Re-Examining Samuelson's Operationalist Methodology
26 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2018
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: Suggested Citation