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The enduring relevance of the model Platonism critique for economics and public policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2012

DARRELL ARNOLD  and
FRANK P. MAIER-RIGAUD
DARRELL ARNOLD
Affiliation:
Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Global Studies, St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, FL, USA
FRANK P. MAIER-RIGAUD*
Affiliation:
OECD Competition Division, Paris France, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany and Department of Economics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
*
*Email: frank.maier-rigaud@oecd.org, maier-rigaud@microeconomics.de
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Abstract:

The article briefly introduces Hans Albert and the basic elements of his critique of neoclassical economics as a form of ‘model Platonism’. The two most important elements of his general methodological critique of economics – namely the institutional vacuum inherent in much economic modelling and its unrealistic assumptions about behaviour – are introduced. It is argued that these specific critiques have been taken up with varying degrees of success in areas of economic research such as institutional economics and in behavioural and experimental research programmes. However, the fundamental methodological gist of his critique remains as pertinent to mainstream economics as it was when originally formulated. The influence of ‘model Platonic’ thinking remains pervasive in academia and also in public policy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 289 - 294
Copyright
Copyright © Millennium Economics Ltd 2012

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Footnotes

We would like to thank Viktor Vanberg and Geoffrey Hodgson for valuable comments on an earlier version.

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