Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Until recently, there was long resistance to the idea that economics can lend itself to experimentation. Going back at least as far as John Stuart Mill and continuing until very recently, it was widely held that economics was not an experimental discipline.
The contributions in this book show, however, that the concept of the "experiment" has been persistently present, in various guises, throughout the history of the field. This has been most obviously shown by the post-war rise of behavioral economics, to which experimentation is central - but the tradition can actually be shown to have started much earlier with some of Wicksell's work on monetary reform foreshadowing the operations of the pioneers.
Synopsis
Throughout the history of economic ideas, it has often been asserted that experimentation is impossible, yet, in fact, history shows that the idea of 'experimentation' has always been important, and as such has been interpreted and put to use in many ways. Rich in historical detail, the essays in this topical volume deal with such issues as laboratory experimentation, the observed transition from a post-war economics to a contemporary discipline, the contrasting positions of Friedrich Hayek and Oskar Morgenstern, the socio-economic experiments proposed by Ernest Solvay and Knut Wicksell, and a rigorous examination of the way in which economic models can or cannot be construed as valid experiments producing useful knowledge.
A testament to the variety of ways in which experimentation has been of importance in the creation of economic knowledge, these wide-ranging essays will interest those seeking to expand their historical understanding of the discipline, be they theorists, historians, philosophers, advanced students or researchers.