essay on economics as a science

An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science

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An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science by Lionel Robbins first appeared in 1932 as an outstanding English-language statement of the Misesian view of economic method, namely that economics is a social science and must advance its propositions by means of deductive reasoning and not through the methods used in the natural sciences. The case is argued here with patience and attention to scholarly detail. This is the original first edition where Robbins adheres to Austrian microeconomic theory.

“Reading Robbins,” writes Samuel Bostaph of the University of Dallas,

“is an excellent way of contrasting his explanation of the basic nature of economics with that of the Austrian School, as found in the work of Mises as an extension of Carl Mengers’s foundations. Such a reading wonderfully clarifies one’s understanding of the basic conception of economics as a science of human action, rather than one of mere ‘economizing.’”

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Lionel Charles Robbins (1898-1984) was one of the leading English economists of the twentieth century. His An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science (1932) is as an outstanding statement of the Misesian view of economic method; that is, namely, that economics is a social science and must advance its propositions by means of deductive reasoning and not through the methods used in the natural sciences. Robbins’ The Great Depression (1934) brilliantly applies the Austrian theory of the business cycle to explain the depression—which, he notes, was of unprecedented severity.

Introduction by Professor Lionel Robbins 12/11/2017 • Lionel Robbins Narrated by Jim Vann.

The Twofold Roots of the Great Depression: Inflationism and Intervention 10/01/2010 • Mises Daily • Lionel Robbins [From The Burden of Plenty (1935), edited By Graham Hutton.] I want to start by saying something about the phrase “poverty in plenty” of which we hear so much. I cannot help thinking that it may be...

The Economic Causes of War 08/10/1968 • Lionel Robbins Robbins’ analysis here presented has still a place in the rational discussion of the possible causes of war. It fits very well the period of history in regard to which the Marxian theories here discussed were originally elaborated.

London: Macmillan, 1932. First Edition.

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Blog of the Young Scholars Initiative

Economics as a Science?

$Economics a Science$

By Johnny Fulfer.

Is economics a science?

Could it be? Should it be? The debate is as alive today as it was in the early twentieth century. This article reviews some of the key arguments in the discussion and provides a helpful backdrop against which to rethink the purpose of economics today.

In 1906, Irving Fisher argued that economics is no less scientific than physics or biology. All three aim to discover “scientific laws,” he explained. Even though they may not always be represented in reality, scientific laws are considered fundamental truths in nature. Newton’s first law of motion, for instance, cannot be observed. Only if certain circumstances were met, a body would move uniformly in a straight line. The same holds true for economic science, Fisher concluded.

But not everyone agreed. The discipline was charged with unsound methods.

Specifically, economists were accused of using the deductive method without the necessary level of precision. Jacob Hollander addressed the charges in a 1916 essay . Scientific inquiry involves uniformity and sequence, Hollander maintained. Progression in science relies on the formation of hypotheses, which may at some point become ‘laws.’ Observation and inference are the first steps toward the creation of hypotheses. The final step in the scientific process is verification, which is required before we move from theory to law. Without verification, he argued, “speculation is an intellectual gymnastic, not a scientific process.”

Hollander’s work reveals one of the questions at the heart of this debate: Is verification required, and even possible, given the complexities of economic phenomena? Scholars have the disposition to rely on the works of previous thinkers, Hollander argued , without endeavoring to move beyond familiar perspectives.

This question lives on today.

In a 2013 opinion piece for the New York Times, Stanford economist Raj Chetty argues that science is no more than testing hypotheses with precision. Large macroeconomic questions — such as the cause of recessions or the origin of economic growth — “remain elusive.” This is no different than large questions faced by the medical field, such as the pursuit to cure cancer, he explains. The primary limitation of economics , Chetty argues, is that economists have a limited ability to run controlled experiments for theoretical macroeconomic conclusions. The high monetary cost and ethical standards make these types of controlled experiments impractical. And even if we could run a controlled experiment, it may not matter in the long run, for social changes.

In a 2016 essay, Duncan Foley added to the conversation. He argued that the distinctions between the social and natural sciences are not clear. Both come from the same scientific revolution, and both are influenced by values. The notion that scholars in the natural sciences “pursue truth” is a flawed assumption, Foley argues. Scholars in the natural and social sciences choose which problems to solve and the methodology they use.

This choice involves values since a scholar must value one research project more than another.

Examining the scientific nature of economics, John F. Henry explains that neoclassical economic theory holds a position of influence in society because of its universal and abstract nature. Henry maintains that we should reexamine this assumption of universality. If economics is based on subjective values, how can it be considered universal? Should economists continue making ‘progress toward a more scientific structure of knowledge? This leads us to ask how we define progress. There is no end to this debate.

It seems unproductive to continue asking such questions. Rather than debating whether economics is or is not a science, perhaps we should shift the discussion toward questions that ask why economics needs to be a science in the first place. Where does this desire to be ‘scientific’ come from, and why is it so important for economics to be considered scientific? Perhaps the real issue is the determination to make economics a science.

About the Author : Johnny Fulfer received a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in History from Eastern Oregon University. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in History at the University of South Florida and has an interest in political economy, the history of economic thought, intellectual and cultural history, and the history of the human sciences and their relation to the power in society.

4 thoughts on “Economics as a Science?”

Economics is a human invention, unlike quantum mechanics which is a human interpretation of the fabric of the universe at the Planck scale.

Economics is the lingua franca of human public policies. If you don’t speak economics forget about influencing policies in any way shape or form.

The debate about economics being a science or not is a complete cognitive dissonance, as useful as tits on a bull, imho.

Only recently has macroeconomics become a true science–before that it has been seen as a pseudo-science without sufficient of the recognized features of true science to qualify. And several economists have even been complaining about this unsavory fact. But somehow they did virtually nothing in trying to make it a better way for our understanding of how or society functions.

One school of thought said that since the subject is so complicated, we need lots of computing using huge amounts of data and a means of reducing this, but when they programmed for it the results were still too complicated, for us mere mortals to come to terms with and the pseudo preface stuck. At this point it needed an engineer to approach the problem and not a programmer.

That ex-engineer was myself, and my recent book about it does at last transfer our “dismal science” into a true one. After many years of part-time study and research, I finally managed to express it properly in my recent book: “Consequential Macroeconomics–Rationalizing About How Our Social System Works”. The methodology is logical, simple, sensible and profound. It is closely related to past ways but in a rather different attitude setting–and the results are somewhat surprising, even I did not believe some of the first numerical output data, but it is true! Politicians and old-school economists will object without knowing why!

As an idealist who wishes for most scientific knowledge to be freely available, my book is offered here, if and when you write to me for a free e- copy to [email protected]

Why would we take the word of an economist on whether economics is a science? Ask a scientist. Science isn’t about “laws” it is a method, for understanding the cosmos, by using repeatable methods, with accuracy and precision. It also relies heavily on statistics and probabilities. When you learn statistics, you learn that it is important to state your assumptions. Economics teaches us that our assumptions do’t matter,or are always right. Economics has a long way to go to be accepted as science, but cointinues to do much harm in the meantime. It’s like the Jesuits clinging to their beloved Euclidean geometry and refusing to countenance the “heresey” of Galileo.

It may be unproductive to ask whether economics should be a science. But whatever one’s views on this question, it is surely valuable for economists to learn from the sciences, especially a science “like biology, [which also] deals with a matter, of which the inner nature and constitution, as well as the outer form, are constantly changing”, as Marshall wrote a century ago. After all, biology has developed a substantial and secure body of knowledge about the living world and how it works (far more than was available in Marshall’s time). We should aim at a similar success in understanding the economy.

What I find interesting (but not very encouraging) in this debate is that it goes straight from “Observation and inference are the first steps toward the creation [of] hypotheses. The final step in the scientific process is verification” (Hollander) to focusing only on verification and testing. This leaves out the equally important – but typically overlooked – need for economic theory to be based on “Observation and inference”. In other words, the view that our theoretical ideas should come from examination of the real world, not from our imagination as made manifest in assumptions and axioms. It is what I call “evidence-based economics”, and doing it is not as difficult as it may sound! – see my website ( https://evidence-based-economics.org/ ) for some examples both of substantive economic analyses and of economic methodology.

Disclaimer: before becoming an economist, I worked as a research biologist in epidemiology, and before that was trained in human physiology. It means that I understand how natural scientists generate secure knowledge – and how this is often misrepresented by traditionalist economists (and philosophers of science).

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Essay On The Nature And Significance Of Economic Science

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Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science

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Essay on Nature and Significance of Economic Science

Students are often asked to write an essay on Nature and Significance of Economic Science in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Nature and Significance of Economic Science

Understanding economic science.

Economic Science is the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable goods and services and distribute them among different people. It’s significant as it helps us make decisions about wealth and scarcity.

The Nature of Economic Science

Economic Science is both qualitative and quantitative. It involves studying patterns, trends, and behaviors in the economy. It’s a social science because it involves people and their economic activities.

Significance of Economic Science

Economic Science helps us understand how economies work. It aids in making informed decisions about managing resources, production, and distribution. It’s crucial for policy-making and economic growth.

250 Words Essay on Nature and Significance of Economic Science

Introduction to economic science.

Economic science, or economics, is an essential discipline that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It provides a framework for understanding the workings of economies, from individual households to global markets.

Nature of Economic Science

Economic science is both positive and normative. The positive aspect involves the objective analysis of economic phenomena, focusing on ‘what is’. Conversely, the normative aspect is subjective, dealing with ‘what ought to be’, and is based on values and judgments. Economics also has a dual nature as a social and an applied science. As a social science, it studies human behavior and societal interactions. As an applied science, it utilizes mathematical and statistical tools to analyze and predict economic trends.

The importance of economic science cannot be overstated. It aids in understanding the complexities of economic systems and provides tools for decision-making at individual, corporate, and governmental levels. It helps in formulating policies, planning economic activities, and promoting overall economic development.

In conclusion, economic science is a vital tool for navigating the complexities of our modern world. It provides a lens through which we can understand and predict economic phenomena, thereby enabling informed decision-making and policy planning. Its significance lies in its ability to guide us towards the path of economic prosperity.

500 Words Essay on Nature and Significance of Economic Science

Economic Science, often referred to as economics, is a social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It studies how individuals, businesses, governments, and nations make choices on allocating resources to satisfy their needs and wants, and determines how these groups should organize and coordinate efforts to achieve maximum output.

Economic science is primarily concerned with the choices that societies make regarding the allocation of resources. Its nature is twofold: it is both a science and an art. As a science, it employs scientific methods to establish theories and laws about economic behavior and the operation of economies. As an art, it applies these theories and laws to solve practical problems and guide policy-making.

Economic science is also both positive and normative. Positive economics deals with what is or what has been, focusing on cause-effect relationships and making factual statements. For example, if the price of a commodity rises, its demand falls. On the other hand, normative economics deals with what ought to be, prescribing solutions based on value judgments. For instance, suggesting that the government should provide free healthcare to all citizens is a normative statement.

The significance of economic science can hardly be overstated. It forms the basis for understanding the functioning of economies and guides policy-making at various levels.

Firstly, economic science helps in understanding the economic problems of an economy and formulating logical solutions to them. It provides the tools to analyze the costs and benefits associated with different policy options, thus aiding in decision-making.

Secondly, economic science plays a crucial role in the efficient use of resources. Through the principles of economics, societies can decide on the optimal allocation of resources to maximize output and minimize waste.

Thirdly, economic science is instrumental in understanding and predicting market trends. It helps businesses and investors make informed decisions by providing insights into consumer behavior, market structures, and economic indicators.

Finally, economic science contributes to social welfare by addressing issues like poverty, unemployment, and income inequality. It provides a framework for designing policies that promote economic stability, growth, and equity.

In conclusion, economic science, with its unique blend of theoretical and practical aspects, plays a pivotal role in shaping the economic landscape of societies. It provides a framework for understanding the complex dynamics of economies, making informed decisions, and promoting social welfare. Its significance is evident in every sphere of life, from personal finance to global economic policy-making. Therefore, a thorough understanding of economic science is essential for anyone interested in the workings of economies and the broader social context.

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