Morgenstern's Forgotten Contribution: A Stab to the Heart of Modern Economics.

In contrast to physics, there is no estimate of statistical error within economics in spite of Oskar Morgenstern's book On the Accuracy of Economic Observation. The problem of error in economic observations is still a widely neglected problem. The various sources of error that come into play in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Journal of Economics & Sociology Vol. 70; no. 2; pp. 540 - 563
Main Author: Bagus, Philipp
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell April 2011
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:In contrast to physics, there is no estimate of statistical error within economics in spite of Oskar Morgenstern's book On the Accuracy of Economic Observation. The problem of error in economic observations is still a widely neglected problem. The various sources of error that come into play in the social sciences suggest that the error in economic observations is substantial. As the error might be substantial, this paper argues that the usefulness of econometrics becomes questionable. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.