The Nature and Method of Economic Sciences: Evidence, Causality, and Ends argues that economic phenomena can be examined from five analytical levels: a statistical descriptive approach, a causal explanatory approach, a teleological explicative approach, a normative approach and, finally, the level of application.

The above viewpoints are undertaken by different but related economic sciences, including statistics and economic history, positive economics, normative economics, and the 'art of political economy'. Typically, positive economics has analysed economic phenomena using the second approach, causally explaining and often trying to predict the future evolution of the economy. It has not been concerned with the ends selected by the individual or society, taking them as given. However, various new economic currents have emerged during the last 40 years, and some of these do assign a fundamental role to ends within economics. This book argues that the field of positive economics should adapt to deal with the issues that arise from this. The text attempts to discern the nature of economic phenomena, introducing the different approaches and corresponding economic sciences. It goes on to analyse the epistemological characteristics of these in the subsequent chapters, as well as their disciplinary interrelations.

This book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of the social sciences, philosophy, and the philosophy of economics. It will also be of interest to those researching political economy and the development of economic thought.

About the Author

Ricardo F. Crespo is Professor at the IAE Business School, Universidad Austral, Argentina, and at the Philosophy Department, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina. He is also a Researcher at CONICET (Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research).

Reviews

"The Nature and Method of Economic Sciences is an interesting and original introduction to various debates in the philosophy of economics written by a very knowledgeable scholar. As a good Aristotelian philosopher, Crespo surveys a wide range of viewpoints and often concludes in favour of a reasonable middle ground...[T]he clear and discursive style is a refreshing alternative to the unequivocal presentation typical of textbooks." - Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

"The Nature and Method of Economic Sciences is a timely, intriguing and original book. It comes out at an appropriate time, characterized by a deep cultural crisis that is not merely economic, but also political and ethical...[It] challenges the economist to reconsider the robustness of the categories of thought stemming from the received view. Finally, Crespo is to be credited for his methodological approach that allowed him to manufacture a narrative that usefully blends economics and philosophy, history of thought and sociology, anthropology and politics." - Stefano Zamagni, Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi

"Every student and researcher in the field of social sciences and especially in economics, should feel the disturbing mobilization of ideas that this book provokes. The clear style and the consistency of its proposals, with a support of classic, modern and contemporary references, help us to understand the foundations and contributions for a necessary debate on the economy science, oriented to human development in a contemporary society." - Francisco Lavolpe, Applied Research in Quality of Life

"It is an excellent read that succeeds in bridging together in-depth discussions of both history of economic thought (including history of economic methodology) and contemporary philosophy of science. In my opinion, this alone suffices to recommend the book." -- Mariusz Maziarz, Oeconomia

Book Information
ISBN 9781032173627
Author Ricardo F. Crespo
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 326g