The methodology of positive economics: reflections on the Milton Friedman legacy PDF
Preview The methodology of positive economics: reflections on the Milton Friedman legacy
This page intentionally left blank The Methodology of Positive Economics MiltonFriedman’s1953essay“Themethodologyofpositiveeconom- ics”remainsthemostcited,influential,andcontroversialpieceofmeth- odologicalwritingintwentieth-centuryeconomics.Sinceitsappearance, the essay has shaped the image of economics as a scientific discipline, bothwithinandoutsideacademia.Atthesametime,therehasbeenan ongoingcontroversyovertheproperinterpretationandnormativeeval- uation of the essay. Perceptions have been sharply divided, with some viewing economics as a scientific success thanks to its adherence to Friedman’sprinciples,otherstakingitasafailureforthesamereason. Inthisbook,ateamofworld-renownedexpertsinthemethodologyof economicscastnewlightonFriedman’smethodologicalargumentsand practices from a variety of perspectives. It provides the twenty-first- centuryreaderwithaninvaluableassessmentoftheimpactandcontem- porarysignificanceofFriedman’sseminalwork. UskaliMäkiisAcademyProfessorattheAcademyofFinland. Hehas written extensively on the philosophy and methodology of economics andiseditorofanumberofbooks,includingTheEconomicWorldView (Cambridge University Press, 2001), Fact and Fiction in Economics (CambridgeUniversityPress,2002),andHandbookofthePhilosophyof Economics(2009). The Methodology of Positive Economics Reflections on the Milton Friedman legacy Editedby Uskali Mäki CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521867016 © Cambridge University Press 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-53695-3 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN-13 978-0-521-86701-6 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-68686-0 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. For INEM Contents Listoffigures pageix Listoftables x Contributors xi Preface xvii Part1 Theclassicalessayintwentieth-centuryeconomic methodology 1 Themethodologyofpositiveeconomics(1953) milton friedman 3 Part2 Readingandwritingaclassic 45 1 Readingthemethodologicalessayintwentieth-century economics:mapofmultipleperspectives uskali mÄki 47 2 EarlydraftsofFriedman’smethodologyessay j. daniel hammond 68 3 Unrealisticassumptionsandunnecessaryconfusions: rereadingandrewritingF53asarealiststatement uskali mÄki 90 Part3 Models,assumptions,predictions,evidence 117 4 TheinfluenceofFriedman’smethodologicalessay thomas mayer 119 5 DidMiltonFriedman’spositivemethodologylicense theformalistrevolution? d. wade hands 143 vii viii Contents 6 Appraisalofevidenceineconomicmethodology melvin w. reder 165 7 Thepoliticsofpositivism:disinterestedpredictionsfrom interestedagents david teira serrano and jesÚs ZAMORA BONILLA 189 Part4 Theoreticalcontext:firm,money,expectedutility, WalrasandMarshall 215 8 Friedman’s1953essayandthemarginalistcontroversy roger e. backhouse 217 9 Friedman(1953)andthetheoryofthefirm oliver e. williamson 241 10 Friedman’sselectionargumentrevisited jack vromen 257 11 ExpectedutilityandFriedman’sriskymethodology chris starmer 285 12 MiltonFriedman’sstance:themethodology ofcausalrealism kevin d. hoover 303 13 Ontherightsideforthewrongreason:Friedmanonthe Marshall–Walrasdivide michel de vroey 321 Part5 Concludingperspectives 347 14 ThedebateoverF53afterfiftyyears mark blaug 349 15 Finalword milton friedman 355 Index 356
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