Abstract
‘Positive economics’ refers to the view that economic theories consistent with all conceivable observations are empirically empty and that empirically useful theories need to be consistent with existing observations (thus passing the ‘sunrise test’) and predict something new. It is neither logical positivist, nor operationalist, nor naïve falsificationist; nor is it based on strict dichotomies between positive and normative statements and between positive analysis and normative advice. It rejects the views that theories can assist understanding the world without making refutable statements about it; that theories can be criticized only on their own terms; and that all distinctions inhibit useful discourse.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Archibald, G. 1961. Chamberlain versus Chicago. Review of Economic Studies 29: 316–327.
Archibald, G. 1967. Refutation or comparison? British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 17: 279–296.
Blaug, M. 1992. The methodology of economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Blaug, M. 1998. The positive–normative distinction. In The handbook of economic methodology, ed. J. Davis, D. Hands, and U. Maki. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Caldwell, B. 1982. Beyond positivism: Economic methodology in the twentieth century. London: Allen and Unwin.
de Marchi, N. 1988. Popper and the LSE economists. In The popperian legacy in economics, ed. N. de Marchi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Friedman, M. 1953. The methodology of positive economics. In Essays in positive economics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hahn, F. 1984. Equilibrium and macroeconomics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Hodgson, G. 2001. How economists forgot history: The problem of historical specificity in social science. London: Routledge.
Hutchison, T. 1938. The significance and basic postulates of economic theory. London: Macmillan.
Hutchison, T. 1992. Changing aims in economics. Oxford: Blackwell.
Klappholz, K., and J. Agassi. 1959. Methodological prescriptions in economics. Economica 26: 60–74.
Lind, H. 2007. The story and the model done: An evaluation of mathematical models of rent control. Regional Science and Urban Economics 37: 183–198.
Lipsey, R.G. 1963. An introduction to positive economics, 1st edn. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Lipsey, R.G. 1964. Positive economics in relation to some current trends. Journal of the Economics Association 5: 365–371. Reprinted in Lipsey (1997).
Lipsey, R.G. 1975. An introduction to positive economics, 4th edn. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. The page referenced is reprinted in Lipsey (1997).
Lipsey, R.G. 1981. Economists, policy makers and economic policy. In Economic policy making in Canada, ed. D. Smith. Montreal: C.D. Howe Institute. Reprinted in Lipsey (1997).
Lipsey, R.G. 1997. The selected essays of Richard Lipsey. Volume I: Microeconomics, growth and political economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Lipsey, R.G. 2001. Successes and failures in the transformation of economics. Journal of Economic Methodology 8: 169–201.
Lipsey, R.G., K. Carlaw, and C. Bekar. 2005. Economic transformations: General purpose technologies and long-term economic growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Robbins, L. 1935. An essay on the nature and significance of economic science, 2nd edn. London: Macmillan.
Samuelson, P. 1948. Foundations of economic analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wong, S. 1978. The foundations of Paul Samuelson’s revealed preference theory: A study by the method of rational reconstruction. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Lipsey, R.G. (2018). Positive Economics. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1382
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1382
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences