> > "Why might the inattention to modern economics be so systematic?" (ERW) > > Is in your opinion this inattention the result of a conscious choice by > contemporary historians of economics, or is it not feasible, for a variety > of reasons, at all to research many modern topics? If it is mostly the > former, then it is not "inattention" in the first place, but conscious > neglect. (Nunio Palma) > I have had to check back several times to confirm my original post, as I don't recognize my questions in most replies. I thus fear that I was unclear. First, I have the utmost regard for Malcolm Rutherford and his important work, but his work does not touch on the recent major changes in economics, namely those associated with the move from post WWII formal modeling to current empirical modeling, that the modern NBER fostered and which now defines modern (1980ish onwards) economics. This is the subject of Warsh's piece, which generated my query, but which article seems not to have been considered in any responses. (Burns of course is ancient history with respect to the kinds work based on purposive behavior and simple supply and demand frameworks.) David Colander has been trying to open this new kind of work up to arguments about how modern empirical microeconomics is and is not congruent with what is taught in microeconomics textbooks, but he seems to be almost alone in doing so in our HET community. (I wonder if that is because his continuing work on the sociology of Ph.D programs in the US keeps him in touch with what is being taught in those programs.) Nunio Palma asks the appropriate question then. Certainly it is not feasible to "research" these issues the way one "researches" Ricardo's theory of machinery. This point is well-understood in the history of science, namely that the historiography of contemporary science is different from the historiography of older science. Thus, using Palma's words, the "inattention" and "conscious neglect" may come to the same thing. The question remains, though: why? E. Roy Weintraub