Economic Methods (Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Verfahren)

In: Kollmorgen, Raj; Merkel, Wolfgang; Wagener, Hans-Jürgen (Hrsg.) Handbuch Transformationsforschung [The handbook of transformation research], Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2015, pp 279-290.

12 Pages Posted: 12 Nov 2014

See all articles by Martin Myant

Martin Myant

University of the West of Scotland

Jan Drahokoupil

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES); European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

Date Written: October 12, 2011

Abstract

The contribution of economic analysis to the study of transformations is complicated by difficulties concerning both subject matter and method. The subject may be a grand social transformation or it may be a transformation of a more narrowly defined economic system. The method may be derived from the mainstream, neo-classical economics, using abstract models and a particular set of analytical tools, or it may use a more eclectic mix of insights from different disciplines and seek generalisations across small numbers of cases. The first of these approaches has strong attractions and plenty of defenders, but also many critics. The recent history of the economic contribution to the study of transformations has therefore been characterised by tension as a discipline that prides itself on abstraction and rigour confronts processes that are complex and multi-faceted and frequently defy meaningful conceptual simplification.

We set this out in the following sections, starting with a recognition of distinct approaches to economics, then moving to a discussion of the most abstract approaches to transformation. That is followed by sections that concentrate on the post-socialist transformations to illustrate the difficulties in measuring the phenomena and how econometric methods can be used to assess particular policy measures.

Keywords: methods, transformations research

JEL Classification: N01

Suggested Citation

Myant, Martin and Drahokoupil, Jan, Economic Methods (Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Verfahren) (October 12, 2011). In: Kollmorgen, Raj; Merkel, Wolfgang; Wagener, Hans-Jürgen (Hrsg.) Handbuch Transformationsforschung [The handbook of transformation research], Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2015, pp 279-290., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2521148

Martin Myant

University of the West of Scotland ( email )

Paisley High Street
PA1 2BE
Paisley, Scotland PA1 2BE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.paisley.ac.uk/schoolsdepts/business/cces/researchers/martin-myant.asp

Jan Drahokoupil (Contact Author)

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) ( email )

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://drahokoupil.blogspot.com

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) ( email )

B-1210 Brussels
Belgium

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
33
Abstract Views
500
PlumX Metrics