2 ms·

> Economics is a weird subject, even economists get predictions wrong all the time. It's because economics is seen as a science but ignores (not completely) hu

• xyzzyz 5y ago
  > It's because economics is seen as a science but ignores (not completely) human behavior. That does not describe what economics has looked like for a few decades already. These days, it’s all about human behavior. Just look at the sample of newest papers collected at NBER: https://www.nber.org/papers?page=1&perPage=50&sortBy=public_date#listing-77041 https://www.nber.org/papers?page=1&perPage=50&sortBy=public_... If you look at these, it should be clear that most of published economics these days is basically social science done using quantitative methods. The homo economicus has always been a straw man, but these days it is laughably so.
• dragonwriter 5y ago
  > You can't test economic theories with the scientific method because there is simply no way to create a market vacuum to test. The scientific method doesn't require laboratory controls; statistically controlled experiments are just as consistent with the scientific method. Now, there are branches of economics which are, more of less overtly, not empirical science but essentially theology, the Austrian school being the most well-known, overt example, and they and their practitioners tend not to be distinguished from those of empirical economics when covered by the mainstream media...