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Origins and Development of the Trend Toward Value-Free Economics

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  • Drakopoulos, S. A.

Abstract

The idea of value-free economics is an old methodological issue. It has given rise to one of the most important controversies in the history of economic thought. The discussion was important because it had to do with the scientific nature of economics. One can still find a significant number of methodological works (e.g. Coddington 1972, Gordon 1977, Samuels 1977, Sugden 1981, Colander 1994) which echo this old controversy. Most economists today, though, would agree that the claim of an economic theory free from values is essential in establishing the scientific nature of the discipline. A positive, value-free economics, in the sense of not relying on any particular set of value judgments or on any philosophical or psychological framework, is generally seen as the ideal. This approach has crucially influenced important branches of economics such as microeconomic theory. The current established position was a product of a historical process which played a significant role in the formation of the body of economic theory. Furthermore, the idea of what is value-free economics has changed since its first introduction as a scientific ideal. The nature of this change is also important for understanding the present conception of the scientific character of economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Drakopoulos, S. A., 1997. "Origins and Development of the Trend Toward Value-Free Economics," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 286-300, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:jhisec:v:19:y:1997:i:02:p:286-300_00
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stavros A. Drakopoulos, 1989. "The Historical Perspective of the Problem of Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(4), pages 1-1, April.
    2. Leamer, Edward E, 1983. "Let's Take the Con Out of Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(1), pages 31-43, March.
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    4. Thomas Mayer, 1992. "Truth versus precision in economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 307.
    5. Philip Mirowski, 1991. "The When, the How and the Why of Mathematical Expression in the History of Economic Analysis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 145-157, Winter.
    6. Donald Winch, 1972. "Marginalism and the Boundaries of Economic Science," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 325-343, Fall.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stavros A. Drakopoulos, 2024. "Value Judgements, Positivism and Utility Comparisons in Economics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 423-437, January.
    2. Stavros Drakopoulos & Ioannis Katselidis, 2015. "From Edgeworth to econophysics: a methodological perspective," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 77-95, March.
    3. Stavros, Drakopoulos, 2021. "The Relation of Neoclassical Economics to other Disciplines: The case of Physics and Psychology," MPRA Paper 106597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2014. "Mathematical Psychics and Hydraulics: The Methodological Influence of Edgeworth and Fisher," MPRA Paper 52981, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2023. "The Economics of Wellbeing and Psychology: An Historical and Methodological Viewpoint," MPRA Paper 117891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2007. "Normative Issues In Marginalism: The Case Of P. Wicksteed," MPRA Paper 6684, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2010. "The history of the mainstream rejection of interdependent preferences," MPRA Paper 23980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Drakopoulos, Stavros A. & Katselidis, Ioannis, 2017. "The Relationship between Psychology and Economics: Insights from the History of Economic Thought," MPRA Paper 77485, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. James E. Alvey, 2011. "A Short History of Ethics and Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12674.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • B00 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General - - - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology

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