On the Observability Requirement in Economics as an Axiomatic Science

Cheung Steven N.S. ()
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Cheung Steven N.S.: University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong

Man and the Economy, 2021, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: This paper points out as the only social science that is axiomatic, economics has the power of predicting beyond interpreting. It then explains that in hypothesis testing, the law of demand is the only indispensable axiom in economics, and that quantity demanded is the only non-observable variable that must be retained. After reviewing his disagreements with his peers and colleagues, and his success in predicting the transformation of China, the author argues that the profession has gone astray with the surge in the use of non-observables.

Keywords: axiomatic science; observable variable; testable hypothesis; law of demand; prediction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1515/me-2021-0005

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