从理性人到行为人：评行为经济学对新古典正统理论的挑战

新古典理论的自闭倾向早已遭人诟病,去过程化、去动机化并且和社会性的制度不接洽的理性演绎模型确实可能需要对此负很大的责任。但是,行为经济学挥舞着“不现实性”的大棒对主流的新古典经济学进行批判是否就真的能够导向更经验、更科学的经济学？行为经济学强调引入心理学知识来使经济学建立在更现实的基础上的做法同其批判的新古典理论一样,都采取的是一种本能的、不加反思的态度对待如何抽象的问题,无非是一个更看重形式化的逻辑,而另一个更看重经验现实。有必要将行为经济学对于新古典正统的挑战看成是一场经济学内部的对话的展开。其最终的目的是使经济学家们对于经济学应有的学科定位、经济学和其他相邻学科尤其是人的行为的理论之间的界限、什么是适合于经济学的任务的关于人的抽象等达到更高程度的自觉。目前行为经济学表面上繁荣恰恰是以回避对这些基础性的问题进行思考为代价的。     

The Mundane Economics of the Austrian School

The Austrian School of economics—the causal-realist, marginalist, subjectivist tradition established by Carl Menger in 1871—has experienced a remarkable renaissance over the last five decades. It is not always clear, however, exactly what distinguishes the Austrian School from other traditions, schools of thought, approaches, or movements within economics and its sister disciplines. This paper argues that Austrian economics, while part of a broader tradition emphasizing the coordination of the market order, is nonetheless a distinct kind of economic analysis, and that its essence is not subjectivism, the market process, or spontaneous order, but what I call “mundane economics”—price theory, capital theory, monetary theory, business-cycle theory, and the theory of interventionism. Call this the “hard core” of Austrian economics. I argue that this hard core is (1) distinct, and not merely a verbal rendition of mid-twentieth-century neoclassical economics; (2) the unique foundation for applied Austrian analysis (political economy, social theory, business administration, and the like); and (3) a living, evolving body of knowledge, rooted in classic contributions of the past but not bound by them. Most Austrian economists from Menger to Rothbard devoted their energies to developing and communicating the principles of mundane economics, not because they failed to grasp the importance of time, uncertainty, knowledge, expectations, institutions, and market processes, but because they regarded these issues as subordinate to the main task of economic science, namely the construction of a more satisfactory theory of value, production, exchange, price, money, capital, and intervention.     

Trends in U.S. economics majors: Why the decline in the 1990s?

This paper identifies factors that are important in explaining recent trends in undergraduate economics majors. The decline in economics majors during the 1990s has caused concern in the profession because the declining trend had been attributed to a general decrease in student interest in the economics major. This study uses least squares regression techniques to explain trends in economics bechelor degrees granted by 20 New Jersey colleges and universities during the 1979–2000 period, with implications for the national level. The results show that trends in economics majors are primarily a function of demographic trends, business cycle conditions, and the desire to attend post-graduate professional school. None-the-less, the authors conclude that the declining trend in economics majors in the 1990s is still cause for concern because understanding economic principles is important in the development of a globally competitive workforce.     

Shifting the mainstream: Lawson's impetusEconomics and Reality tony lawson routledge, 1997, 364 pp.

Lawson'sEconomics and Reality is a deeply informed attempt to liberate economics from its usually tacit, metaphysical presuppositions inherited from Newtonian physics and enlightenment epistemology. Lawson fears that the economics profession faces declining prosperity due to its decreasing public credibility and the increasing annexation of its traditional ground of inquiry by other disciplines. Lawson's book attempts to revamp economic methodology in order to reverse these trends. This article examines the recent philosophical ideas informing Lawson's project, considers his critique of contemporary economics, and relates his ideas for reform to those of other economists.     

Studies in accounting history: Tradition and innovation for the twenty-first century Atsuo Tsuji and Paul Garner, editors greenwood Press, 1995, 280 pp.

A number of approaches have been used to describe the evolution of accounting. However, very little is known regarding the relationship between accounting and economic histories. This article attempts to link the history of accounting with economics and economic history by reviewing the book entitled, Studies in Accounting History: Tradition and Innovation for the Twenty-First Century, and by examining the evolution of accounting from an economic perspective. Co-editors Tsuji and Garner compiled 13 selected paper to demonstrate the range of historical accounting topics, accounting theory and practice, as well as the relevance of accounting history to key aspects of economic history. The collection presents the evolutionary environmental factors that have influenced the development of accounting theory and practice. These factors are forms of business, users of financial information and their needs, the accounting profession, and various international influences including culture, politics, and economics.     

从理性人到行为人：评行为经济学对新古典正统理论的挑战

新古典理论的自闭倾向早已遭人诟病,去过程化、去动机化并且和社会性的制度不接洽的理性演绎模型确实可能需要对此负很大的责任。但是,行为经济学挥舞着“不现实性”的大棒对主流的新古典经济学进行批判是否就真的能够导向更经验、更科学的经济学？行为经济学强调引入心理学知识来使经济学建立在更现实的基础上的做法同其批判的新古典理论一样,都采取的是一种本能的、不加反思的态度对待如何抽象的问题,无非是一个更看重形式化的逻辑,而另一个更看重经验现实。有必要将行为经济学对于新古典正统的挑战看成是一场经济学内部的对话的展开。其最终的目的是使经济学家们对于经济学应有的学科定位、经济学和其他相邻学科尤其是人的行为的理论之间的界限、什么是适合于经济学的任务的关于人的抽象等达到更高程度的自觉。目前行为经济学表面上繁荣恰恰是以回避对这些基础性的问题进行思考为代价的。     

The political economy of American monetary policy

Conclusion This thought-provoking volume should be read by any monetary economist who cares about trying to understand Fed policy. In light of the continuing trend toward constructing economic theories that tell more and more about less and less, cynics may have come to believe that the economics profession does not value research about real-world issues such as monetary policymaking. The contributions to this volume provide hard evidence that a sizable part of the profession continues to pursue policy-related questions.     

Positive economics and praxeology: The clash of prediction and explanation

Conclusions The preceding discussion has uncovered two reasons why the praxeological approach deserves a greater place in the practice of economics than it has been explicitly accorded over the last 30 years.First, praxeology places one in a better position to explain the underlying processes which lead to the economic phenomena which are observed. It does so because it starts from readily observable facts which are part of those processes, whereas the admittedly false assumptions used by positive economics merely replicate phenomena without describing the process which leads to them.Second, the predictions which positive economists use as empirical tests of their theories neither predict accurately nor are designed to falsify those theories, as positive economics says that tests must. As these goals have come to be seen as more and more unreachable, the prestige of the economics profession has suffered. Praxeology, by replacing them with reachable, if modest, goals of explanation and empirical tests designed to demonstrate the applicabilities of theories, may make a contribution to the restoration of some of that lost prestige.     

Making Sense of the Costs and Benefits of Brexit: Challenges for Economists

The UK’s decision to leave the European Union will have a wide-ranging effect on the British economy, but the scale and sequencing of the likely effects are hard to gauge. The uncertainties surrounding how a country separates itself from a regional economic bloc have posed challenges to the economics profession about how best to analyse the many consequences. The paper discusses the main lines of relevant economic argumentation, and reviews the evidence from studies of the likely effects of “Brexit”. It then considers how the UK’s economic linkages with the EU might evolve and examines some of the ensuing political economy challenges. The concluding section ponders the role of economists in so contentious a political development.     

Problem-oriented approach to political economy

The research paradigm of economics in China is facing great changes. In this article, we analyzed that dilemma of China's current major economics paradigms was inability to analyze and solve the economic problems for the neglect the importance of problem-oriented. The analysis on the two great flourishes of economics shows that theoretical innovation based on the problem-oriented approach in these two periods provide economic explanation for China's historical transformation. Chinese economists should adhere to the problem-oriented approach by generalizing typical facts, analyzing system characteristics, using modern economic analysis tools and producing original economic theories formed with uniqueness refined from major issues.     

Visualising defence and war in economic history journals (1989–2018)

ABSTRACT

Economics usually takes for granted a peaceful world with peaceful market transactions, where war and conflict are anomalies to the current state of business life. However, as History shows violence is a pervasive phenomenon. How is the current state of the art of research on war and defence in economic history journals? This paper provides an overview of research published on this topic by a selection of economic history journals since the fall of Berlin wall. By means of bibliometric and cluster analysis, and using visualising analytical tools, we show the production, main topics, authors, sources, etc. on this research area, and compare with the treatment received in economic journals. The main findings are that publications in economic history journals have increased in the last decades; cover a list of themes broader than that in economic journals; give an increasing importance to quantitative techniques; cite sources from the same area as well as from the top economic journals; and show a relative lack of appeal to neighbouring disciplines. Although economics and economic history influence each other, the direction of the scientific knowledge is going mostly from economics towards economic history rather than the opposite.     

The Scholarly Status of Blacks in the Economics Profession: Have the National Economic Association and the Review of Black Political Economy Mattered?

This paper considers whether the National Economic Association and its journal the Review of Black Political Economy have enhanced the scholarly status of black economists. A bibliometric analysis reveals that while the typical black economist has never published in the Review of Black Political Economy, the share of black economists publishing in the Review of Black Economy approximates the share of all articles published on the economic and political economy of race by black economists, and the share of articles published in the Review of Black Political Economy by black economists appears higher than typical journals in economics—particularly for black economists employed at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We also find that similar to other economics journals non-black economists dominate the share of published articles, and publications in the Review of Black Political Economy appear to be consistent with Lotka’s Law of scientific productivity suggesting that the journal is a standard outlet for research no different from any other science journal. Our results imply a plausible counterfactual that if the National Economic Association and Review of Black Political Economy did not exist, the scholarly status of blacks in the economics profession would have been lower than currently observed.     

A Game-Theoretic Model of Plagiarism

The damage to a reputation has long been viewed as the main and most effective deterrent against plagiarism among professional economists. We show that it is rational for individuals in the economics profession who want to plagiarize to engage in this activity given current incentives. Recent research concerning plagiarism in the economics profession has highlighted the frequency that instances of plagiarism have occurred. Our paper shows how it is possible given current incentives in the profession for these instances to go unreported therefore removing the threat of damage to a plagiarist’s reputation. We also discuss the harm that such actions cause to the original author and to the profession as a whole.     

经济人假设与人的发展在经济学中的位置思考

经济人假设是经济学形成时最好的前提假设。以经济人假设为基础的经济分析视角在不断变化,由此推动了经济学理论不断发展。人的发展经济学研究人的发展问题,与经济学分析离不开人的要求相一致。处于经济社会转型的当今中国,对人的发展问题的研究应该是中国经济学研究的重要任务之一。文章认为,如同传统经济学把经济人作为一种分析方法一样,人的发展经济学应在正确理解人与经济学关系的基础上,找准对人的发展分析的视角。     

The cost-benefit approach to development economics

The author starts with a review of past thinking on the process of growth, and the steady movement from the use of highly aggregated macro-growth models to highly disaggregated micro-models with a multiplicity of possible sources of growth. The identification of the most appropriate source of growth can best be carried out by cost-benefit analysis. He then examines the economics of policymaking in the less-developed countries, in the light of his earlier look at models of growth, and explores the application of the cost-benefit approach to the theory of effective protection and for economic planning, including in the later issues of income distribution and basic needs. While he finds that the gains from using cost-benefit analysis have been very great for microeconomic policy in the developing countries, the economic profession has not been as successful in deriving lessons for macro-policy in the light of the cost-benefit approach; and much more can be done in the macroeconomic area with this approach.     

人生存和发展条件的保障及商品经济学批判——兼谈人的发展经济学的研究视角

文章认为,因商品经济学存在严重缺陷而不能使经济学理论的指导与人的生存和发展的需要相一致,经济学的研究要回到经济活动的本源——人的生存和发展的需要中来,使经济学真正成为研究经济发展与人的生存和发展紧密联系的学问。人的发展经济学作为促进人的自由而全面发展的科学,应该担当起纠正商品经济学偏差的责任,并把研究的视角从商品分析转向社会生产和分配如何保障人的生存和发展上来。随着社会的不断进步,特别是随着以人为目的发展经济的呼声不断高涨,经济学革命的到来是迟早的事。对于中国而言,经济学对经济社会的影响,人们感受得更深刻,也更有经济学变革的理论和实践基础。     

Unnoticed predecessors of the early Negishi theorems

From the studies of the history of economic thought, we can learn that many theorems of the modern general equilibrium theory were well anticipated in the classical economics and the economics of the marginal revolution. For example, first, what Johann Heinrich von Thünen (1783–1850) did, in his strange theory of natural wage, can be interpreted as an early, pioneering attempt to use the so-called Negishi method (1960), which is now intensively used for the proof of the existence theorem and the numerical calculation of a general equilibrium. Second, as is well known, no exchanged transactions are permitted out of equilibria in the famous Walrasian tatonnement adjustment process towards market equilibria. Against this, the importance of transactions carried out at disequilibria is emphasized in the studies of the so-called Hahn–Negishi non-tatonnement process (1962). As a matter of fact, in the classical economics, this is exactly what William Thomas Thornton (1813–1380) insisted against the authority of John Stuart Mill (1800–1873). Finally, subjectively perceived (often kinked) demand curves are considered in my proof of the existence of a general equilibrium in the case of monopolistic competition (1961). To my surprise, however, I found later that such demand curves were already hidden in Adam Smith's (1723–1790) consideration of markets and the division of labor, and that the increase of demand never fails to lower the price of goods.     

A paradigmatic change is needed for understanding the real market

Economics in China has been neoclassicalized in the past few decades. In this article, I argue that neoclassical economics is not a good theory of the market. It misleads both economists and government in understanding the economic issues. China is particularly vulnerable to its defects. In contrast, the Austrian School of economics is a better theory of the market since it studies the real market, not an imaginary market. The most important difference between the two economics paradigms is their understandings of the entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is missed in neoclassical economics. In the Austrian School economics and Schumpeterian economics, entrepreneurship is the soul of the market. The paradigm shift of economics is urgently needed but it will be a slow process. Chinese economists should play a role in this transformation.     

IS-LM: The Hicksian journey

Summary In the economics profession John Hicks is mainly known for his work during the 1930s. This paper is aimed at tracing the further development of Hicks' thinking, focussing on his IS-LM apparatus. During the 1950s Hicks used IS-LM to elucidate several issues, as in his Trade Cycle book and his review of Don Patinkin's Money, Interest and Prices. In the ensuing exchange Patinkin showed several weaknesses of IS-LM and pointed to new directions for research: the development of more elaborate models of the transmission mechanism and disequilibrium theory. But Hicks did not really participate in these developments, since, owing to methodological considerations, his thinking diverged more and more from mainstream economics.I would like to thank Jürgen Backhaus, Peter de Gijsel, Jan Snippe, Vic Van Rompuy, Arjen van Witteloostuijn and an anonymous referee for their comments on a former draft. Naturally, only the author is responsible for the opinions here expressed, as well as for any remaining shortcomings.