Lars P. Syll

 [embedded content] Causality in social sciences — and economics — can never solely be a question of statistical inference. Causality entails more than predictability, and to really in depth explain social phenomena require theory. Analysis of variation — the foundation of all econometrics — can never in itself reveal how these variations are brought about. First when we are able to tie actions, processes or structures to the statistical relations detected, can we say that we...

Yours truly is heading (again) for Hamburg this summer, so of course I just had to buy this … div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements

Leontief on the dismal state of economics 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 proliferating superstructure of...

 [embedded content] Absolutely fabulous! div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements

Der Wind hat sich gedreht  [embedded content] Back in 1980 yours truly had the pleasure of studying at University of Vienna. When not studying or paying weekly visits to Berggase 19, I used to listen to songs like this on my portable music player. To me it is as true today as it was to Degenhardt in 1980, that the only thing we seem to learn from history is that a lot of people don’t (want to) learn anything from it … div{float:left;margin-right:10px;}...

Nationalekonomi — ett annat slags vetenskap En national-ekonomi, som antar, att dess föremål är en ren naturföreteelse eller blott ett tankeexperiment, är icke någon verklig national-ekonomi, utan ett annat slags vetenskap …      ‘National-ekonomien i stöpsleven,’ 1936     div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements...

Proving gender discrimination using randomization (student stuff)  [embedded content] div{float:left;margin-right:10px;} div.wpmrec2x div.u > div:nth-child(3n){margin-right:0px;} ]]> Advertisements

I en tid när ljudrummet dränks i den kommersiella radions tyckmyckentrutade ordbajseri och fullständigt intetsägande pubertalflamsande tjafs har många av oss mer eller mindre gett upp. Radion, som en gång i tiden var en källa till både vederkvickelse och reflexion har degenererat till en postmodern ytlighetsavgud. Men det finns ljus i mörkret! I programmet Text och musik med Eric Schüldt — som sänds på söndagsförmiddagarna i P2 mellan klockan 11 och 12 — kan man lyssna på...

Ed Leamer and the pitfalls of econometrics Ed Leamer’s Tantalus on the Road to Asymptopia is one of my favourite critiques of econometrics, and for the benefit of those who are not versed in the econometric jargong, this handy summary gives the gist of it in plain English:   Most work in econometrics and regression analysis is — still — made on the assumption that the researcher has a theoretical model that is ‘true.’ Based on this belief of having a...

What is it that DSGE models — really — explain? Now it is “dynamic stochastic general equilibrium” (DSGE) models inspired by the Lucas critique that have failed to predict or even explain the Great Recession of 2007–2009. More precisely, the implicit “explanations” based on these models are that the recession, including the millions of net jobs lost, was primarily due to large negative shocks to both technology and willingness to work … So can the...