Lionel Robbins: A Methodological Reappraisal

Marcelo Resende and Rodrigo Zeidan

No 2165, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Lionel Robbins contributions are often discussed in terms of two main aspects. First, the delineation of the scope of economics in terms of decision making conditional on scarcity. Second, a more methodological concern with respect to scientific neutrality and the possibility of meaningful separation between positive and normative statements in economics. The related demarcation issue is subject to intense debate and Robbins is often associated with a strong neutrality view [see e.g. Davis (2005), Mongin (2006)]. This paper attempts to situate Robbins aprioristic point of view in terms of posterior methodological developments. In particular, the methodology of scientific research programmes (MSRP) advanced by Lakatos (1968, 1970) has been subject to adaptations in the context of economics by Latsis (1976) in an attempt to accommodate different degrees of apriorism, falsificationism and conventionalism as scientific criteria in economics. The historical path towards Robbins’s (1932, 1935) essay appears to be well documented [see e.g. Howson (2004)]. The paper aims at clarifying the role of Robbins’s essay in shaping the dominant research programme in Economics, and contends that the author’s definition of economics is central to the main elements of the hard core of contemporary research programmes in line with the neoclassical research programme.

Keywords: Lionel Robbins; scientific research programmes; falsificationism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp2165.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2165

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Klaus Wohlrabe ().