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A Realist Philosophy of Economics

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EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Economic theory relies heavily on the idea of rational action, but how are we to understand the empirical content of rational choice w...
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  • 24 October 2023
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EPUB and EPDF available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Economic theory relies heavily on the idea of rational action, but how are we to understand the empirical content of rational choice when we can only observe the outcome, not what goes into making the choice?

With contributions from Alan Kirman and Rod O'Donnell, Karl Mittermaier's posthumously published work establishes a new conceptual framework that will enable economic theorists to forge new paths of empirical analysis.

Introducing readers to the work of a profound thinker who was not recognized in his lifetime, this book, featuring previously unpublished material, is poised to become a seminal text in the philosophy of social sciences.

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Price: $119.95
Pages: 204
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Imprint: Bristol University Press
Publication Date: 24 October 2023
ISBN: 9781529234404
Format: Hardcover
BISACs: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Theory, Economic theory and philosophy, PHILOSOPHY / Methodology, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, Philosophy of science, Philosophy: epistemology and theory of knowledge
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"Seldom will an almost-lost time capsule from 50 years ago have been as prescient, original and thought-provoking as this book. This is a significant contribution to the methodology of economics that anyone with even a passing interest in the subject should read." Jochen Runde, University of Cambridge
Karl Mittermaier (1938–2016) was affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for over thirty years until 2002 when he retired.

Foreword - Isabella Mittermaier

Extended Preface: A Realistic Attitude to the Economy - Alan Kirman

Prologue: Mittermaier’s Conceptual Framework - Rod O’Donnell

1. Institutions and the Empirical Content of Economics

2. Ex Post and Ex Ante Facts

3. Structure and Equilibrium

4. Rational Action

5. Variant Conceptions of Preferences

6. The Genetic Understanding and Institutions