Economics & The Economy

  • Why economists love Intrade — and why the government hates it
  • Money $marts: Economics is not a science » Naples Daily News

    …Economics is not a science. It is the study of human behavior in the context of choice limitations. Real science represents a continual progression that turns theories into discoveries, proofs and laws that govern the natural world. Economics is a social science devoid of descriptive laws that define every human interaction and behavior. Moreover, while science can determine truth through experiment and replication of results, economics cannot. The empirical results of economic “experiments” are never entirely clear and never precisely replicated, leaving room for never ending debate about truth and effective governmental policies…

    While I might be in general  agreement with that sentiment I think Economics as a “science” is in its infancy and this article  from this “citizen contributor” is really mostly a reflection of  the author’s dissatisfaction and disagreement (sour grapes) with Cass Sunstein‘s (Head of the Obama White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) opinions, analysis, and policy direction.

    200 years ago we had no idea that the universe consisted of billions of other galaxies and we thought the Milkey Way was the whole universe. No one threw out astronomy as a science. It progressed.

    Economic science has a long way to go. Like climate science the timelines to see the results of predictions are long and not necessarily evident to us every day or even every year (just what is signal and what is noise) and we are living inside the laboratory . Any bets that Mr. Krammer (the author) also thinks climate science is a hoax? I think there a pretty good chance.

    One has to wonder too if Economics isn’t a science at all what did Mr. Krammer, a former banker & economist base his career on?

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