----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- THE METHODOLOGY OF POSITIVE ECONOMICS Milton Friedman's Essay at 50 Two-day CONFERENCE in Rotterdam, the Netherlands 12 - 13 December, 2003 Register now! Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics (EIPE) Theme and Speakers Milton Friedman's "The Methodology of Positive Economics" [F53] was published in 1953. This essay of just 43 pages is generally acknowledged to be the most important piece of methodological writing in 20th century economics, and it remains the most influential and controversial statement about the philosophical foundations of economic theorising. During the last half a century, a large number of commentaries of F53 have been published. Yet, after all these decades, it is fair to say that the case is not closed: the economics profession remains divided between those who espouse Friedman's basic ideas and those who oppose them; while experts in the philosophy of economics remain divided about how best to go about interpreting and assessing the message of F53. The conference brings together the best expertise available to produce a collective assessment of F53 on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Papers have been specifically commissioned on carefully circumscribed topics so as to complement one another and taken together to cover the major topics that F53 itself addresses or generates. They cover topics such as the role of assumptions and predictions, causation and explanation, mathematical formalism and the nature of empirical evidence, developments in the theories of rationality and the firm. The list of contributors includes Roger Backhouse, Daniel Hammond, Wade Hands, Kevin Hoover, Arjo Klamer, Deirdre McCloskey, Uskali Maki, Tom Mayer, Melvin Reder, Chris Starmer, Jack Vromen, and Oliver Williamson. The contributors have been asked to put themselves in the shoes of a 21st century reader wishing to check by herself what to make of F53. In the light of [1] the contents of the essay; [2] the historical and intellectual context of the essay; and [3] the later developments of economics and its methodology - what is she advised to think of its descriptive and prescriptive adequacy? Answering such questions will teach us a lot about economics, its development and its methodology. For the registration form and further information, see http://www.eur.nl/fw/philecon/Friedman53.html or mail [log in to unmask] ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]