The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics

by Kincaid, Harold; Ross, Don

• ISBN13: 9780190846220
• ISBN10: 0190846224
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-08-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics is a cutting-edge reference work to philosophical issues in the practice of economics. It is motivated by the view that there is more to economics than general equilibrium theory, and that the philosophy of economics should reflect the diversity of activities and topics that currently occupy economists. Contributions in the Handbook are thus closely tied to ongoing theoretical and empirical concerns in economics.

Contributors include both philosophers of science and economists. Chapters fall into three general categories: received views in philosophy of economics, ongoing controversies in microeconomics, and issues in modeling, macroeconomics, and development. Specific topics include methodology, game theory, experimental economics, behavioral economics, neuroeconomics, computational economics, data mining, interpersonal comparisons of utility, measurement of welfare and well being, growth theory and development, and microfoundations of macroeconomics.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics is a groundbreaking reference like no other in its field. It is a central resource for those wishing to learn about the philosophy of economics, and for those who actively engage in the discipline, from advanced undergraduates to professional philosophers, economists, and historians.

Author Biography

Harold Kincaid is Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town and Visiting Professor at the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki.

Don Ross is Professor in the School of Sociology and Philosophy at University College Cork; Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town; and Program Director for Methodology in the Center for Economic Analysis of Risk at Georgia State University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements

1. The New Philosophy of Economics, Don Ross and Harold Kincaid

Section 1: Received Views in Philosophy of Economics
2. Laws, Causation and Economic Methodology, Daniel Hausman
3. If Economics Is a Science, What Kind of a Science Is It?, Alex Rosenberg
4. Realistic Realism about Unrealistic Models, Uskali Mäki
5. Why There Is (as Yet) No Such Thing as an Economics of Knowledge, Philip Mirowski

Section 2: Microeconomics
6. Rationality and Indeterminacy, Cristina Bicchieri
7. Experimental Investigations of Social Preferences, Jim Woodward
8. Competing Conceptions of the Individual in Recent Economics, John B. Davis
9. Integrating the Dynamics of Multi-scale Economic Agency, Don Ross
10. Methodological Issues in Experimental Design and Interpretation, Francesco Guala
11. Progress in Economics--Lessons from the Spectrum Auctions, Anna Alexandrova and Robert Northcot
12. Advancing Evolutionary Explanations in Economics, Jack Vromen

Section 3: Modeling, Macroeconomics And Development
13. Computational Economics, Paul Humphreys
14. Microfoundations and the Ontology of Macroeconomics, Kevin D. Hoover
15. Causality, Invariance, and Policy, Nancy Cartwright
16. The Miracle of the Septuagint and the Promise of Data Mining in Economics, Stan du Plessis
16. The Miracle of the Septuagint and the Promise of Data Mining in Economics, Stan du Plessis
18. Multisector Labor Market Models, Gary Fields
18. Multisector Labor Market Models, Gary Fields
19. What is Welfare and How Can We Measure it?, Keith Dowding
20. Interpersonal Comparison of Utility, Ken Binmore
21. Subjective Measures of Well-Being: Philosophical Perspectives, Erik Angner
22. Facts and Values in Modern Economics, Partha Dasgupta