principles, including market liberalization and fostering individual creativity and entrepreneurial innovation. This paper serves as a timely call for policymakers to address these challenges before the full impact of the crisis is realized.
Man and his wealth are catalysts for consumption of resources that we refer to as commodities. While this was understood since Engel, who first tabulated these expenditures, the nature of the demand function itself remained unresolved. Economics of consumption is redefined here in terms of its basic variables, income and expenditures, in a self-consistent universal hierarchy. The analyses so far did not take into account a correction for income though the preference for consumption is primarily hierarchical. Using data from National Sample Survey Organization of India, we demonstrate the universality of the rectangular hyperbola that defines the consumption for each commodity on the basis of residual income, by deducting expenditures of higher preference based on elasticity coefficients. Since different commodities show a hierarchy of hyperbolic functions, both in the rate at which the saturation is achieved as well as the saturation itself, we needed a commodity for which the critical time constant (accounting for the hyperbolic function) is known and invariant, viz., educational expenditures. The year-wise income classes of parents that reflect the relevant expenditures for education of Brazilian
The purpose of this paper is to present “What Should Economists Do?”, an article written by James Buchanan and published in 1964, in an historical perspective. We put forward an important point, namely the opposition with Ludwig von Mises, and Buchanan’s attempt at differentiating his approach from Mises. Instead of in addition to Robbins, that he nominally targeted, Buchanan was actually criticizing Mises. Buchanan thus defined economics in a very specific way, as a science that studies exchange but only when it results from a desire (or a propensity) to exchange.
The strong relationship between economic theory and competition law is not a novelty. Nevertheless, the interdependence of competition law and economic theory creates a risk of misconceiving this relation's role, costs, and benefits. As such, this article tackles the costs and benefits of the centrality of economic arguments in competition reasoning in the context of the reduced heuristic capacity of the traditional economic theory Scientific Research Program for digital markets. The gains in legal certainty, predictability, and objectivity usually associated with economic arguments must be evaluated in this new context.
Mathematics is a science that discusses numbers or topics that have a quantitative and quantitative aspect. The subject of mathematical knowledge is a kind of quantitative order, and the extension of mathematics to economics is the extension of this quantitative order to economic studies.
The main issue in mathematical economics is not mathematical realization at the level of customs offices and general economic statistics; rather, the main problem is the realization of economic theories with mathematical dimensions that have a theoretical analysis of raw economic realities. Mathematics has various applications in economics. These applications include a wide range of economic indicators and geometric explanations.
Mathematics in economics sometimes plays the role of the language of expressing theories, which is summarized in the geometric and algebraic representation of theories, and sometimes it is used as a theoretical tool of economics. In the second role, mathematics explains functional relationships between economic variables and tests theories by econometrics, measures the simple and theoretical quantities, and extracts the statistical values of economic variables using statistical techniques. Based on this, mathematical applications in economics include 1. Units of measurement; 2. Explaining the relationships of various economic variables; 3. Statistical calculations; 4. Econometrics; 5. Geometric representations of economic theories.
Mathematical economics has several developments in the history of economics, and to explain these changes, it is necessary to explain its theoretical and Individual-social factors in conventional economics. Individual-Social factors explain the individual and social conditions and contexts of mathematics in economics, and theoretical factors include ontological, epistemological, and methodological foundations, philosophy of mathematics, compatibility of economic concepts with mathematics, and availability of mathematical theories required for economic mathematical analysis.
Some theorists have only focused on the theoretical factors of mathematics in economics, and some have only focused on its social factors. It seems that focusing on single-factor analysis has led to a limited and out-of-context view of mathematics in economics. Also, proper logical analysis of the combination of these factors has not been considered. Paying attention to the comprehensive analysis as well as the logical combination of these factors leads to the recognition of different types of mathematics throughout the history of economics under the shadow of different combinations between theoretical foundations and different social conditions.
Therefore, the present article seeks to comprehensively review these factors based on the logical historical analytical method.
This article uses a logical analysis method to identify the titles of these factors.
The method of historical analysis deals with the historical study of these factors in the history of economics and economic facts to intercept the mentioned factors in the history of economic theories and economic facts.
The logical combination of theoretical factors and objective factors can significantly help to understand the developments of mathematics in economics.
The findings of the research show that mathematics in economics follows the logical combination of the ontological, epistemological, and methodological foundations, main concepts, theories of mathematical philosophy, required mathematical theories, and social factors.
Based on the explanation of these factors, the ontological foundations determine the core study of economics, and after that, the epistemology and theorizing methods are determined. By clarifying the theorizing method, the main concepts of this science are formed. Concepts that have a quantitative ability in turn determine the fate of using mathematics in economics; but other steps, such as the theory of mathematical philosophy accepting the flow of mathematics, as well as the realization of appropriate mathematical theories in mathematics and the formation of appropriate social conditions, are necessary for the realization of mathematical analysis in economics.
Based on the analysis of the mentioned combination of the theoretical and social factors, seven periods can be recognized in economics.
The pre-mathematical era of economics (from Siva's writings about money in 1711 to Cournot in 1838): this era includes the works of the era of mercantilists, physiocrats, and classics;
Early beginning (Cournot's theory of partial equilibrium): This period is related to the works and theories of August Cournot;
The marginalist revolution (Jones 1871 and Walras 1874 and Perto 1906): This period is related to the neoclassical school when the marginalist revolution was achieved by the economists of this school;
The opposite view of the historical school (the time of Marshall and his followers): This period includes the works of Marshall, Keynes, etc., which were influenced by the historical school. Non-mainstream schools such as interpretative and critical approaches can be considered as the continuation of the historical school in a new form in the matter of opposition to mathematics;
The maturity of mathematical economic theory in classical econometrics: the era of the Coles Foundation (1938), economic journals, and the Nobel Prize: since the 1930s, mathematical expression occupied an increasing proportion of the pages of important economic journals;
The era of the emergence of mathematics in macroeconomic theories: Keynes's followers in macroeconomics after him, based on the naturalism of economic society, by mathematizing his discussions, presented a new field of mathematical research to economists;
Separation of mathematics from economic theory (pragmatism: 1944): In this era, with the spread of the pragmatic theories of John Van Neumann, econometrics changed its direction to modern econometrics, and economic theories were marginalized.
Based on this, mathematics in economics reached its peak when various ontological developments in naturalism included the quantitative nature of economic relations, decisions of economic agents, economic behavior, and economic society, and based on that, various epistemological and methodological tools were used for mathematical analysis. These methods created quantitative concepts in economics, which led to the mathematical modeling of all economic theories in the shadow of mathematical philosophy's agreement with their quantification and the realization of the required mathematical theories, and then by removing the economic theory, led to the simple analysis of mathematical trends.
The main challenge of the mainstream is the dominance of mathematical content over economic theories. Although the mainstream of economics is not satisfied with the removal of economic theory in the shadow of this extreme mathematics and emphasizes the importance of economic theory in this field, with the increasing need for complex economic analysis, only the estimated analysis of mathematical trends remains available to some econometrics. This issue has provoked many discussions among economic methodologists.
The mentioned results indicate that any change in the current state of mathematics in economics will also be subject to the mentioned factors.
Keywords
Mathematics Theoretical factors Social factors Mathematical economics
Economics is typically a quantitative science, which exclusively relies on mathematical techniques, statistical analysis, experimental work, and neglects qualitative evidence, data, and research methods. Although economic methodology scholars have outlined this unbalance, and a few studies pursued qualitative economic research in the past, these are rather the exception to the rule. However, most social sciences and adjacent disciplines do adopt qualitative methodologies when tackling economic phenomena, issues, and topics. Drawing upon the history of economic thought and the philosophy of the social sciences, this dissertation asks why economists do not rely on qualitative inquiry, how they could implement qualitative research, and in what subject domains. In doing so, it indeed (1) unveils the potential contribution of qualitative methods to both economic theory and policy, (2) highlights the role of sociocultural factors over behavioural elements in economic analysis, and (3) suggests the need for an ontological, epistemological, and axiological shift towards ‘qualitative economics’.
The theory of value has always been the core of economic theory. However, this core is flawed because it is based on the false premise that society can act like a subject. The idea of objective values is tied to this presupposition.
The rationality model needs to change to include the economic agent’s inner moral life, as suggested by Martha Nussbaum. In this way, economic rationality stricto sensu, which is ultimately called into play, would have a heavy, first, deliberative, then, normative content. The cognitive nature of emotions would allow these to be included as additional determining factors in the human decision-making process. The concept of self-interest often gets confused with the idea of internal consistency when utility (or self-interest) is defined as the relationship between revealed advantages. Nevertheless, while internal consistency is a category that is too permissive, self-interest, or utility, is too restrictive. In the real world, economic decisions are made under uncertainty, and animal spirits and cognitive biases play a central role. The development of economic models ought to be compatible with the knowledge generated in other branches of the sciences that investigate human behaviour.
In an effort to emulate the natural sciences, economics attempts to turn general concepts into universal principles to guide human behaviour in a vacuum. By following abstract economic statements, with no input from real life, economics is governed by a vacuous rationality, like the blind intuitions invoked by Kant. We consider three rival notions of economics: formalism (axiomatic); empiricism (technocratic-consequential); and institutionalism (axiological-ideological). While for Robbins, the ends are given, I believe, unlike him, that it is legitimate for economists to recognise that the agents are entitled to deliberate about the ends they seek. As economics is not ethically neutral, integrating the role played by values into economic rationality requires widening the economic analysis. As economics is concerned with social institutions, we claim equity as its first virtue.
Hayek señaló que Menger fue el primero en basar la distinción entre bienes libres y económicos en la idea de escasez. La contribución de Menger sobre el papel que juega la incertidumbre parece estar ignorada en la literatura. De esta manera, he intentado reconstruir el papel de la incertidumbre en el sistema teórico mengeriano basándome en las ideas subyacentes y a veces embrionarias de Menger. Este trabajo aclara que Menger rompió con el pensamiento económico previo y no empleó la incertidumbre para explicar y justificar el beneficio. Por último, el artículo reconstruye la Janus-faced human de Menger basándose en las dos caracterizaciones diferentes de la acción económica humana realizadas por este autor. El documento sostiene que la metáfora de la “destrucción creativa” puede dar lugar a confusión. La posición mengeriana es que la creatividad triunfa sobre la destrucción.
Resumo A natureza aniquiladora da ordem neoliberal capitalista atravessa diferentes domínios do conhecimento e da vida. Ao percorrermos dois eixos analíticos distintos - biotecnologia e economia - buscamos explicitar algumas das formas assumidas daquilo que chamamos padrões de aniquilação. Na biotecnologia, em particular na produção de Organismos Genéticos Modificados (OGMs), observamos o processo contraditório da tríade biodiversidade-biotecnologia-monocultura, no qual os resultados (monocultura) aniquilam a própria fonte de sua existência (biodiversidade). De forma semelhante, o pensamento econômico dominante (chamado mainstream) se modifica constantemente através de uma lógica ao mesmo tempo seletiva e eliminatória de ideias econômicas alternativas que compõem aquilo que podemos definir como heterodoxia econômica. Em movimento dialógico e comparativo, o texto objetiva refletir sobre as formas assumidas por este padrão: variação e uniformização, estabilidade e inconstância, multiplicidade e singularidade, formas capazes de animar ou de aniquilar ideias, visões de mundo, organismos e seres. Neste exercício reflexivo, propomos uma abordagem que perpassa as relações entre antropologia, economia e biotecnologia para compreender padrões de repetição nada aleatórios ou imprevisíveis.
The paper argues that the concern to determine the rate of profit, attributed to the classics by modern surplus approach, was not the main focus in most classical authors before Ricardo. Moreover, this theme did not have a central place in Marx's analysis at all. In fact, according to Marx, a uniform rate of profit was only one way to determine the distribution of surplus value among the owners of capital in proportion to the capital invested. On the contrary, the distribution of income between capitalists and workers was strictly determined by the rate of surplus value. Moreover, Marx used his own version of the labour theory of value-very different from that of Smith and Ricardo-not to determine the rate of profit and production prices, but to analyse the dynamics of economic aggregates and bring to light the inner social nature of production and distribution processes. In this context, Marx's rate of profit was only an aggregate measure of the maximum potential growth rate.
En biologie évolutive, l'approche fonctionnelle vise à comprendre comment des traits, qu'ils soient morphologiques ou comportementaux, évoluent pour s’ajuster aux exigences environnementales, afin d’optimiser la survie et la reproduction d'un organisme. L’écologie comportementale humaine propose d’utiliser cette approche pour appréhender les comportements de subsistance des chasseurs-cueilleurs actuels et passés. Les archéozoologues ont examiné plus spécifiquement les prédictions des modèles économétriques issus de la théorie de l’approvisionnement optimal (optimal foraging theory) pour appréhender les décisions et les stratégies liées à l’alimentation et plus globalement à l’économie de la matière première alimentaire. Bien que la dimension évolutionniste de cette démarche ait séduit plusieurs générations d’archéozoologues en Amérique du Nord, elle peine à obtenir une reconnaissance académique en Europe. Elle y est souvent perçue comme une approche réductrice et déshumanisante en raison de l’accent qu’elle met sur des données quantifiables et économiques des comportements de prédation, au détriment de dimensions plus sociales et culturelles. Ce jugement idéologique occulte malheureusement la puissance heuristique des modèles d’optimisations pour l’archéologie et j’ai souhaité, à travers ce manuscrit, démystifier et clarifier cette approche en déconstruisant avec pédagogie ses soubassements conceptuels et méthodologiques. Cet objectif m’a conduit à remonter l’histoire des grands piliers conceptuels de l’écologie comportementale pour mettre en évidence les spécificités de cette discipline vis-à-vis des autres sciences du comportement, actuelles et passées, en particulier l’éthologie et la sociobiologie. Par la suite, je me suis penché sur l’écologie comportementale humaine en examinant son évolution, les controverses qu’elle a suscitées aux États-Unis et en France, ainsi que la réception de cette discipline par l'archéologie. Les deux derniers chapitres se focalisent sur le principal modèle de l’optimal foraging theory utilisé en archéozoologie : le modèle de la sélection optimale des proies (prey choice model). Après avoir examiné en détail les concepts et le fonctionnement de ce modèle, je m’attarde sur la manière de l’opérationnaliser en archéologie et sur les limites méthodologiques associées à son application. Je termine par une mise en perspective de ses résultats, en mettant l'accent sur les variations de l'efficacité du foraging.
Commodification of affairs and concepts and justifying them to physical goods is the process that began from the formation of conventional economics. At this process gradually it has been struggled to put up all affairs and concepts below economic logic and marketized them to transactions. Knowledge is a concept that commoditized after the 1950s.
This article has been written in an analytical method on the basis of economic philosophy by a critical approach to the commodification of knowledge. Knowledge is the capital and transactive structure that has been entered into economic literature and formed economics of science. Based on economics of science, knowledge can enter the transaction as a commodity on one hand and as capital into economic growth function to improve production and wealth.
Staying knowledge as market agent defined the market as the main motivator of knowledge production and ignored other motivators like need, culture, politics, security, wish and taste. Changing of conditions from marketized knowledge to progressive and perfect knowledge needs some institutions that can satisfy scientist’s wishes and incentives into parallel priority.
Keywords
Economics of Science Economization Commodification Marketization
This chapter contrasts complexity economics and neoclassical economics. The current economic mainstream is dominated by neoclassical economics. To show that complexity economics is different, it is useful to define neoclassical economics and discuss its main properties. Neoclassical thinking is illustrated with the Muth model of rational expectations and the Ramsey–Cass–Koopmans model of economic growth. The chapter also presents topics where complexity economics has a clear advantage over neoclassical economics and shows the relationships with other economic schools of thought. Complexity economics emphasizes algorithmic thinking, which explains the heavy use of computational methods, which, along with other methods, are briefly introduced at the end of the chapter. The most important computational methods, which are also used in later chapters, are system dynamics and agent-based modeling.
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