Value judgments and value neutrality in economics

Philippe Mongin

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The paper analyzes economic evaluations by distinguishing evaluative statements from value judgments proper. Building on this basis, it compares four solutions to the value-neutrality problem in economics. After rebutting the strong theses about neutrality (normative economics is illegitimate) and non-neutrality (the social sciences are value-impregnated), the paper settles the case between the weak neutrality thesis (common in welfare economics) and a novel, weak non-neutrality thesis that extends the realm of normative economics more widely than the other weak thesis does.

Keywords: Value Judgments; Value Neutrality; Positive-Normative Distinction; Welfare Economics; Robbins; Weber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B20 B41 D60 D70 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
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https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/37751/1/MPRA_paper_37751.pdf original version (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Value Judgments and Value Neutrality in Economics (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:37751

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