Defining Economics: The Long Road to Acceptance of the Robbins Definition

Abstract

Robbins' "Essay" gave economics a definition that came to dominate the professional literature. This definition laid a foundation that could be seen as justifying both the narrowing of economic theory to the theory of constrained maximization or rational choice and economists' ventures into other social science fields. Though often presented as self-evidently correct, both the definition itself and the developments that it has been used to support were keenly contested. This paper traces the reception, diffusion and contesting of the Robbins definition, arguing that this process took around three decades and that even then there was still significant dissent. Copyright (c) The London School of Economics and Political Science 2009.

Modular modelling of public interventions impact on the level of poverty

“…Chociaż były one przedmiotem krytyki nurtów pobocznych, wysunięto twierdzenie, że metody ekonomii neoklasycznej mają lepsze walory naukowe, zatem powinny zostać przyjęte przez większość nauk społecznych lub wszystkie nauki społeczne (Rothschild, 2008). Ekonomia stopniowo stawała się dominującą dyscypliną w naukach społecznych, a ekonomiści ortodoksyjnego nurtu ekonomii zaczęli stosować swoje metody badawcze także do wyjaśniania problemów uznawanych do tej pory za pozaekonomiczne (Backhouse, Medema 2009), badane do tej pory przez przedstawicieli innych nauk społecznych (filozofię, psychologię, socjologię, politologię). Zostało to określone mianem imperializmu ekonomicznego 6 , który zapoczątkowany w późnych latach 50.…”

Recent Engagements with Adam Smith and the Scottish Enlightenment

“…Richard Wagner (2014) and Vernon Smith (2013b) share concerns that the marginal revolution in economics has been "more negative than positive […] because it led to the replacement of economics as social theory with economics as a theory of rational choice (Wagner 2010)" (Wagner 2014, p. 16; see also Backhouse and Medema 2009a;Backhouse and Medema 2009b). Similarly, Sheila Dow (2009) Understanding the appropriateness of our own conduct follows a similar mechanism, especially for Adam Smith.…”

Axiomatic Choice Theory Traveling between Mathematical Formalism, Normative Choice Rules and Psychological Measurement, 1944-1956

“…19 While the direct influence of Robbins's definition on how economics as a discipline developed is debatable, it has frequently been considered to be a turning point that enabled and accompanied several currents in economics, which have typified the development of axiomatic choice theory in 20th century economics. Backhouse and Medema (2009c;2009b) And finally, they saw a difficulty in the kind of mathematical tools economists used to formulate their problems. The offering of mere mathematical assertions ("which are really no discipline or problem and thereby becomes empirically inspired too.…”