Economic methodology is the study of methods, especially the
scientific method
The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article hist ...
, in relation to
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...
, including principles underlying economic reasoning. In contemporary English, 'methodology' may reference theoretical or systematic aspects of a method (or several methods).
Philosophy and economics
Philosophy and economics studies topics such as public economics, behavioural economics, rationality, justice, history of economic thought, rational choice, the appraisal of economic outcomes, institutions and processes, the status of highly ide ...
also takes up methodology at the intersection of the two subjects.
Scope
General
methodological issues include similarities and contrasts to the
natural sciences and to other
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the o ...
and, in particular, to:
* the
definition of economics
* the scope of economics as defined by its methods
* fundamental principles and operational significance of economic theory
*
methodological individualism versus
holism
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED ...
in economics
* the role of simplifying assumptions such as
rational choice and
profit maximizing in explaining or predicting phenomena
* descriptive/
positive,