Is Economics a Science?

Carlos Federico Obregon Diaz

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper analyzes the epistemological status of economics by distinguishing between ideological content, closed formal systems, and scientific cores within economic theory. It introduces a methodological framework (disentangle) to evaluate the scientific validity of different schools of thought. The analysis demonstrates that economic theories become scientific only when they generate refutable hypotheses, engage with empirical data, and are grounded in real institutional and social belonging structures. The Economics of Belonging is presented as an institutional framework capable of integrating valid insights from different traditions while explaining economic development, crises, and inequality through belonging regimes and middle-class formation.

Keywords: Economics; of; Belonging; Economic; methodology; Science; and; ideology; Institutional; economics; Economic; epistemology; Disentangle; method; Economic; theory; Middle; class; Economic; development; Global; governance; Belonging; systems; Comparative; economic; systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B25 B41 B50 D02 O10 O43 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04-17
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