Lars P. Syll

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...

Why MMT is so popular Now we can see why MMT is so popular … We are in an MMT world, where we should be using fiscal policy and not worrying about the deficit, but policymakers don’t understand that. I think most mainstream macroeconomists do understand this, but we are not often heard. The ground was therefore ripe for MMT. Policymakers following austerity when they clearly should not annoys me a great deal, and I am very happy to join common cause with...

Mainstream economics — like butter scraped over too much bread Much of current academic teaching and research has been criticized for its lack of relevance, that is, of immediate practical impact … I submit that the consistently indifferent performance in practical applications is in fact a symptom of a fundamental imbalance in the present state of our discipline. The weak and all too slowly growing empirical foundation clearly cannot support the...

Statsvetaren Patrik Hall vid Malmö presenterade statistik på DN Debatt gällande antalet anställda inom vissa yrkeskategorier i offentlig sektor och deras utveckling under perioden 2001-2013 … Jag blev nyfiken på hur det ser ut inom den svenska universitets-världen när jag läste Halls artikel. Känslan är nämligen att även svenska universitet lider av en växande byråkratisering, med ökande krav från den ”centrala administrationen” och underskott i assistenter och sekreterare...