Dilemmas of an Economic Theorist

Revista de Economía Institucional, Vol. 8, No. 14, First Semester 2006

23 Pages Posted: 15 Jul 2006

See all articles by Ariel Rubinstein

Ariel Rubinstein

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics; New York University (NYU) - Department of Economics

Abstract

What on earth are economic theorists like me trying to accomplish? The paper discusses four dilemmas encountered by an economic theorist: i) the dilemma of absurd conclusions: should we abandon a model if it produces absurd conclusions or should we regard a model as a very limited set of assumptions which will inevitably fail in some contexts?; ii) the dilemma of responding to evidence: should our models be judged according to experimental results?; iii) the dilemma of model-less regularities: should models provide the hypothesis for testing or are they simply exercises in logic which have no use in identifying regularities?, and iv) the dilemma of relevance: do we have the right to offer advice or to make statements which are intended to influence the real world?

Keywords: dilemmas, economic theory, absurd conclusions, relevance

JEL Classification: A11, A13

Suggested Citation

Rubinstein, Ariel, Dilemmas of an Economic Theorist. Revista de Economía Institucional, Vol. 8, No. 14, First Semester 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=914784

Ariel Rubinstein (Contact Author)

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