This paper argues that mainstream economics does not follow the positivist research tradition it (often implicitly) claims to follow and expresses some serious doubt that econometrics in particular can make economics a hard science. Mathematical rigour and sophisticated statistical techniques...

In dem so geschichtsträchtigen Jahr 1848 erschienen John Stuart Mills 'Principles of Political Economy - with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy'. Die 150. Wiederkehr dieses Ereignisses von nachhaltigem Einfluß auf das ökonomische, ja auf das gesellschaftspolitische Denken in...

Dieser Band präsentiert weitere zehn Beiträge aus der Arbeit des Evolutorischen Ausschusses, die den Untersuchungsgegenstand der Evolutorischen Ökonomik, den wirtschaftlichen Wandel, aus verschiedenen Perspektiven analysieren. Jeder Beitrag wird von einem Korreferat begleitet, das die...

Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie Wissenschaft als Wissenschaft in einer Gesellschaft wirksam werden kann, wenn die Ideen der öffentlichen Meinung über die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten der Gesellschaftspolitik entscheiden. Die These dieses Beitrags lautet, dass Ludwig von Mises‘...

This paper studies a model of how political parties use resources for campaigning to inform voters. Each party has a predetermined ideology drawn from some distribution. Parties choose a platform and campaign to inform voters about the platform. We find that, the farther away parties are from...

We suggest a probabilistic voting model where voters' preferences for alternative public goods display habit formation. Current policies determine habit levels and in turn the future preferences of the voters. This allows the incumbent to act strategically in order to influence the probability...

I develop a model of ideologies as collectively sustained (yet individually rational) distortions in beliefs concerning the proper scope of governments versus markets. In processing and interpreting signals of the efficacy of public and market provision of education, health insurance, pensions,...

We develop a dynamic model of political competition. Each party has a policymotivated ideological wing and an office-motivated opportunistic wing. A blockade arises if inner-party conflict stops policy implementation. We use this model to study whether early elections should be used to overcome...