Lars P. Syll

The Morgenbesser retort and revealed preference theory The experiment reported here was designed to reflect the fact that revealed preference theory is concerned with hypothetical choices rather than actual choices over time. In contrast to earlier experimental studies, the possibility that the different choices are made under different preference patterns can almost be ruled out. We find a considerable number of violations of the revealed preference...

John Nash on unsound game theory  [embedded content] What John Nash (!) says underlines the very fundamental methodological weakness of game theory and neoclassical mainstream economics at large. Overemphasizing​ the reach of instrumental rationality and abstracting​ away from the influence of non-economic factors, reduces the analysis to a pure thought experiment without any substantial connection to reality​. Limiting theoretical economic analysis in this...

The law of demand — nothing but a useless tautology Mainstream economics is usually considered to be very ‘rigorous’ and ‘precise.’ And yes, indeed, it’s certainly full of ‘rigorous’ and ‘precise’ statements like “the state of the economy will remain the same as long as it doesn’t change.” Although ‘true,’ this is, however — as most other analytical statements — neither particularly interesting nor informative. As is well known, the law of demand is...

On the explanatory irrelevance of general equilibrium models The model itself seems to provide no indication of how to find out under which real conditions its nomological content … has explanatory relevance. The assertion that it has such relevance if the corresponding ‘assumptions’ are satisfied is either (1) a purely logical statement — that is, if these assumptions are to be identified with the supreme hypotheses of the system itself; (2) a highly...

August is the latest addition to the Syll-Meyer family. Five weeks old. And yes — Strindberg is one of our favourite writers … div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements

The problems with Randomised Controlled Trials  [embedded content] ‘Ideally controlled experiments’ tell us with certainty what causes what effects — but only given the right ‘closures.’ Making appropriate extrapolations from (ideal, accidental, natural or quasi) experiments to different settings, populations or target systems, is not easy. “It works there” is no evidence for “it will work here”. Causes deduced in an experimental setting still have to show...

At last — a real-world economics textbook In the real world, where issues of motivation, labor relations, and power are also important, the classical idea that [regulations, labor union activities, and public ‘safety net’ policies] cause substantial unemployment can be called into question … Alternative explanations of the working of labor markets suggest a different perspective … While some Keynesian theorists emphasize sticky wages, Keynes’s critique of...

Die Tagesschau — reine propaganda   [embedded content] div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements

Vem får Nobelpriset i ekonomi 2017? Traditionsenligt anordnas i dagarna en omröstning om vem Ekonomistas läsare tror kommer att få årets s. k. Nobelpris i ekonomi. Lika traditionsenligt finns det bara med en svensk på Ekonomistas lista. En person som inte alls hör hemma på en sådan lista. Sedan lång tid har vårt lilla land inte lyckats avla fram några riktigt framstående neoklassiska mainstream — andra kommer som vi alla vet ytterst sällan i fråga —...

On the importance of pluralism Theorien für die keine Alternativen in Betracht kommen scheinen, degenerieren allzuleicht zu dogmatisierten Systemen, die ihre Schwierigkeiten mit Hilfe von Alibi-Klauseln, ad-hoc-Annahmen und Abgrenzungspraktiken, kurz; durch Anwendung von Immunisieringsstrategien, zu bewältigen. Hans Albert Marktsoziologie und  Entscheidungslogik The only economic analysis that mainstream economists accept is the one that takes place within...