[2018a] The Present State of Economics - Errors and Omissions Excepted (original) (raw)
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The Present State of Economics: Errors and Omissions Excepted
2018
More and more often, confidence in the professional qualifications of individuals representing certain occupational groups which formerly were held in high esteem has started to erode. Dismissing scientific evidence and ignoring expert opinion has become a feature of political discourse around alternative truth. In part this is self-inflicted as various statements that are publicized with the aura of academic certainty do not stand up to closer scrutiny. Alas, this applies particularly to economics, which is often held up as the supreme discipline of social sciences. It suffices to take a look on page one of reasonably respectable printed media to recognize how important economics is in contemporary society. In this chapter, we highlight some issues from micro- and macroeconomics that are critical.
Consistency Versus Inconsistency in the Current Academic Economic Paradigm
Diversitate si Identitate Culturala in Europa, 2013
The current academic economic paradigm is shaped by the actual economic schools of thoughts and the systems of generating economic knowledge – universities, research institutions, academic publishing actors and business elites. The cumulated contributions of these actors have transformed economics into a mature science whose practical and governance implications were tested by the 2008 world financial crisis. The challenges faced in these times by governments, households and businesses have severely questioned both orthodox and non orthodox economic wisdom and the legitimacy of the economist as a professional. Irrespective of their economic orientation, most economists have agreed that the models of socio-economic development should be revisited, with a high need of a focus on the moral and ethical standards of the human, economic and political actions. The purpose of this paper is to analyse some of the major inconsistencies that the current academic economic paradigm is perpetuati...
2005
DEs major claim, however, is that though the inconsistencies of the neo-classical theory 21 are glaring, the obsolete theory is still taught at all levels of economics education, under-22 graduate and graduate, giving it the appearance of cogent science. The author of DE hints 23 that there are several alternatives which are too mathematically sophisticated for the general 24 economic audience to comprehend, let alone teach. The blame is put on mainstream leaders 25 who prefer to maintain allegiance to the original paradigm and so defeat any attempt to 26 introduce new tools and methodology in the economics curriculum. Some of the new tools 27 are obvious and not new: stochastic processes and differential equations. Microeconomics 28 has already successfully employed them to analyze both "stylized facts" discovered across 29 various financial markets and a half-dozen new interesting models which have emerged. 30 We have to wait for Dr. Keen's promised next book by to clarify his own approach and 31 preferred model to the numerous problems he points out. 32 1 from the Introduction chapter of DE. 34
The Quandary of the Economic Science
2007
The economic science is passing through one of the most critical periods of its existence. The crisis it runs through has its origins in its methodological grounds as well as in its capacity to express the deep political and economical mutations nowadays. Throughout this article, we have tried to stress the inadequate characteristics of the present theoretical framework, the impossibility to reflect the new realities through a decayed conceptual framework, the need to reexamine some postulates and assertions that do not correspond to the present train of events anymore. We have also tried to identify the basis of the economic science restructuring, as well as the objectives and directions oriented towards this challenge. We have pleaded for a science configuration open to multidisciplinarily framework, debate pluralism, and new, realistic and practical approaches.
The American Economist, 2007
As with other sciences, the author argues that there are no unquestionable ideas in economics, and attempts to impose “No Child Left Behind” K-12 type “technical standards” in universities will turn higher education in economics into remedial education. Students need to learn that the very nature of a science is to have unresolved topics and an on-going scrutiny of theories no matter how steeped they are in tradition. He provides examples to show how the dumbing down of economics to the dogmatic preaching of a few simple concepts, principles, and axioms of old misses the excitement of modem day economics and is a deceitful representation of the science of economics and a disservice to students seeking a higher education.
Economics: Comprehending the Present to Find Solutions
2019
Debates on economics and economic issues around the world have been quite ideological for a considerable part of the past 100 years. Correspondingly, diagnoses and prescriptions put forward by economists are flavored according to dominant perception of the normative world, which explains why they are commonly seen as a panacea: if all you know is what you have subscribed to, then what you prescribe is all you have recognized. The temper of this trend, however, has made a neutral position impossible, or even undesirable to maintain, since a middle ground has become a no man’s land.