Beyond Rhetoric And Realism In Economics

Boylan and O'Gorman inject a fresh empiricist voice into the recent debates in economic methodology.... praise the book for its careful scholarship, its intellectual novelty and its familiarity with existing methodological literature." D. Wade Hands, University of Puget Sound, USA

Boylan and O'Gorman inject a fresh empiricist voice into the debate on economic methodology. They strike a reasonable middle ground between the extremes of scientific realism and the rhetoric of economics.

This volume extends its insights into the fields of economic methodology and economic theory in such a way as to open up new forms of investigation in economics and transform the nature of economic reasoning.

This intriguing new book examines and analyses the role of critical realism in economics and specifically how this line of thought can be applied to the real world. With contributions from such varying commentators as Sheila Dow, Wendy Olsen and Fred Lee, this new book is unique in its approach and will be of great interest to both economic methodologists and those involved in applied economic studies.

Part of the Handbook of the Philosophy of Science Series edited by: Dov M. Gabbay King's College, London, UK; Paul Thagard University of Waterloo, Canada; and John Woods University of British Columbia, Canada. Philosophy of Economics investigates the foundational concepts and methods of economics, the social science that analyzes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of economics ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The articles are divided into two groups. Chapters in the first group deal with various philosophical issues characteristic of economics in general, including realism and Lakatos, explanation and testing, modeling and mathematics, political ideology and feminist epistemology. Chapters in the second group discuss particular methods, theories and branches of economics, including forecasting and measurement, econometrics and experimentation, rational choice and agency issues, game theory and social choice, behavioral economics and public choice, geographical economics and evolutionary economics, and finally the economics of scientific knowledge. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of economics. Provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings Encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue Covers theory and applications

This book edited by two of the most respected figures in feminist economics is a welcome collection that charts and critically analyses how other movements have influenced the development of feminist economics as a distinct discipline.