Lars P. Syll

 [embedded content] This one is for you — Edward Snowden. Bravest of the brave. Never give in. Never give up.

Signs economists haven’t the foggiest Unlearning economics has a nice post up “outlining the major reasons why economists can be completely out of touch with their public image, as well as how they should do ‘science,’ and why their discipline is so ripe for criticism.” He presents a list of 18 common failings encountered time and time again in discussions with mainstream economists: 1. They refer to the idea that “all models are simplifications” as if this somehow creates a fireguard...

Ljus i det musikaliska mörkret I dessa tider — när ljudrummet dränks i den kommersiella radions tyckmyckentrutade ordbajseri och fullständigt intetsägande pubertalflamsande tjafs — har man nästan gett upp. Men det finns ljus i mörkret! I radions P2 går varje lördagmorgon ett vederkvickelsens och den seriösa musikens Lördagsmorgon i P2. Och nu är även söndagarna räddade! I programmet Text och musik med Eric Schüldt — som sänds på söndagsförmiddagarna i P2 mellan klockan 11 och 12 — kan man...

Empirical ‘validation’ of macroeconomic models Modern macroeconomics is characterised by a search for the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomics, and it follows a very specific path. This search for microeconomic foundations follows a hypothetico-deductive approach … It involves starting with an axiomatic system and deducing conclusions from it … The model and the conclusions of the reflection cannot produce predictions that can subsequently be confirmed or refuted. A more flexible...

Postmodern economics? No thanks! Despite its considerable oeuvre, postmodern criticisms of economics are doomed to shrivel and be absorbed by mainstream economics … Social theory, unlike thermodynamics, is condemned to remain untestable, and stuck in the realm of opinion. Economics valiantly attempts to extricate itself from this fate with a touching commitment to mathematics but, sadly, it only ends up as a religion with equations. Postmodernity errs in thinking of this as the inevitable...

Journal of Failed Experiments The advantage of randomised experiments in describing populations creates an illusion of knowledge … This happens because of the propensity of scientific journals to value so-called causal findings and not to value findings where no (so-called) causality is found. In brief, it is arguable that we know less than we think we do. To see this, suppose—as is indeed the case in reality—that thousands of researchers in thousands of places are conducting experiments...

Reconsidering ergodicity and uncertainty The concept of fundamental uncertainty is a centerpiece of much of Post Keynesian economics. The foundation of this concept in Keynes’s own work and in broader intellectual foundations and considerations has generated much debate and discussion in recent decades, most recently between Rod O’Donnell (2014-15) and Paul Davidson (2015). We have reviewed their arguments, finding some grounds for O’Donnell’s criticism of Davidson’s claim that rejection...

Why not just face it — austerity does not work When an economy is already hanging on the ropes, you can’t just cut government spendings. Cutting government expenditures reduces the aggregate demand. Lower aggregate demand means lower tax revenues. Lower tax revenues means increased deficits — and calls for even more austerity. And so on, and so on. How was it possible, it has to be asked, for the basic Keynesian insights and analyses to be so badly lost in the making of European economic...

Det är lite mening med vad jag säger …  [embedded content] Ständigt efterfrågad favorit i repris …

Consider a genuine challenge to: ‘April showers have always brought May flowers. So, that April is showery is a good reason for expecting May to be flowery.’ You question whether this is a good reason … How could I satisfy you as to the goodness of my reasons in the present case? That I have lived through 35 showery Aprils and flowery Mays in several parts of the northern hemisphere would be relevant. So would national and international meteorological records. So would botanical data...