Methodological practice is at the heart of divisions between schools of macroeconomic thought. Jesper Jespersen s book explains why and precisely how, and gives the reader the insight to choose between rival approaches. His own inspiration comes from Critical Realism and Popper s Three World analysis, with Keynes as the main exponent of a realist approach. The starting point of realist theory is a view of how the world is, rather than axioms, and the test is whether the theory can make, as Jespersen puts it, the round trip back to reality , to give practical guidance to policy. This is only the focal point of a rich and attractive canvas. How I wish this book had been available when I taught methodology! And how I wish economists from all schools of thought would read it! Victoria Chick, University College London, UK This welcome volume by Jesper Jespersen offers an up-to-date realist approach to macroeconomics, drawing on recent developments in methodology, notably critical realism, as well as earlier Popperian ideas. He shows how economics in the Post-Keynesian tradition, using this approach, can address the important macro policy issues, and sets out a seven-point agenda for future theory development. This book provides an important launching-off point for addressing macroeconomic questions without the need for the abstractions as narrowly rational representative agents. Rather Jespersen explores the interdependencies between the macro and micro levels in real economic processes under conditions of uncertain knowledge. Sheila Dow, University of Stirling, UK Jesper Jespersen presents a treatise on the importance of the choice of methodology within macroeconomics. Given that no scientifically based macroeconomic policy recommendation should be established without an evaluation of the methods employed, this book gives a clear exposition of how proper macroeconomic analysis should be undertaken. Furthermore, it is convincingly argued that one of the lasting contributions of John Maynard Keynes was his emphasis on methodology; that macroeconomic consequences of uncertainty could not be analysed within the established general equilibrium framework. It is due to post-Keynesian economics supported by critical realism that the understanding of Keynes s methodology has been resurrected, which has eventually resulted in renewed debate on realistic macroeconomic policies to restore full employment without inflation. Macroeconomic Methodology is an inquiry into the question of how to conduct a proper scientific analysis of uncertainty within macroeconomics. It will be of great interest to scholars of the philosophy of social sciences and methodology, as well as post-Keynesian and heterodox economists.

Methodological practice is at the heart of divisions between schools of macroeconomic thought. Jesper Jespersen's book explains why and precisely how, and gives the reader the insight to choose between rival approaches. His own inspiration comes from Critical Realism and Popper's Three World analysis, with Keynes as the main exponent of a realist approach. The starting point of realist theory is a view of how the world is, rather than axioms, and the test is whether the theory can make, as Jespersen puts it, the "round trip back to reality", to give practical guidance to policy. This is only the focal point of a rich and attractive canvas. How I wish this book had been available when I taught methodology! And how I wish economists from all schools of thought would read it!'.

The Methodology of Empirical Macroeconomics stakes out a pragmatic middle-ground between traditional, prescriptive economic methodology and recent descriptive (sociological or rhetorical) methodology. The former is sometimes seen as arrogantly telling economists how to do their work and the latter as irrelevant to their practice. The lectures are built around a case study of a concrete example of macroeconomic analysis. They demonstrate that economic methodology and the philosophy of science offer insights that help to resolve the genuine concerns of macroeconomists. Some examples of questions addressed include: What is the relationship between theoretical models and empirical observations? What is the relevance of macroeconomics to policy? Should macroeconomics be viewed as a special case of microeconomics? What is the place of long-standing philosophical issues in macroeconomics, such as the scope and nature of economic laws, the role of idealizations, methodological individualism, and the problem of causality?

The last twenty years have witnessed tremendous advances in the mathematical, statistical, and computational tools available to applied macroeconomists. This rapidly evolving field has redefined how researchers test models and validate theories. Yet until now there has been no textbook that unites the latest methods and bridges the divide between theoretical and applied work. Fabio Canova brings together dynamic equilibrium theory, data analysis, and advanced econometric and computational methods to provide the first comprehensive set of techniques for use by academic economists as well as professional macroeconomists in banking and finance, industry, and government. This graduate-level textbook is for readers knowledgeable in modern macroeconomic theory, econometrics, and computational programming using RATS, MATLAB, or Gauss. Inevitably a modern treatment of such a complex topic requires a quantitative perspective, a solid dynamic theory background, and the development of empirical and numerical methods--which is where Canova's book differs from typical graduate textbooks in macroeconomics and econometrics. Rather than list a series of estimators and their properties, Canova starts from a class of DSGE models, finds an approximate linear representation for the decision rules, and describes methods needed to estimate their parameters, examining their fit to the data. The book is complete with numerous examples and exercises. Today's economic analysts need a strong foundation in both theory and application. Methods for Applied Macroeconomic Research offers the essential tools for the next generation of macroeconomists.

Just as macroeconomic models describe the overall economy within a changing, or dynamic, framework, the models themselves change over time. In this text Stephen J. Turnovsky reviews in depth several early models as well as a representation of more recent models. They include traditional (backward-looking) models, linear rational expectations (future-looking) models, intertemporal optimization models, endogenous growth models, and continuous time stochastic models. The author uses examples from both closed and open economies. Whereas others commonly introduce models in a closed context, tacking on a brief discussion of the model in an open economy, Turnovsky integrates the two perspectives throughout to reflect the increasingly international outlook of the field. This new edition has been extensively revised. It contains a new chapter on optimal monetary and fiscal policy, and the coverage of growth theory has been expanded substantially. The range of growth models considered has been extended, with particular attention devoted to transitional dynamics and nonscale growth. The book includes cutting-edge research and unpublished data, including much of the author's own work.

In recent years there has been a flowering of work on economic methodology. However there is no longer any consensus about which direction this should take or, indeed, even what the role and content of economic methodology should be. This book reflects this diversity. Its contributors are responsible for the major developments in this field and tog

Ever since the inception of economics over two hundred years ago, the tools at the discipline’s disposal have grown more and more more sophisticated. This book provides a historical introduction to the methodology of economics through the eyes of economists. The story begins with John Stuart Mill's seminal essay from 1836 on the definition and method of political economy, which is then followed by an examination of how the actual practices of economists changed over time to such an extent that they not only altered their methods of enquiry, but also their self-perception as economists. Beginning as intellectuals and journalists operating to a large extent in the public sphere, they then transformed into experts who developed their tools of research increasingly behind the scenes. No longer did they try to influence policy agendas through public discourse; rather they targeted policymakers directly and with instruments that showed them as independent and objective policy advisors, the tools of the trade changing all the while. In order to shed light on this evolution of economic methodology, this book takes carefully selected snapshots from the discipline’s history. It tracks the process of development through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, analysing the growth of empirical and mathematical modelling. It also looks at the emergence of the experiment in economics, in addition to the similarities and differences between modelling and experimentation. This book will be relevant reading for students and academics in the fields of economic methodology, history of economics, and history and philosophy of the social sciences.