Uchida Maki
Biographic Data
| ID | 229942 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Uchida Maki |
| GIVEN NAMES | Uchida |
| FAMILY NAME | Maki |
| SIGNATURE | MAKI U |
| AFFILIATIONS | Erasmus University Rotterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9103-1133 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 134 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Costs and Benefits of Diverse Plurality in Economics
The literature on pluralism in economics has focused on the benefits expected from the plurality of theories, methods, and frameworks. This overlooks half of the picture: the costs. Neither have the multifarious costs been systematically analyzed in philosophy of science. We begin rectifying this neglect. We discuss how the benefits of plurality and diversity in science presuppose distinct types of plurality and how various benefit and plurality …
Notes on economics imperialism and norms of scientific inquiry
L’impérialisme économique, entendu comme une certaine relation entre disciplines scientifiques, est défendu par certains et rejeté par d’autres. Ces réactions sont toutefois rarement fondées sur des valeurs et des normes de recherche scientifique explicites. Or, lorsque l’on s’efforce de les rendre explicites, ces normes se révèlent plus complexes et plus floues qu’il n’y paraît. Certains considèrent qu’elles font partie intégrante de la définiti…
Reflections on the Ontology of Money
The suggestions outlined here include the following. Money is a bundle of institutionally sustained causal powers. Money is an institutional universal instantiated in generic currencies and particular money tokens. John Searle's account of institutional facts is not helpful for understanding the nature of money as an institution (while it may help to illuminate aspects of the nature of currencies and money particulars). The money universal is not…
Puzzled by Idealizations and Understanding Their Functions
Idealization is ubiquitous in human cognition, and so is the inclination to be puzzled by it: what to make of ideal gas, infinitely large populations, homo economicus, perfectly just society, known to violate matters of fact? This is apparent in social science theorizing (from J. H. von Thünen, J. S. Mill, and Max Weber to Milton Friedman and Thomas Schelling), recent philosophy of science analyzing scientific modeling, and the debate over ideal …
Models and the locus of their truth
Is geographical economics imperializing economic geography
Geographical economics (also known as the ‘new economic geography’) is an approach developed within economics dealing with space and geography, issues previously neglected by the mainstream of the discipline. Some practitioners in neighbouring fields traditionally concerned with spatial issues (descriptively) characterized it as—and (normatively) blamed it for—intellectual imperialism. We provide a nuanced analysis of the alleged imperialism of g…
The Methodology of Positive Economics: Reflections on the Milton Friedman Legacy
Milton Friedman's 1953 essay 'The methodology of positive economics' remains the most cited, influential, and controversial piece of methodological writing in twentieth-century economics. Since its appearance, the essay has shaped the image of economics as a scientific discipline, both within and outside of the academy. At the same time, there has been an ongoing controversy over the proper interpretation and normative evaluation of the essay. Pe…
Missing the World. Models as Isolations and Credible Surrogate Systems
Economics Imperialism: Concept and Constraints
The paper seeks to offer [1] an explication of a concept of economics imperialism, focusing on its epistemic aspects; and [2] criteria for its normative assessment. In regard to [1], the defining notion is that of explanatory unification across disciplinary boundaries. As to [2], three kinds of constraints are proposed. An ontological constraint requires an increased degree of ontological unification in contrast to mere derivational unification. …
Realism
Uskali Mäki (1951–) is currently an Academy Professor in the Academy of Finland. He holds a Ph.D. from Faculty of the Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki and has published extensively in both economics and philosophy. The author of over one hundred essays and a past editor of The Journal of Economic Methodology , Mäki's interests span the entire domain of economic methodology. Realism has been a persistent interest, and a number of his …
Growth and health status of street children in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of street life on the growth and health status of poor children who live and work full‐time on the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh (street children), independent of the effects of poverty. This was accomplished by comparing 142 street children with 150 poor children who live and work on the streets of Dhaka but who return to their families at night (slum children). Children between 7–14 years old we…
Essay Symposium: Scientific Realism, Geography and Economics
The Narrow Notion of Realism in Human Geography
The paper provides an analysis of the reception of realism in human geography. Gaps are identified between geographers' realism and realism as conceived by philosophers of science. The paper first outlines philosophers' abstract or thin 'CoreRealism' in simple ontological, semantic, and episte- mological terms. It then shows how human geographers' 'GeoRealism' has concretised and thickened this core notion by incorporating a specific metaphysics …
Realism and the Nature of Theory: A Lesson from J H von Thünen for Economists and Geographers
It is argued that J H von Thünen was a realist who deliberately used unrealistic assumptions to pursue a true account of a major aspect of the determination of agricultural land-use patterns. The assumptions of the simplest model of concentric rings are examined to show that this highly unrealistic model deserves a realist interpretation: the idealising assumptions serve the purpose of neutralising the impact of a number of factors on the land-us…
Introduction to the Symposium
The editors of the symposium explain the origin of this interesting set of comments and the principal approach to the problem of custom offered by Ekkehart Schlicht
Realisms and their Opponents: Philosophical Aspects
Explanatory Unification: Double and Doubtful
Explanatory unification—the urge to “explain much by little”—serves as an ideal of theorizing not only in natural sciences but also in the social sciences, most notably in economics. The ideal is occasionally challenged by appealing to the complexity and diversity of social systems and processes in space and time. This article proposes to accommodate such doubts by making a distinction between two kinds of unification and suggesting that while su…
Is Coase a Realist
Ronald Coase has been a vigorous critic of mainstream economic theory, arguing that it is unrealistic and that a good theory is realistic. The attributes "realistic" and "unrealistic" appear in three senses at least in Coase: one related to narrow ness and breadth; another related to abstracting from particularities (and the issue of "blackboard economics"); and the third related to correspondence with the legal. This does not yet make Coase an a…
The one world and the many theories
Ronald H. Coase
Journal Article Ronald H. Coase. Get access Ronald H. Coase. By (STEVEN G.) Medema. (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1994. Pp. ix + 205. £40.00 hardback. ISBN 0 333 55645 3.)The Legacy of Ronald Coase in Economic Analysis: Volumes I and II. Edited by (STEVEN G.) Medema. (Aldershot and Brookfield, VT: Edward Elgar, 1995. Pp. xlix-l-1088. £195.00 hardback. ISBN 1 85898 010 0.) Uskali Mäki Uskali Mäki Erasmus University Rotterdam Search for other…
Rationality, Institutions and Economic Methodology
Bruce Caldwell, University of North Carolina D. Wade Hands, Notre Dame University Richard Langlois, University of Connecticut Victor Vanberg, George Mason University Brian Loasby, University of Stirling Geoff Hodgson, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Polytechnic Douglass North, Washington University
Economics and the Philosophy of Science
Journal Article Economics and the Philosophy of Science Get access Economics and the Philosophy of Science. By (DEBORAH A.) Redman. (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press/OUP USA, 1991. £32.00 hardback, £10.95 paperback. ISBN 0 19 506412 7, 0 19 508274 5.) Uskali Mäki Uskali Mäki Academy of Finland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 104, Issue 425, 1 July 1994, Pages 973–97…
Scientific realism and Austrian explanation ∗
In the recent writing on the methodology of economics there has been a shortage of systematic analyses of realism and explanation and an absence of analysis of their inter-relationships. This article attempts to provide a detailed account of the structure of economic explanation built upon realist and essentialist premises. Invisible-hand explanations characteristic of Austrian economics and the question of using the quantity theory for explainin…
Economics Imperialism: Concept and Constraints
The paper seeks to offer [1] an explication of a concept of economics imperialism, focusing on its epistemic aspects; and [2] criteria for its normative assessment. In regard to [1], the defining notion is that of explanatory unification across disciplinary boundaries. As to [2], three kinds of constraints are proposed. An ontological constraint requires an increased degree of ontological unification in contrast to mere derivational unification. …
Models and the locus of their truth
Explanatory Unification: Double and Doubtful
Explanatory unification—the urge to “explain much by little”—serves as an ideal of theorizing not only in natural sciences but also in the social sciences, most notably in economics. The ideal is occasionally challenged by appealing to the complexity and diversity of social systems and processes in space and time. This article proposes to accommodate such doubts by making a distinction between two kinds of unification and suggesting that while su…
Rationality, Institutions and Economic Methodology
Bruce Caldwell, University of North Carolina D. Wade Hands, Notre Dame University Richard Langlois, University of Connecticut Victor Vanberg, George Mason University Brian Loasby, University of Stirling Geoff Hodgson, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Polytechnic Douglass North, Washington University
Is geographical economics imperializing economic geography
Geographical economics (also known as the ‘new economic geography’) is an approach developed within economics dealing with space and geography, issues previously neglected by the mainstream of the discipline. Some practitioners in neighbouring fields traditionally concerned with spatial issues (descriptively) characterized it as—and (normatively) blamed it for—intellectual imperialism. We provide a nuanced analysis of the alleged imperialism of g…
Scientific realism and Austrian explanation ∗
In the recent writing on the methodology of economics there has been a shortage of systematic analyses of realism and explanation and an absence of analysis of their inter-relationships. This article attempts to provide a detailed account of the structure of economic explanation built upon realist and essentialist premises. Invisible-hand explanations characteristic of Austrian economics and the question of using the quantity theory for explainin…
Realism and the Nature of Theory: A Lesson from J H von Thünen for Economists and Geographers
It is argued that J H von Thünen was a realist who deliberately used unrealistic assumptions to pursue a true account of a major aspect of the determination of agricultural land-use patterns. The assumptions of the simplest model of concentric rings are examined to show that this highly unrealistic model deserves a realist interpretation: the idealising assumptions serve the purpose of neutralising the impact of a number of factors on the land-us…
Reflections on the Ontology of Money
The suggestions outlined here include the following. Money is a bundle of institutionally sustained causal powers. Money is an institutional universal instantiated in generic currencies and particular money tokens. John Searle's account of institutional facts is not helpful for understanding the nature of money as an institution (while it may help to illuminate aspects of the nature of currencies and money particulars). The money universal is not…
The Narrow Notion of Realism in Human Geography
The paper provides an analysis of the reception of realism in human geography. Gaps are identified between geographers' realism and realism as conceived by philosophers of science. The paper first outlines philosophers' abstract or thin 'CoreRealism' in simple ontological, semantic, and episte- mological terms. It then shows how human geographers' 'GeoRealism' has concretised and thickened this core notion by incorporating a specific metaphysics …
Puzzled by Idealizations and Understanding Their Functions
Idealization is ubiquitous in human cognition, and so is the inclination to be puzzled by it: what to make of ideal gas, infinitely large populations, homo economicus, perfectly just society, known to violate matters of fact? This is apparent in social science theorizing (from J. H. von Thünen, J. S. Mill, and Max Weber to Milton Friedman and Thomas Schelling), recent philosophy of science analyzing scientific modeling, and the debate over ideal …
Is Coase a Realist
Ronald Coase has been a vigorous critic of mainstream economic theory, arguing that it is unrealistic and that a good theory is realistic. The attributes "realistic" and "unrealistic" appear in three senses at least in Coase: one related to narrow ness and breadth; another related to abstracting from particularities (and the issue of "blackboard economics"); and the third related to correspondence with the legal. This does not yet make Coase an a…
Notes on economics imperialism and norms of scientific inquiry
L’impérialisme économique, entendu comme une certaine relation entre disciplines scientifiques, est défendu par certains et rejeté par d’autres. Ces réactions sont toutefois rarement fondées sur des valeurs et des normes de recherche scientifique explicites. Or, lorsque l’on s’efforce de les rendre explicites, ces normes se révèlent plus complexes et plus floues qu’il n’y paraît. Certains considèrent qu’elles font partie intégrante de la définiti…
Essay Symposium: Scientific Realism, Geography and Economics
Scientific realism and Austrian explanation ∗
In the recent writing on the methodology of economics there has been a shortage of systematic analyses of realism and explanation and an absence of analysis of their inter-relationships. This article attempts to provide a detailed account of the structure of economic explanation built upon realist and essentialist premises. Invisible-hand explanations characteristic of Austrian economics and the question of using the quantity theory for explainin…
Rationality, Institutions and Economic Methodology
Bruce Caldwell, University of North Carolina D. Wade Hands, Notre Dame University Richard Langlois, University of Connecticut Victor Vanberg, George Mason University Brian Loasby, University of Stirling Geoff Hodgson, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Polytechnic Douglass North, Washington University
Economics and the Philosophy of Science
Journal Article Economics and the Philosophy of Science Get access Economics and the Philosophy of Science. By (DEBORAH A.) Redman. (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press/OUP USA, 1991. £32.00 hardback, £10.95 paperback. ISBN 0 19 506412 7, 0 19 508274 5.) Uskali Mäki Uskali Mäki Academy of Finland Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 104, Issue 425, 1 July 1994, Pages 973–97…
Ronald H. Coase
Journal Article Ronald H. Coase. Get access Ronald H. Coase. By (STEVEN G.) Medema. (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1994. Pp. ix + 205. £40.00 hardback. ISBN 0 333 55645 3.)The Legacy of Ronald Coase in Economic Analysis: Volumes I and II. Edited by (STEVEN G.) Medema. (Aldershot and Brookfield, VT: Edward Elgar, 1995. Pp. xlix-l-1088. £195.00 hardback. ISBN 1 85898 010 0.) Uskali Mäki Uskali Mäki Erasmus University Rotterdam Search for other…
The one world and the many theories
Is Coase a Realist
Ronald Coase has been a vigorous critic of mainstream economic theory, arguing that it is unrealistic and that a good theory is realistic. The attributes "realistic" and "unrealistic" appear in three senses at least in Coase: one related to narrow ness and breadth; another related to abstracting from particularities (and the issue of "blackboard economics"); and the third related to correspondence with the legal. This does not yet make Coase an a…
Realisms and their Opponents: Philosophical Aspects
Explanatory Unification: Double and Doubtful
Explanatory unification—the urge to “explain much by little”—serves as an ideal of theorizing not only in natural sciences but also in the social sciences, most notably in economics. The ideal is occasionally challenged by appealing to the complexity and diversity of social systems and processes in space and time. This article proposes to accommodate such doubts by making a distinction between two kinds of unification and suggesting that while su…
Introduction to the Symposium
The editors of the symposium explain the origin of this interesting set of comments and the principal approach to the problem of custom offered by Ekkehart Schlicht
Essay Symposium: Scientific Realism, Geography and Economics
The Narrow Notion of Realism in Human Geography
The paper provides an analysis of the reception of realism in human geography. Gaps are identified between geographers' realism and realism as conceived by philosophers of science. The paper first outlines philosophers' abstract or thin 'CoreRealism' in simple ontological, semantic, and episte- mological terms. It then shows how human geographers' 'GeoRealism' has concretised and thickened this core notion by incorporating a specific metaphysics …
Realism and the Nature of Theory: A Lesson from J H von Thünen for Economists and Geographers
It is argued that J H von Thünen was a realist who deliberately used unrealistic assumptions to pursue a true account of a major aspect of the determination of agricultural land-use patterns. The assumptions of the simplest model of concentric rings are examined to show that this highly unrealistic model deserves a realist interpretation: the idealising assumptions serve the purpose of neutralising the impact of a number of factors on the land-us…
Realism
Uskali Mäki (1951–) is currently an Academy Professor in the Academy of Finland. He holds a Ph.D. from Faculty of the Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki and has published extensively in both economics and philosophy. The author of over one hundred essays and a past editor of The Journal of Economic Methodology , Mäki's interests span the entire domain of economic methodology. Realism has been a persistent interest, and a number of his …
Growth and health status of street children in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of street life on the growth and health status of poor children who live and work full‐time on the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh (street children), independent of the effects of poverty. This was accomplished by comparing 142 street children with 150 poor children who live and work on the streets of Dhaka but who return to their families at night (slum children). Children between 7–14 years old we…
The Methodology of Positive Economics: Reflections on the Milton Friedman Legacy
Milton Friedman's 1953 essay 'The methodology of positive economics' remains the most cited, influential, and controversial piece of methodological writing in twentieth-century economics. Since its appearance, the essay has shaped the image of economics as a scientific discipline, both within and outside of the academy. At the same time, there has been an ongoing controversy over the proper interpretation and normative evaluation of the essay. Pe…
Missing the World. Models as Isolations and Credible Surrogate Systems
Economics Imperialism: Concept and Constraints
The paper seeks to offer [1] an explication of a concept of economics imperialism, focusing on its epistemic aspects; and [2] criteria for its normative assessment. In regard to [1], the defining notion is that of explanatory unification across disciplinary boundaries. As to [2], three kinds of constraints are proposed. An ontological constraint requires an increased degree of ontological unification in contrast to mere derivational unification. …
Is geographical economics imperializing economic geography
Geographical economics (also known as the ‘new economic geography’) is an approach developed within economics dealing with space and geography, issues previously neglected by the mainstream of the discipline. Some practitioners in neighbouring fields traditionally concerned with spatial issues (descriptively) characterized it as—and (normatively) blamed it for—intellectual imperialism. We provide a nuanced analysis of the alleged imperialism of g…
Models and the locus of their truth
Puzzled by Idealizations and Understanding Their Functions
Idealization is ubiquitous in human cognition, and so is the inclination to be puzzled by it: what to make of ideal gas, infinitely large populations, homo economicus, perfectly just society, known to violate matters of fact? This is apparent in social science theorizing (from J. H. von Thünen, J. S. Mill, and Max Weber to Milton Friedman and Thomas Schelling), recent philosophy of science analyzing scientific modeling, and the debate over ideal …
Notes on economics imperialism and norms of scientific inquiry
L’impérialisme économique, entendu comme une certaine relation entre disciplines scientifiques, est défendu par certains et rejeté par d’autres. Ces réactions sont toutefois rarement fondées sur des valeurs et des normes de recherche scientifique explicites. Or, lorsque l’on s’efforce de les rendre explicites, ces normes se révèlent plus complexes et plus floues qu’il n’y paraît. Certains considèrent qu’elles font partie intégrante de la définiti…
Reflections on the Ontology of Money
The suggestions outlined here include the following. Money is a bundle of institutionally sustained causal powers. Money is an institutional universal instantiated in generic currencies and particular money tokens. John Searle's account of institutional facts is not helpful for understanding the nature of money as an institution (while it may help to illuminate aspects of the nature of currencies and money particulars). The money universal is not…
Costs and Benefits of Diverse Plurality in Economics
The literature on pluralism in economics has focused on the benefits expected from the plurality of theories, methods, and frameworks. This overlooks half of the picture: the costs. Neither have the multifarious costs been systematically analyzed in philosophy of science. We begin rectifying this neglect. We discuss how the benefits of plurality and diversity in science presuppose distinct types of plurality and how various benefit and plurality …
Philosophy (17 works) · Epistemology (16 works) · Economic Theory and Institutions (14 works) · Economics (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (9 works) · Positive economics (9 works) · Political science (8 works) · Realism (8 works)