Macroeconomics after the crisis: time to deal with the pretense-of-knowledge syndrome

"In this paper I argue that the current core of macroeconomics —by which I mainly mean the so-called dynamic stochastic general equilibrium approach— has become so mesmerized with its own internal logic that it has begun to confuse the precision it has achieved about its own world with the prec...

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Main Authors: National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Caballero, Ricardo J.
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, MA 2010
NBER
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19183518124919017909-Macroeconomics-after-the-crisi.htm
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author National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Caballero, Ricardo J.
author_facet National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Caballero, Ricardo J.
collection Library items
description "In this paper I argue that the current core of macroeconomics —by which I mainly mean the so-called dynamic stochastic general equilibrium approach— has become so mesmerized with its own internal logic that it has begun to confuse the precision it has achieved about its own world with the precision that it has about the real one. This is dangerous for both methodological and policy reasons. On the methodology front, macroeconomic research has been in “fine-tuning” mode within the local-maximum of the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium world, when we should be in “broad-exploration” mode. We are too far from absolute truth to be so specialized and to make the kind of confident quantitative claims that often emerge from the core. On the policy front, this confused precision creates the illusion that a minor adjustment in the standard policy framework will prevent future crises, and by doing so it leaves us overly exposed to the new and unexpected."
format TEXT
id 19183518124919017909_e5f72b84a87945ecb4cce27f11fee4cf
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19183518124919017909_e5f72b84a87945ecb4cce27f11fee4cf
is_hierarchy_title Macroeconomics after the crisis: time to deal with the pretense-of-knowledge syndrome
language English
physical 23 p.
Digital
publishDate 2010
publisher Cambridge, MA
NBER
spellingShingle National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Caballero, Ricardo J.
economic recession
economic research
macroeconomics
Macroeconomics after the crisis: time to deal with the pretense-of-knowledge syndrome
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=115300293358
title Macroeconomics after the crisis: time to deal with the pretense-of-knowledge syndrome
topic economic recession
economic research
macroeconomics
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19183518124919017909-Macroeconomics-after-the-crisi.htm