標題: Principles of Economics [打印本頁]
Benjamin M. Friedman - Principles of Economics.pdf
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Most kinds of intellectual endeavor hold out the prospect of a particular satisfaction, that associated with expanding the possibilities for thinking about ourselves and the world in which we live. Economics is no exception. To be sure, economics does have its particularities—an idiosyncratic mixture of a priori theorizing and data-based empiricism, a commitment to apply the scientific method despite the inability to carry out replicable or even controlled experiments, a closeness to certain contentious political issues, and so on—and as economists we are rightly aware of them. But in the end it is the similarity to other avenues of the intellectual enterprise that is more compelling, including not just the physical sciences but history, philosophy, and even literature and the arts. As a consequence, the core principles of what makes for good economics are probably pretty similar to the route to finding satisfaction in most other intellectual pursuits: Have an agenda, and know why it's important. Be awake; look around. Be ambitious but not over-ambitious. Have staying power. Decide who is the audience, and leam how to reach it. Keep things in perspective.