From methodological diversity to theoretical mainstream, then to the Empirical Turn: half a century of evolution in economic science

Due to health reasons affecting speaker Michel De Vroey, the event has been CANCELED and postponed to a later date.

HiPhiS (History & Philosophy of Science) lecture by Michel De Vroey, economist and historian of economic thought, professor emeritus at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). Free admission.

HiPhiS – Inter-university Seminar on the History and Philosophy of Science
2024 Cycle: Questions of scale? Different perspectives.

Created in 2009 and supported by Montpellier universities and the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme de Montpellier, HiPhiS is a high-level inter-university seminar on contemporary science, which aims to draw the attention of the entire university community (teachers and students) to the interdisciplinary interest and philosophical issues of the research carried out in the teams and laboratories of our universities, as well as in the international scientific community.

The HiPhiS 2024 cycle is supported by the Research MIPS (Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Systems) Research Center.

HiPhiS contacts: Delphine Bellis / Laurent Boiteau / Viviane Durand-Guerrier

Summary

This historical overview is organized around three taxonomies. The first is a triad (Theory without Measurement, Theory and Measurement, Measurement without Theory) that we associate with three distinct periods : (i) from 1945 to 1970, then (ii) until the 1990s, and finally (iii) to the present day. The second taxonomy contrasts works according to whether or not they meet mainstream conditions (a concept understood as being methodologically sound). The third taxonomy contrasts two understandings of the object of economic theory: the study of how the market economy works vs. the study of decision-making in the economic field. These theses have been tested empirically, and we find the results of this exercise to be generally positive.