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The 1-2-3 Toolbox of Mainstream Economics: Promising Everything, Delivering Nothing

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  • Bichler, Shimshon
  • Nitzan, Jonathan

Abstract

We write this essay for both lay readers and scientists, though mainstream economists are welcome to enjoy it too. Our subject is the basic toolbox of mainstream economics. The most important tools in this box are demand, supply and equilibrium. All mainstream economists – as well as many heterodox ones – use these tools, pretty much all the time. They are essential. Without them, the entire discipline collapses. But in our view, these are not scientific tools. Economists manipulate them on paper with impeccable success (at least in their own opinion). But the manipulations are entirely imaginary. Contrary to what economists tell us, demand, supply and equilibrium do not carry over to the actual world: they cannot be empirically identified; they cannot be observed, directly or indirectly; and they certainly cannot be objectively measured. And this is a problem because science without objective empirical tools is hardly science at all.

Suggested Citation

  • Bichler, Shimshon & Nitzan, Jonathan, 2021. "The 1-2-3 Toolbox of Mainstream Economics: Promising Everything, Delivering Nothing," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 98, pages 23-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:247777
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Douglas Fisher & Adrian R. Fleissig & Apostolos Serletis, 2006. "An Empirical Comparison of Flexible Demand System Functional Forms," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Money And The Economy, chapter 13, pages 247-277, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. David Colander, 2007. "Edgeworth's Hedonimeter and the Quest to Measure Utility," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0723, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    3. E. J. Working, 1927. "What Do Statistical "Demand Curves" Show?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 41(2), pages 212-235.
    4. Nitzan, Jonathan & Bichler, Shimshon, 2009. "Capital as Power. A Study of Order and Creorder," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 157973, July.
    5. Imad A. Moosa, 2017. "Econometrics as a Con Art," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 17257.
    6. Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
    7. David Colander, 2007. "Retrospectives: Edgeworth's Hedonimeter and the Quest to Measure Utility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 215-226, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Baines, Joseph & Hager, Sandy Brian, 2023. "Rentiership and Intellectual Monopoly in Contemporary Capitalism: Conceptual Challenges and Empirical Possibilities," EconStor Preprints 270981, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Mouré, Christopher, 2022. "No Shortage of Profit: Technological Change, Chip 'Shortages', and Capital Accumulation in the Semiconductor Business," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 262742, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    demand; econometrics; equilibrium; neoclassical economics; science; supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • D - Microeconomics
    • C18 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Methodolical Issues: General
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

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