IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/128760.html

Is Economics a Science?

Author

Listed:
  • Obregon Diaz, Carlos Federico

Abstract

This paper analyzes the epistemological status of economics by distinguishing between ideological content, closed formal systems, and scientific cores within economic theory. It introduces a methodological framework (disentangle) to evaluate the scientific validity of different schools of thought. The analysis demonstrates that economic theories become scientific only when they generate refutable hypotheses, engage with empirical data, and are grounded in real institutional and social belonging structures. The Economics of Belonging is presented as an institutional framework capable of integrating valid insights from different traditions while explaining economic development, crises, and inequality through belonging regimes and middle-class formation.

Suggested Citation

  • Obregon Diaz, Carlos Federico, 2026. "Is Economics a Science?," MPRA Paper 128760, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:128760
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/128760/1/MPRA_paper_128760.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    2. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giuseppe Garofalo, 2014. "Irreducible complexities: from Gödel and Turing to the paradigm of Imperfect Knowledge Economics," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 3463-3474, November.
    2. Willem H. Buiter, 2003. "James Tobin: An Appreciation of his Contribution to Economics," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(491), pages 585-631, November.
    3. Sorrell, Steve, 2015. "Reducing energy demand: A review of issues, challenges and approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 74-82.
    4. Ronald Schettkat, 2022. "The Behavioral Economics of John Maynard Keynes," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 21192.
    5. Ilyash Olha & Smoliar Liubov & Doroshkevych Dariia & Yildirim Osman & Vasylciv Taras & Lupak Ruslan, 2020. "Evaluation of enterprise investment attractiveness under circumstances of economic development," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 47(47), pages 95-113, March.
    6. Audi, Marc & Ali, Amjad & Fayad Hamadeh, Hani, 2022. "Nexus among innovations, financial development and economic growth in developing countries," MPRA Paper 115220, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Yan Li & David Ahlstrom, 2020. "Risk-taking in entrepreneurial decision-making: A dynamic model of venture decision," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 899-933, September.
    8. Erixon, Lennart, 2001. "Transformation Pressure and Growth - a Missing Link in Macroeconomics," Research Papers in Economics 2001:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    9. Richters, Oliver & Siemoneit, Andreas, 2019. "Growth imperatives: Substantiating a contested concept," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 126-137.
    10. Ronald Schettkat, 2020. "Micro-Foundations of Diverging Economic Policies: Keynesian, Behavioural, Neoclassic," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 55(2), pages 105-111, March.
    11. Oliver Richters & Andreas Siemoneit, 2018. "The contested concept of growth imperatives: Technology and the fear of stagnation," Working Papers V-414-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2018.
    12. Brendan Markey-Towler, 2021. "Psychology of evolutionary economic behaviour," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 361-383, September.
    13. Erixon, Lennart, 1998. "The Theory of Transformation Pressure - a New Perspective on Growth and Economic Policy," Research Papers in Economics 1998:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    14. Javier Lopez Bernardo, 2016. "A post-Keynesian theory for the yield on equity markets," Working Papers PKWP1613, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    15. Borges da Silva, Eduardo & Moreno Cordeiro de Sousa, Alexandre, 2022. "Avaliação econômico-financeira de fintechs no mercado brasileiro: o caso INTER [Economic and financial evaluation of fintech in the Brazilian market: the case of INTER]," MPRA Paper 115509, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Font, Montserrat Costa, 2011. "Mapping social and environmental concerns and the acceptability of genetically modified organisms in the European Union," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 903-908.
    17. Vindigni, Andrea, 2023. "Alberto Alesina (1957-2020): Man, Researcher, Professor of Economics, Popularizer," IZA Discussion Papers 16486, IZA Network @ LISER.
    18. J. Farmer & Cameron Hepburn & Penny Mealy & Alexander Teytelboym, 2015. "A Third Wave in the Economics of Climate Change," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 329-357, October.
    19. António Afonso & Eduardo Rodrigues, 2026. "Financial Literacy and Saving Behavior: Global Cross-Sectional Evidence," Working Papers REM 2026/0403, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    20. Kemp, R. & van den Bergh, J., 2006. "Economics and Transitions: Lessons from Economic Sub-disciplines," MERIT Working Papers 2006-038, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    JEL classification:

    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • B50 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - General
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:128760. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.