Skip to main content

New Wine into Old Wineskins? Methodenstreit, Agency, and Structure in the Philosophy of Experimental Economics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Diversity of Experimental Methods in Economics

Abstract

Experiments have become part and parcel of today’s economics. Experimental evidence is used to update and to refute economic theories but also helps in formulating new theories or policies. Experimental evidence and (quasi)experimental designs are becoming increasingly popular in many fields of applied economics. The consequences of this transformation are deep enough to prompt methodological reflection at least as wide-ranging and radical, as the change itself. In this discussion, seemingly outdated distinctions may gain new significance and inspire more general questions on the structure and perspectives of current economic science.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amable, B., Boyer, R., & Lordon, F. (1997). The ad hoc in economics: the pot calling the Kettle Black. In A. D’Autume & J. Cartelier (Eds.), Is economics becoming a hard science? (pp. 252–275). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angrist, J. D., & Pischke, J.-S. (2010). The credibility revolution in empirical economics: How better research design is taking the con out of econometrics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Backhouse, R., & Cherrier, B. (2017). The age of the applied economist: The transformation of economics since the 1970s. History of Political Economy, 49(annual suppl.). 1–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callon, M., & Muniesa, F. (2007). Economic experiments and the construction of markets. In D. MacKenzie, F. Muniesa, & L. Siu (Eds.), Do economists make markets? On the performativity of economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greif, A. (1997). Cliometrics after 40 years. American Economic Review, 87(2), 400–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guala, F. (2007). How to do things with experimental economics. In D. MacKenzie, F. Muniesa, & L. Siu (Eds.), Do economists make markets? On the performativity of economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gul, F., & Pesendorfer, W. (2008). The case for mindless economics. In A. Caplin & A. Shotter (Eds.), The foundations of positive and normative economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hands, W. D. (2014). Normative ecological rationality: Normative rationality in the fast-and-frugal- heuristics research program. Journal of Economics Methodology, 21(4), 396–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamermesh, D. (2013). Six decades of top economics publishing: Who and how? Journal of Economic Literature, 51(1), 162–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henrich, J., Boyd, R., Bowles, S., Camerer, C., Fehr, E., & Gintis, H. (Eds.). (2004). Foundations of human sociality: Economic experiments and ethnographic evidence from fifteen small-scale societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann-Pillath, C. (2016). Performative mechanisms. In I. Boldyrev & E. Svetlova (Eds.), Enacting dismal science: new perspectives on the performativity of economics. Palgrave McMillan: New York, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korinek, A. (2017). Thoughts on DSGE Macroeconomics: Matching the moment, but missing the point? Available at SSRN https://ssrn.com/abstract=3022009.

  • Lee, K. S. (2011). Three ways of linking laboratory endeavours to the realm of policies. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 18(5), 755–776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plott, C. R. (1991). Will economics become an experimental science? Southern Economic Journal, 57, 901–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rizvi, S. A. T. (1994). Game theory to the rescue? Contributions to Political Economy, 13(1), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, A. C. (2007). The ‘materials’ of experimental economics: Technological versus behavioral experiments. Journal of Economic Methodology, 14, 311–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, A. C. (2011). Experimental economics. In J. B. Davis & W. D. Hands (Eds.), The Elgar companion to recent economic methodology. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugden, R. (2005). Experiments as exhibits and experiments as tests. Journal of Economic Methodology, 12, 291–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ivan Boldyrev .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Boldyrev, I. (2019). New Wine into Old Wineskins? Methodenstreit, Agency, and Structure in the Philosophy of Experimental Economics. In: Kawagoe, T., Takizawa, H. (eds) Diversity of Experimental Methods in Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6065-7_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6065-7_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-6064-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-6065-7

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics