Explorations in Economic Methodology

Economics is an established academic discipline, yet its methods and style of argumentation are far from being well understood. In recent years attempts have been made to understand economics thorugh applying ideas from the philosophy of science, and especially from the writings of Popper, Kuhn and Lakatos and through economic rhetoric. The result has been intense controversy, with one school arguing that methodology is a fruitless exercise. Roger Backhouse is a key figure in the field of economic methodology. This collection of essays both clarifies and responds to the issues raised by the literature and argues that methodology is an essential activity. The book begins with an application of Lakatos' methodology of scientific research programmes to contemporary macroeconomics and subsequent chapters go on to discuss questions raised by this approach. These argue that although the methodology has severe limitations, it nevertheless provides a useful starting point. After discussing, the approaches to methodology of some practising economists, the final chapters consider the perspectives on economics that result from pragmatism and empirical philosophy of science. Clarifying the issues involved, and outlining a constructive, but critical response to the recent literature, this book will be of interest to researchers and students interested in economic methodology and the philosophy of science.