In recent years, many have complained that economics is not a science, and must recognize this fact and switch to a "heterodox" approach. In fact, economics deserved much of this criticism in the past, but recently has trended in a strongly scientific direction. New empirical techniques, along with a greater focus on matching theory with evidence, are increasing the discipline's credibility. Meanwhile, "heterodox" approaches often offer important conceptual insights, but little in the way of methodological innovation. The way forward for economics is to continue and increase the focus on data and empiricism, while taking concepts and ideas from as broad a range of sources as possible
Noah Smith - Economics is a science (on its good days)
Noah Smith is an economist and blogger at Bloomberg View. His blog, under the name “Noahpinion” is one of the most widely read blogs on the scholarly discipline of economics in the world, and he has become something close to a blog superstar in economics. Smith has a Phd in economics from the University of Michigan, and was an assistant professor of Finance at Stony Brook University, New York.
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Published May 24, 2017 12:59 PM
- Last modified May 28, 2024 2:22 PM