 Economics as a Science and its Relation to Policy: The Example of Free TradeChapter 8 in Essays on the Methodology and Discourse of Economics, 1992, pp 130-153 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract Economic controversy has centred on questions of substantive doctrine, the conflict of schools and ideologies, and issues of scope and method. Somewhat more peripheral but no less fundamental in importance have been controversies over the social role of economists and the relation of economic theory (or science) to policy. These have involved the tension between the desire for analysis free of ideology or values, on the one hand, and the more or less reluctant belief in the inevitability of ideological or valuational elements, on the other;1 whether economic principles are independent of practical affairs or are applicable, directly or indirectly, to matters of policy; whether economic theory is an engine of inquiry or a corpus of truth; and, in general, the nature of economics as a science and its relation to policy. In all these and other respects, there have been considerable diversity, ambiguity, and conflict of views. Keywords: Political Economy; Free Trade; Power Structure; Social Welfare Function; Allocative Efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-12371-1_9 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-12371-1_9 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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