Economic methodology

Author: (USA) Roger E. Backhouse
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: A highly readable book should be able to provoke deeper reflection among economists and university students studying economic methodology about what they are doing. Roger E. Backhouse, Professor of History and Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, presents a concise and highly readable introduction to economic methodology in this book. It not only explains the role of methodology in helping economists explain fundamental issues but also introduces different approaches within methodology. The book begins with discussions on the scope and nature of economic principles and the current debates surrounding them. Here, Sherin C. Dow uses a series of case studies to illustrate the role of methodological awareness in inquiry into economic theory and economic issues. Next, the book provides a brief overview of methodology ideas that have influenced economics for over two centuries. Furthermore, it offers a detailed examination of contemporary methodology, surveying the relationship between methodological thought and the current state of economic research, as well as the contentious issues in the field of economic methodology today. Finally, the book discusses the impact of methodological awareness on the future direction of the economics discipline, based on the choice of methodology, the relationship between economics and other disciplines, policy application, and economics education, thereby concluding the overall argument of the book.