Is There Anything Economics Cannot Do? The Need for a Background Account

Andrew M. Yuengert

Chapter Chapter 2 in Approximating Prudence, 2012, pp 11-32 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract This quotation, taken from an excellent review of economic models of knowledge and learning, expresses an opinion that should be familiar to most economists. It would not be out of place in a review of any literature in economic theory. Samuelson acknowledges the distance between the exact assumptions of his mathematical model and the more complex reality that lies beyond his assumptions, and assures us that the exact but incomplete assumptions of economic models capture something important about human nature.1 Furthermore, he expresses the confident hope that these simplifications often “will not lead us astray.”

Keywords: Optimization Model; Rational Choice; Consumer Choice; Actual Choice; Practical Wisdom (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pfschp:978-1-137-06317-5_2

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DOI: 10.1057/9781137063175_2

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