Beyond Metaphor

Mathematical Models in Economics as Empirical Research

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4516442
AutoresDaniel Breslau (Tel Aviv University), Y Yonay (0000-0002-6637-3614, University of Haifa)
Año1999
Volumen12
Número2
Páginas317-332
Fecha de publicación1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889700003446
OpenAlexW2118840618
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas30
Referencias citadas20

The ArgumentWhen economists report on research using mathematical models, they use a literary form similar to the experimental report in the laboratory sciences. This form consists of a narrative of a series of events, with a clear temporal segregation of the agency of the author and the agency of the objects of study. Existing explanations of this literary form treat it as a rhetorical device that either conceals the agency of the author in constructing and interpreting the findings, or simply appropriates the appearance of accepted (natural-)scientific method. This article - based on analysis of a research program in economics, a single article that issued from that program, and in-depth interviews with the authors - proposes an alternate interpretation. Drawing on the praxeological "laboratory studies" tradition in science studies, we treat work with mathematical models as involving the interaction of economists with objects (models) that act independently of the analyst's will. The clear separation of the economist's and the models agency, as depicted in the published report, is not the result of a rhetorical rewriting of actual events, but is a practical accomplishment. Every step in the analytical work that preceded the paper is devoted to developing a procedure in which the economists' agency will be completely accountable in terms of accepted practices, and the performance of the model will be distinct and compelling

Economics · Epistemology · Linguistics · Metaphor · Narrative · Positive economics · Praxeology · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · History · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science