The Economist Confronted by Epochal Innovations: The Relationships between History and Theory
Year: 2001
Type: preprint
Abstract: : Citizens and policy makers look to economists ’ expertise, particularly when paradoxical evolutions take place and the best-informed expectations turn out to be erroneous. The problem is that economic theory has prospered by adopting a methodological standpoint based on the assumption that economic regularities and mechanisms are static. This article deals with the search for relevant tools in order to analyze epochal economic problems. Could previous methods and concepts be retooled or should new ones be sought? How should we use the lessons of economic history? Three contemporary challenges are used in order to test the relevance of alternative strategies: the restructuring of Russia after 1990, the launching of the euro, and the “New Economy.” 1 INTRODUCTION: A PARADOX AT THE HEART OF ECONOMICS When economies are prospering, economic growth is strong and stable, and full employment is assured, the respect accorded to economists sometimes grows while the role they play in the economy diminishes. At such times, their role is simply to make the sources of this prosperity comprehensible. Several theories to explain prosperity may coexist, but in general a
Author: Robert Boyer
Institution: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2116920039