Starting with a realist ontology the economic methodologist, Tony Lawson, argues that econometrics is a failed project. Apparently more sympathetic to econometrics, the philosopher of science, Nancy Cartwright, again from a realist perspective, nonetheless argues for conditions of applicability that are so stringent that she must seriously doubt the usefulness of econometrics. In this paper, I reconsider Lawson's and Cartwright's analyses and argue that realism supports rather than undermines econometrics properly interpreted and executed.
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Paper provided by California Davis - Department of Economics in its series Department of Economics with number
97-28.
Length: Date of creation: Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:fth:caldec:97-28
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