The Methodology of Economic Model Building (Routledge Revivals): Methodology after Samuelson - Softcover

Boland, Lawrence A. A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1138776319 ISBN 13: 9781138776319

Publisher: Routledge, 2015

Synopsis

The major methodological task for modern economists has been to establish the testability of models. Too often, however, methodological assumptions can make a model virtually impossible to test even under ideal conditions, yet few theorists have examined the requirements and problems of assuring testability in economics.

In The Methodology of Economic Model Building, first published in 1989, Lawrence Boland presents the results of a research project that spanned more than twenty years. He examines how economists have applied the philosophy of Karl Popper, relating methodological debates about falsifiability to wider discussions about the truth status of models in natural and social sciences. He concludes that model building in economics reflects more the methodological prescriptions of the economist Paul Samuelson than Popper’s ‘falsificationism’. This title will prove invaluable to both students and researchers, and represents a substantial contribution to current debates about the scientific status of economics.

About this title

About the Author

Lawrence A. Boland teaches at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. He is the author of The Principles of Economics (Routledge, 1992).

Review

"...an exceptionally well crafted commentary on the current state and prospects of methodological discussions in mainstream economics." -- Choice

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1138776319
• ISBN 13: 9781138776319
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208