Foundations of Economic Method

Lawrence A. Boland is Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has published widely within economic methodology and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

• Prologue: Understanding the Methodology of EconomicsPart 1: The 'Hidden Agenda' of Neoclassical Economics1. The problem of Induction vs. the Problem with Induction2. The Explanatory Problem of IndividualismPart 2: The Visible Agenda of Neoclassical Economics3. Rationality vs. Maximization4. Maximization and Game TheoryPart 3: Critical Applied Methodology5. Ideal-Type Methodology and Intrumentalism6. Psychologistic-Individualism and the Methodology of New Institutional Economics7. Equilibrium-based Explanations vs. Individualism8. Imperfect Knowledge vs. Imperfect Behaviour9. From Macroseconomics to Evolutionary Game Theory10.Time and Evolution in Economic TheoryPart 4: A Critique of Traditional Economic Methodology11.Intrumentalism vs. Conventionalism: Against Rule-based Methodology12.Optimistic and Defeatist Conventionalism13.Falsifiability without Popper an the AgendaPart 5: Putting Popper on the Agenda14.Understanding Popper's Theory of Science15.Situational Analysis and Neocalssical ExplanationPart 6: Applied Methodology for Economics Model Building16.Knowledge and Learning in Economic Models17.Individualism and Social Knowledge18.Obstacles to Building Realistic ModelsEpilogue: Problem-oriented Methodology: towards a Popperian 'small-m' Methodology of Economics