Wren-Lewis and the Rodrik smorgasbord view of economic models
In December 2015 yours truly run a series of eight posts on this blog discussing Dani Rodrik‘s Economics Rules (Oxford University Press, 2015). There sure is much in the book I like and appreciate. It...
View ArticleThe gussied up economics of Tweedledum and Tweedledee
“Of course, there were exceptions to these trends: a few economists challenged the assumption of rational behavior, questioned the belief that financial markets can be trusted and pointed to the long...
View ArticleAxiomatics — the economics fetish
Mainstream — neoclassical — economics has become increasingly irrelevant to the understanding of the real world. The main reason for this irrelevance is the failure of economists to match their...
View Article‘Deep parameters’ and microfoundations
In a post last week, Simon Wren-Lewis was discussing if modern academic macroeconomics is eclectic or not. When it comes to methodology it seems as though his conclusion is that it is not: The New...
View ArticleFadime Sahindal
Till Fadime Sahindal, född 2 april 1975 i Turkiet, mördad 21 januari 2002 i Sverige I Sverige har vi länge okritiskt omhuldat en ospecificerad och odefinierad mångkulturalism. Om vi med mångkulturalism...
View ArticleOn the non-neutrality of money
Paul Krugman has repeatedly over the years argued that we should continue to use neoclassical hobby horses like IS-LM and Aggregate Supply-Aggregate Demand models. Here’s one example: So why do AS-AD?...
View Article‘New Keynesian’ DSGE models
In the model [Gali, Smets and Wouters, Unemployment in an Estimated New Keyesian Model (2011)] there is perfect consumption insurance among the members of the household. Because of separability in...
View ArticleDeduction — induction — abduction
In science – and economics – one could argue that there basically are three kinds of argumentation patterns/schemes/methods/strategies available: Deduction Premise 1: All Chicago economists believe...
View ArticleKrugman — a Vichy Left coward?
Paul Krugman’s recent posts have been most peculiar. Several have looked uncomfortably like special pleading for political figures he likes, notably Hillary Clinton. He has, in my judgement, stooped...
View ArticleAgainst multiple regression analysis
Distinguished social psychologist Richard E. Nisbett has a somewhat atypical aversion to multiple regression analysis . In his Intelligence and How to Get It (Norton 2011) he wrote (p. 17): Researchers...
View ArticleGood advice
‘If you really want something, you have to be prepared to work very hard, take advantage of opportunity, and above all — never give up.’ [h/t Ulrika Hall]
View ArticleEconomics — still in the land of Mordor
When it comes to my economics training, I’m a late bloomer. My primary training is in evolutionary theory, which I have used as a navigational guide to study many human-related topics, such as...
View ArticleKeynes vs. Samuelson on models
To his credit Keynes was not, in contrast to Samuelson, a formalist who was committed to mathematical economics. Keynes wanted models, but for him, building them required ‘ a vigilant observation of...
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