04096nam 2200601Ia 450 991046550640332120200520144314.00-674-06552-20-674-06883-110.4159/harvard.9780674065529(CKB)2560000000082516(OCoLC)794004265(CaPaEBR)ebrary10568033(SSID)ssj0000654436(PQKBManifestationID)11435540(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000654436(PQKBWorkID)10660745(PQKB)11454692(MiAaPQ)EBC3301089(DE-B1597)178217(OCoLC)816331434(DE-B1597)9780674065529(Au-PeEL)EBL3301089(CaPaEBR)ebr10568033(EXLCZ)99256000000008251620111012d2012 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrThe assumptions economists make[electronic resource] /Jonathan SchleferCambridge, Mass. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press20121 online resource (376 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-674-05226-9 Includes bibliographical references (p.[317]-330) and index. Frontmatter -- Contents -- A Personal Note -- One. The Metaphor of the Invisible Hand -- Two. What Do Economists Do? -- Three. In Search of a Model -- Four. Economics When Society Matters -- Five. Chasing a Chimera -- Six. Utopia -- Seven. This Imperfect World -- Eight. Entering the Realm of Production -- Nine. What Caused Income Inequality? -- Ten. Understanding an Uncertain World -- Eleven. In the Long Run -- Twelve. In the Short Run -- Thirteen. The Puzzle of the Golden Age of Capitalism -- Fourteen. Economies in Crisis -- Fifteen. Thinking about Economies -- Notes -- References -- IndexEconomists make confident assertions in op-ed columns and on cable news-so why are their explanations often at odds with equally confident assertions from other economists? And why are all economic predictions so rarely borne out? Harnessing his frustration with these contradictions, Jonathan Schlefer set out to investigate how economists arrive at their opinions. While economists cloak their views in the aura of science, what they actually do is make assumptions about the world, use those assumptions to build imaginary economies (known as models), and from those models generate conclusions. Their models can be useful or dangerous, and it is surprisingly difficult to tell which is which. Schlefer arms us with an understanding of rival assumptions and models reaching back to Adam Smith and forward to cutting-edge theorists today. Although abstract, mathematical thinking characterizes economists' work, Schlefer reminds us that economists are unavoidably human. They fall prey to fads and enthusiasms and subscribe to ideologies that shape their assumptions, sometimes in problematic ways.Schlefer takes up current controversies such as income inequality and the financial crisis, for which he holds economists in large part accountable. Although theorists won international acclaim for creating models that demonstrated the inherent instability of markets, ostensibly practical economists ignored those accepted theories and instead relied on their blind faith in the invisible hand of unregulated enterprise. Schlefer explains how the politics of economics allowed them to do so. The Assumptions Economists Make renders the behavior of economists much more comprehensible, if not less irrational.EconomicsEconomistsElectronic books.Economics.Economists.330Schlefer Jonathan1949-894466MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910465506403321The assumptions economists make2459810UNINA00971nam0 22002531i 450 UON0039731520231205104640.76620110920d1930 |0itac50 baitaIT|||| |||||LisippoPericle DucatiRomaIstituto Nazionale LUCE1930 - 10 p.24 c. di tav.ill. ; 16 cm.dono BregliaIT-UONSI JFONDO BREGLIAART/013001UON003973102001 ˆL'‰arte per tutti13ITBergamoUONL000244DUCATIP.UONV058102663171Istituto Nazionale LUCEUONV278544650ITSOL20240220RICASIBA - SISTEMA BIBLIOTECARIO DI ATENEOUONSIUON00397315SIBA - SISTEMA BIBLIOTECARIO DI ATENEOSI J FONDO BREGLIA ART 013 SI MC 34176 7 013 dono BregliaLisippo1347623UNIOR