Lars P. Syll

‘Approximate truth’ in economics According to this line of defence, all models are false but to some extent ‘approximately true’ – and approximately true models are harmless from the point of view of the realist’s aims … This argument is to a large extent confused. It is correct that there are cases in which a false assumption can indeed be regarded as ‘approximately true’, namely when the assumption concerns the value of a quantitative causal factor …...

There is an element of hypocrisy among DSGE advocates … Long before the advent of DSGE, microeconomic theorists demonstrated that the conditions for the derivation of aggregates from individual choices are so constraining that they cannot possibly be met in a world populated by people. Yet, never to my knowledge have DSGE advocates addressed the issue … For the DSGE advocates, the failure of an opposing approach to adhere to their a priori theoretical presuppositions are...

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It is not possible to determine the scientific method that it is appropriate to employ for a given task (in a particular context) without knowing the nature of the task. And to know the nature of any scientific task it is always essential to have an insight into (i.e., to seek to determine) the nature of the material that is to be investigated … Now if there is one feature that provides the greatest obstacle in the path of economics achieving its potential as an explanatory...

On the best sellers list in economics and econometrics Yours truly’s latest book has made it onto Amazon’s lists of best sellers in economics and econometrics. I am — of course — truly awed, honoured and delighted.

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Stairway to pop history .[embedded content]

A girl like you .[embedded content]

Does it — really — “take a model to beat a model”? When we provide such a critique, we often hear another mantra to which many economists subscribe: ‘It takes a model to beat a model.’ On the contrary, we believe that it takes facts and observations to beat a model … If a model fails to answer the problem to which it is addressed, it should be put back in the toolbox … It is not necessary to have an alternative tool available to know that the plumber who...

Is economics already pluralist? Some argue that economics as a science is already pluralist and that the critique of pluralists addresses a strawman. Newly emerged research areas such as behavioral economics are often presented as examples. Yet, to assess the argument that ‘economics is already pluralist’, one has to be explicit about the dimension and degree of plurality that is being considered … Considering the topical dimension of economics, for...