What is economics? Attitudes and views of German economists

Frey, Bruno S.; Humbert, Silke; Schneider, Friedrich

doi:10.1080/13501781003792688

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…There is evidence that the Europeans are more open toward nonmainstream views (see, for instance, the papers in the 1995 Kyklos special issue (Frey and Frey )). Yet the results from a recent survey reported in Frey, Humbert, and Schneider () suggest that German‐speaking economists favor the neoclassical school of thought by and large. Moreover, it emerges that respondents appreciate the contributions of Anglo‐Saxon economists much more than their fellow compatriots' contributions.…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Are Mainstream and Heterodox Economists Different? An Empirical Analysis

Maio

2013

American J Econ Sociol

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We explore the differences between mainstream and heterodox economists based on the responses to a questionnaire from a representative sample of Italian economists. Using different definitions for mainstream and heterodox economics, we compare the individual and academic characteristics of the economists belonging to these groups. We measure the within and between disagreement for each group and we test whether belonging to one or the other group predicts differences in economists' opinions on economic policy. Results show that: 1) mainstream and heterodox economists differ as to individual and academic characteristics and political views; 2) the disagreement within heterodox economics is lower than within mainstream economics; 3) some of commonly used ways of grouping heterodox and mainstream schools of thought have little explicative power in relation to individual opinions; 4) on critical economic policies, the opinions of heterodox and mainstream economists are significantly different even after controlling for a number of individual characteristics, including political opinions

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Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Are Mainstream and Heterodox Economists Different? An Empirical Analysis

Maio

2013

American J Econ Sociol

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“…Enste et al (2009) ask, whether notable difference to the beliefs of economic "layman" exist. In this context the political and general beliefs of economists and their interaction with policy advice have been of interest (Schneider et al, 2007;Frey et al, 2010). The process of educating economists is an evergreen topic in the literature (see, e.g., Colander, 2005Colander, , 2003, which has become subject of critical scrutiny in the aftermath of the financial crisis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theories, Techniques and the Formation of German Business Cycle Forecasts

Döpke

Fritsche

Waldhof

2019

Jahrbücher Für Nationalökonomie Und Statistik

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We report results of a survey among active forecasters of the German business cycle. Using data for 82 respondents from 37 different institutions, we investigate what models and theories forecasters subscribe to and find that they are pronounced conservative in the sense that they overwhelmingly rely on methods and theories that have been well-established for a long time, while more recent approaches are relatively unimportant for the practice of business cycle forecasting. DSGE models are mostly used in public institutions. In line with findings in the literature there are tendencies of “leaning towards consensus” (especially for public institutions) and “sticky adjustment of forecasts” with regard to new information. A stable relationship between preferred theories and methods and forecast accuracy cannot be established.

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“…At the same time, several economic schools of thought deviate partly from some of the core neoclassical assumptions but tend to remain in the scientific rationales of mainstream economics (mathematical-deductive models and positivism) -what Colander et al (2004) call the "edge of the mainstream" (see also Dequech, 2007). Furthermore, "ordoliberalism" is a specifically German school of thought based around the central tenet of a competitive, marketbased society which is ensured by the policy of order ("Ordnungspolitik") of the state (Frey et al, 2010;Ptak, 2009). Heterodox economic approaches, on the other hand, reject the central axioms of neoclassical economics and are characterised by a methodological openness to less formally mathematical methods of scientific inquiry .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%