The Discipline of Economics

Abstract

This is the text of the first Morishima Lecture at the LSE, and it investigates in particular two distinct priorities that are both important for the discipline of economics. One priority is that of "separation" with a focus on segregating distinct questions sharply, and then analyzing them separately. A very different priority is that of "integration" which looks particularly for interrelations between distinct issues. It is argued, with illustrations, that some of the major battles within the methodology of economics have been connected with the conflicting priorities of the two. The discipline, however, needs both.