Macroeconomics: Science or Faith Based Discipline?

Bill Russell ()

No 2013-114, SIRE Discussion Papers from Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE)

Abstract: Whether or not macroeconomics is a science depends on the scientific nature of macroeconomic theories and how the discipline responds when the empirical evidence fails to match the underlying assumptions and predictions of the theories. By way of an example, four conditions for macroeconomics to be a science are developed and used to examine the 'modern' theories of the Phillips curve. It is found that while the discipline in general maintains one condition it routinely violates the other three. This suggests the macroeconomics discipline has some way to go before it can call itself a 'pure science.'

Keywords: Methodology; Phillips curve; inflation; structural breaks; nonstationary data; macroeconomics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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