Reflections on Economic Paradigms and Controversies in Economics

John McCombie

Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, 2001, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: This paper examines the question why many disputes in economics never seemed to be completely resolved. The essay provides an introduction to, and reconsiders, Kuhn’s notion of the paradigm as it applies to economics and argues that, far from being passé, it provides useful insights into this question. It is shown that the problem of incommensurability and the existence of differing paradigmatic assumptions explain much of the reason for the persistence of different schools of thought. Lakatos’s Methodology of the Scientific Research Programme is briefly discussed and its limitations noted. Finally, if there are no objective cannons of theory choice, then the reason why some economic paradigms flourish and others wither depends largely upon how persuasive their adherents are in convincing other economists. Consequently, McCloskey’s emphasis on the use of rhetoric in economics is considered.

Keywords: Economic Methodology; Paradigm; Rhetoric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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