 Microfoundations, Methodological Individualism and Alternative Economic VisionsAlessandro Vercelli Review of Political Economy, 2016, vol. 28, issue 1, 153-167 Abstract: This article analyzes the standard descriptive and prescriptive uses of the phrase ‘microfoundations of macroeconomics’ as practised since the early 1970s within the discipline of economics. From a descriptive point of view, we maintain that generally this phrase is used to mean a very specific and idiosyncratic way of conceiving the relationship between individual and collective economic behaviour. From a prescriptive point of view, we argue that the requirement for robust macroeconomics that must repose on this particular approach is unjustified and dogmatic. The rapid and widespread adherence by the most influential economists and economic institutions to this approach since the early 1970s deeply transformed macroeconomics by inhibiting the systematic pursuit of alternative approaches. We claim that this extreme form of reductionism greatly restricts the empirical scope and policy efficacy of macroeconomics. We conclude that the relationship between individual and collective economic behaviour is a crucial issue that has to be pursued without any dogmatic a priori imperatives. Date: 2016 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:28:y:2016:i:1:p:153-167 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/09538259.2016.1108133 Access Statistics for this article Review of Political Economy is currently edited by Steve Pressman and Louis-Philippe Rochon More articles in Review of Political Economy from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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