The Methodology Of Economic Model Building Methodology After Samuelson

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 debates about the scientific status of economics.

Model building has been the backbone of modern economic theory over the last 25 years, and the major methodological task for each model builder has been to establish the testability of each model developed. Too often, though, seemingly innocent modelling assumptions can make a model virtually impossible to test, even under ideal conditions, yet few economic theorists have examined the methodological requirements and problems of assuring testability in economics. Lawrence Boland considers how economists have applied Popper's views on the need for error-detection and testability theories in science. The methodological debates these theories have inspired are related to wider debates on empiricism and the truth status of models in the natural and social sciences. He concludes by arguing that the practice of model building in economics reflects the methodological prescriptions of Samuelson more than the falsification theory usually attributed to Popper.

Concern about the role and the limits of modeling has heightened after repeated questions were raised regarding the dependability and suitability of the models that were used in the run-up to the 2008 financial crash. In this book, Lawrence Boland provides an overview of the practices of and the problems faced by model builders to explain the nature of models, the modeling process, and the possibility for and nature of their testing. In a reflective manner, the author raises serious questions about the assumptions and judgments that model builders make in constructing models. In making his case, he examines the traditional microeconomics-macroeconomics separation with regard to how theoretical models are built and used and how they interact, paying particular attention to the use of equilibrium concepts in macroeconomic models and game theory and to the challenges involved in building empirical models, testing models, and using models to test theoretical explanations.

Concern about the role and the limits of modeling has heightened after repeated questions were raised regarding the dependability and suitability of the models that were used in the run-up to the 2008 financial crash. In this book, Lawrence Boland provides an overview of the practices of and the problems faced by model builders to explain the nature of models, the modeling process, and the possibility for and nature of their testing. In a reflective manner, the author raises serious questions about the assumptions and judgments that model builders make in constructing models. In making his case, he examines the traditional microeconomics-macroeconomics separation with regard to how theoretical models are built and used and how they interact, paying particular attention to the use of equilibrium concepts in macroeconomic models and game theory and to the challenges involved in building empirical models, testing models, and using models to test theoretical explanations.

Many consider Foundations of Economic Method to be Lawrence Boland's best work. This updated edition is radically changed from the original and will be much appreciated by thinkers within economics. The book positions methodology vis-à-vis the current practice of economists and is all the better for it. Yet another book that not only deserves to be read by those within the field of economic methodology, but also by those involved in economics at all. Boland is back.

Textbook on the theoretics and methodology of economic model construction - discusses the use of the scientific method and creative thinking in the construction of dynamic models (incl. Economic policy models amd econometrics models), etc. One-page bibliography.

This book provides a practitioner's foundation for the process of explanatory model building, breaking down that process into five stages. Donald W. Katzner presents a concrete example with unquantified variable values to show how the five-stage procedure works. He describes what is involved in explanatory model building for those interested in this practice, while simultaneously providing a guide for those actually engaged in it. The combination of Katzner's focus on modeling and on mathematics, along with his focus on the explanatory performance of modeling, promises to become an important contribution to the field.

This book is an examination of the nature of economic explanation. The opening chapters introduce current thinking in the philosophy of science and review the literature on methodology. Professor Blaug then turns to the troublesome question of the logical status of welfare economics, giving the reader an understanding of the outstanding issues in the methodology of economics. This is followed by a series of case studies of leading economic controversies, which shows how controversies in economics may be illuminated by paying attention to questions of methodology. A final chapter draws the strands together and gives the author's view of what is wrong with modern economics. This book is a revised and updated edition of a classic work on the methodology of economics, in which Professor Blaug develops his discussion of the latest developments in macroeconomics, general equilibrium theory and international trade theory. A new section on the rationality postulate is also added.

Lawrence Boland takes issue with both economic methodologists and practicing economists. He argues that there has been too much 'methodology for methodology's sake' and that mainstream economics might benefit by using methodology to take a critical look at economic theory.