Tag Archives: Economics

This book reflects my debate with myself​ about economic theory. On the one hand, I am captivated by the charm of formal models: tales emerge from the formal symbols, and these tales have almost miraculous powers over me. On the other hand, I am obsessively occupied with denying any interpretation​ contending that economic models produce conclusions of real value. I feel attracted to economics as a branch of philosophy and as an academic field in which an intelligent...

Mainstream economics — an obscurantist waste of time One may perhaps, distinguish between obscure writers and obscurantist writers. The former aim at truth, but do not respect the norms for arriving at truth, such as focusing on causality, acting as the Devil’s Advocate, and generating falsifiable hypotheses. The latter do not aim at truth, and often scorn the very idea that there is such a thing as the truth … The authors I have singled out are far from...

The first speculative bubble  [embedded content] Advertisements

Chicago economics delirium VSOP Macroeconomics was born as a distinct field in the 1940s (sic!), as a part of the intellectual response to the Great Depression. The term then referred to the body of knowledge and expertise that we hoped would prevent the recurrence of that economic disaster. My thesis in this lecture is that macroeconomics in this original sense has succeeded: Its central problem of depression-prevention has been solved, for all practical...

I believe there is no other proposition in economics which has more solid empirical evidence supporting it than the Efficient Market Hypothesis. That hypothesis has been tested and, with very few exceptions, found consistent with the data in a wide variety of markets … Michael Jensen I am skeptical about the argument that the subprime mortgage problem will contaminate the whole mortgage market, that housing construction will come to a halt, and that the economy will slip into...

La discipline économique et le mirage de la ‘vraie science’ Le mirage de la « vraie science », dont la puissance fantasmatique est immense chez les économistes, met sur la voie d’une autre catégorie canguilhemienne, qui permet peut-être de donner sa qualification la plus précise à la situation épistémologique de l’économie : il s’agit de la catégorie « d’idéologie scientifique » … La catégorie d’idéologie scientifique est d’abord purement interne au...

Richard Thaler et les fausses mouches imprimées Richard Thaler … part de l’idée que si les individus sont incapables pour tout un tas de «biais cognitifs» et culturels de prendre les meilleures décisions, il faut les y aider en les accompagnant dans leurs choix de «tous les jours». D’où son idée d’imposer aux individus des décisions tout en leur faisant croire qu’ils conservent leur pleine liberté de choix. Son application la plus connue citée dans...

Swedish housing bubble soon to burst High and rising household indebtedness poses the greatest risk to the Swedish economy. Household indebtedness has been increasing in Sweden since the mid- 1990s. Home ownership financed by high levels of mortgage debt with variable interest rates makes households vulnerable to falling house prices and increasing interest rates … In the present Economic Commentary, we extend the earlier analysis by using updated data...

Guest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action. We’re putting up the links early this week for your travel enjoyment. If you’re traveling, end your trip smarter than you started! We’ve posted the IPA 2017 Great Holiday Travel Podcast Playlist with podcast feeds and specific episodes we liked. It’s got stories from around the world, research podcasts, and, in preparation for the holidays, three different episodes on how to disagree constructively. So feel free to just...

Guest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action. We’re putting up the links early this week for your travel enjoyment. If you’re traveling, end your trip smarter than you started! We’ve posted the IPA 2017 Great Holiday Travel Podcast Playlist with podcast feeds and specific episodes we liked. It’s got stories from around the world, research podcasts, and, in preparation for the holidays, three different episodes on how to disagree constructively. So feel free to just play...