Universität Wien

040032 UK Methodology of Economics (BA) (2020W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Moodle

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 25 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

Mittwoch 07.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 14.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 21.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 28.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 04.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 11.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 18.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 25.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 02.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 09.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 16.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 13.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 20.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock
Mittwoch 27.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 10 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 2.Stock

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

As a student of economics, you sooner or later ask yourself the question how the models that you learn during the study program are related to the world we live in. Clearly, economic models only reflect at best some of the factors that are relevant in the world we live in. This then raises important questions, such as:
• Do economic models provide useful insight in how the economy functions?
• How can we assess the fruitfulness of these insights?
• If economic models clearly only partially reflect the world we live in, how can they explain or predict?
• What is the role of econometrics or experiments in testing economic models?
• What is the role of rationality assumptions and equilibrium assumptions? Why are they used?
• Is it important that macroeconomics has microeconomic foundations? If so, why?
• Is there “progress” in economic knowledge acquisition?
• How to think about “mainstream economics” and other “schools”? Has “mainstream economics” evolved?
• To what extent is economics different from other natural and/or social sciences?

The purpose of this course is to address these questions. Many economists and philosophers have provided their views and opinions. This course is meant to get acquainted with these views and to use them to get a better understanding of the different roles economic models play.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

The aims of this course can only be realized if students are active in presenting and discussing ideas. The assessment criteria reflect this. During the lectures, students have to present at least one time the literature that is assigned for that week, and have to act at least one time as discussant. Apart from presenting or discussing, students have also to be actively involved in the general discussion. 50% of the final grade is determined by these three different elements (presentation 25%, discussion 10%, active participation 15%). The other 50% is assigned to a final essay in which the student should apply the literature that we discussed to a specific economic model the student can choose.
Work on the final essay is organized as follows. A student writes a half-page proposal. This proposal is either accepted or is asked to be rewritten. The student then writes an essay of at most 10 pages. The essay has to have a clear introduction where the question is posed the essay addresses. There is a subsequent analysis and a separate conclusion. Deadline for the essay is February 20, 2019.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

Students should have an evaluation on each and every part of the assessment criteria to get a final grade. Students should also be present at least 9 out of the 12 sessions and read the relevant material in advance of the lecture.

Prüfungsstoff

There will not be a midterm or a final exam. Instead, students should show they have read and thought about the literature.

Literatur

Lecture 1. General Introduction: the type of questions we will address
Literature: Krugman, Paul R. 2009. “How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?” The New York Times Magazine, September 2. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html.

Lecture 2. Introduction to Philosophy of Economics
Literature: Hausman, D. 1984. The Philosophy of Economics: An Anthology. Cambridge UP, chapter 1. J.S. Mill. 1836. On the definition and method of political economy. Excerpt from “On the definition of political economy and the method of investigation proper to it.

Lecture 3. Friedman’s Essay
Literature: Friedman, M. 1953. The Methodology of Positive Economics. In Essays of positive economics, pp. 3-43.

Lecture 4. Credible Worlds
Literature: Sugden, Robert (2000), ‘Credible Worlds: The Status of Theoretical Models in Economics’, Journal of Economic Methodology, 7 (1), 1 – 31.
Gibbard, A. and H. Varian. 1978. Economic Models. Journal of Philosophy 75, pp. 664-77.

Lecture 5. Nature’s Capacities. Are they relevant for Economics?
Literature: Cartwright, Nancy (2009), ‘If no capacities then no credible worlds’, Erkenntnis, 70 (1), 45-58.

Lecture 6. Economics Rules
Literature: Rodrik, D. 2015. Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science. Norton.

Lecture 7. Is Game theory empirically empty and if so, can it be still useful?
Literature: Alexandrova, Anna. (2006) “Connecting Economic Models to the Real World: Game Theory and the FCC Spectrum Auctions.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences 36.2: 173-192.

Lecture 8. Does Macroeoconomics need Microfoundations?
Literature: Janssen, M. 1993. Microfoundations. Routledge, chapters 2-4, Janssen, M. 2008, `Microfoundations’ in S. Durlauf and L. Blume (eds.). The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. MacMillan. Hoover, K. Reductionism in Economics: Intentionality and Eschatological Justification in the Microfoundations of Macroeconomics" (Philosophy of Science 2015),

Student Presentations in Lectures 9-12.
Take a classic paper in economics and discuss its (ir)relevance for explaining real world phenomena and/or for the development of economic science. Examples from previous years will be provided to get an idea what is expected.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Letzte Änderung: Mo 07.09.2020 15:19