----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 
[ Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 13:19:57 EST  
  From: [log in to unmask] ] 
 
I would like to add another perspective to the ongoing interesting debate. 
It is true that mainstream economics deals with institutions, history, 
dynamic processes, preference evolution and host of other "institutional" 
concerns. But the difference between the way they do it and the way old 
institutionalism (including their present-day followers) would approach the 
same subjects is not merely a matter of individualism vs. culture. 
Extremely important is method. 
 
Mainstream economics (a term that doesn't require substantive agreement 
over theory and thus may include Stiglitz as well as Lucas; economic 
historian and experimentalists might be excluded) build models.  they can 
deal with whatever problem they wish (from child-bearing to lottery 
planning, from development to labor relations) as long as they specify the 
actors, their information, their preferences and the rules of the 
game.  They can even define "culture" in this way and discuss its 
significance.  This approach may lead to interesting insights, or -- as 
others would say -- may yield misleading and/or irrelevant answers. 
 
Whatever we think about mainstream economics, it keeps out many other 
research strategies and numerous other exciting findings that would be 
published in JEI or outside the discipline (e.g., in sociology, political 
science, business and management science journals).  Given the allocation 
of resource (financial resources, public attention, prestige and political 
connections) between MS economics and all other views and approaches, it is 
obvious that the impact of MS economics is much greater than that of 
others, not because it is better science but due to this allocation. 
 
Yuval Yonay 
 
------------------------------------------------------ 
Yuval Yonay 
Department of Sociology and Anthropology 
University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa 
(972-4) 824-0016; Fax: (972-4) 824-0819 
Home: 6 Shaar Hagai, 34554 Haifa, (972-4) 824-7854 
 
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