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Thursday, March 27, 2014

'The Misuse of Theoretical Models in Finance and Economics'

 Stanford University's Paul Pfleiderer:

Chameleons: The Misuse of Theoretical Models in Finance and Economics, by Paul Pfleiderer, March 2014: Abstract In this essay I discuss how theoretical models in finance and economics are used in ways that make them “chameleons” and how chameleons devalue the intellectual currency and muddy policy debates. A model becomes a chameleon when it is built on assumptions with dubious connections to the real world but nevertheless has conclusions that are uncritically (or not critically enough) applied to understanding our economy. I discuss how chameleons are created and nurtured by the mistaken notion that one should not judge a model by its assumptions, by the unfounded argument that models should have equal standing until definitive empirical tests are conducted, and by misplaced appeals to “as-if” arguments, mathematical elegance, subtlety, references to assumptions that are “standard in the literature,” and the need for tractability.

    Posted by on Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:18 AM in Economics, Methodology | Permalink  Comments (21)


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