Evidence-Based Economics : Issues and Some Preliminary Answers

Abstract: This paper presents an outline of a methodology of ‘evidence-based economics’. The question whether an economic statement is evidence-based must be answered on three different levels. The first level concerns measurement: it asks whether claims made about economic quantities such as inflation, unemployment, growth or poverty are justified by the data and measurement procedures. The second level concerns induction: it asks whether claims made about the relations between economic quantities (such as ‘number of babies born predicts growth’, ‘change in money causes change in monetary income’, ‘non-borrowed reserves can be used to control the interest rate’), are justified by the inference procedures. The third level concerns idealisation: it asks whether the quantities and relations selected are justified by the stated aim of the inquiry. The paper provides a discussion of these three types of investigation and of some solutions that have been offered.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Evidence-Based Economics ; volume:26 ; number:2 ; year:2004 ; pages:346-363 ; extent:18 ; Analyse & Kritik ; 26, Heft 2 (2004), 346-363 (gesamt 18)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Reiss, Julian

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/auk-2004-0202
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2404171611489.855344149125
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:55 AM CEST