The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook

The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook is the first book in a new series by Andrew Caplin and Andrew Schotter. There is currently no guide available on the rapidly changing methodological frontiers of the field of economics. Economists have been introducing new theories and new sources of data at a remarkable rate in recent years, and there are widely divergent views both on how productive these expansions have been in the past, and how best to make progress in the future. The speed of these changes has left economists ill at ease, and has created a backlash against new methods. The series will debate these critical issues, allowing proponents of a particular research method to present proposal in a safe yet critical context, with alternatives being clarified. This first volume, written by some of the most prominent researchers in the discipline, reflects the challenges that are opened by new research opportunities. The goal of the current volume and the series it presages, is to formally open a dialog on methodology. The editors' conviction is that such a debate will rebound to the benefit of social science in general, and economics in particular. The issues under discussion strike to the very heart of the social scientific enterprise. This work is of tremendous importance to all who are interested in the contributions that academic research can make not only to our scientific understanding, but also to matters of policy.

"Should economics take account of neuro-physiological data? Can subjective states of mind play a useful role in economic analysis? These and other provocative questions are examined and debated in this fascinating volume of essays from some of the deepest thinkers in contemporary economics." ---Eric Maskin, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Institute for Advanced Study

"I have an especially high opinion of Caplin and Schotter. I think they are among the most creative economists around. This initiative reflects that creativity."---George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Koshland Professor of Economics, University of California at Berkeley

"Are you puzzled by the implications of behavioral economics? Are we in the throes of a paradigm shift? Is neoclassical economics refuted? Economic methodology has never been more disputed. If you want to be part of the debate, this book is the place to start."---Ken Binmore, University College London

"This beautifully produced book has enough analytical detail to interest the most demanding microeconomist, but by skipping the heavy math (there's not much), the interested researcher outside economics (including philosophy) will find this a rich and tumultuous glimpse into the current state of microeconomic theory facing a barrage of criticism from a new breed of "neuroeconomists."---Herbert Gintis, Professor, Santa Fe Institute

Andrew Caplin is professor of economics at New York University and the co-director of NYU's Center for Experimental Social Science.
Andrew Schotter is professor of economics at New York University and the Director of NYU's Center for Experimental Social Science.