Rodrik, Dani
Economics Rules : why economics works, when it fails, and how to tell the difference - New York Oxford University Press 2017 - xi, 253p.
Include Index
Dani Rodrik argues that the multiplicity of theoretical frameworks - what economists call 'models' that exist side by side is economics' great strength. Economists are trained to hold diverse, possibly contradictory models of the world in their minds. This is what allows them, when they do their job right, to comprehend the world, make useful suggestions for improving it, and to advance their stock of knowledge over time. In short, it is what makes economics a 'science' a different kind of science from physics or some other natural sciences, but science nonetheless. Economists are prone to fads and fashions and behave too often as if their discipline is about the search for the model that works always and everywhere, rather than a portfolio of models. Their training lets them down when it comes to navigating among diverse models and figuring out which one applies where. Ideology and political preferences frequently substitute for analysis in choosing among models. So the book offers both a defence and critique of economics. Economists' way of thinking about social phenomena has great advantages.
9780198736905
Economic policy--Economics--Methodology--Economics--Mathematical models
330.09 / ROD-E
Economics Rules : why economics works, when it fails, and how to tell the difference - New York Oxford University Press 2017 - xi, 253p.
Include Index
Dani Rodrik argues that the multiplicity of theoretical frameworks - what economists call 'models' that exist side by side is economics' great strength. Economists are trained to hold diverse, possibly contradictory models of the world in their minds. This is what allows them, when they do their job right, to comprehend the world, make useful suggestions for improving it, and to advance their stock of knowledge over time. In short, it is what makes economics a 'science' a different kind of science from physics or some other natural sciences, but science nonetheless. Economists are prone to fads and fashions and behave too often as if their discipline is about the search for the model that works always and everywhere, rather than a portfolio of models. Their training lets them down when it comes to navigating among diverse models and figuring out which one applies where. Ideology and political preferences frequently substitute for analysis in choosing among models. So the book offers both a defence and critique of economics. Economists' way of thinking about social phenomena has great advantages.
9780198736905
Economic policy--Economics--Methodology--Economics--Mathematical models
330.09 / ROD-E