Re-Examining Samuelson's Operationalist Methodology

26 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2018

See all articles by D. Wade Hands

D. Wade Hands

University of Puget Sound - Department of Economics

Date Written: February 5, 2018

Abstract

During the heyday of discussion about Milton Friedman's 1953 methodology paper, Samuelson's operationalism was often discussed as the primary competitor to Friedman's position. Although Friedman's paper continues to be discussed - albeit at a steadily decreasing rate - Samuelson's account of economic methodology has all but disappeared from the literature. This paper offers a re-examination of Samuelson's account. Why a re-examination now? There are many reasons, but I will focus on just two. The first is that the historical research on Samuelson has exploded since his death in 2009, primarily because of the extensive archival material he left behind. The second is Samuelson's revealed preference theory; it is methodologically relevant because Samuelson insisted it was an exemplar of his operationalist approach.

Keywords: Samuelson, Operationalism, Economic Methodology

JEL Classification: B31, B41

Suggested Citation

Hands, D. Wade, Re-Examining Samuelson's Operationalist Methodology (February 5, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3118070 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3118070

D. Wade Hands (Contact Author)

University of Puget Sound - Department of Economics ( email )

Tacoma, WA 98416

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