tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198942534740642384.post6856279889572828374..comments2023-10-24T03:16:41.009-07:00Comments on Econometrics Beat: Dave Giles' Blog: The History of Econometrics - An Alternative ViewDave Gileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05389606956062019445noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2198942534740642384.post-9893986022656418822013-12-20T15:42:42.661-08:002013-12-20T15:42:42.661-08:00Judea Pearl sent me the following, to be posted as...Judea Pearl sent me the following, to be posted as a comment:<br />Thanks for posting this interesting thesis of Annie Cot.<br />I agree with the author that the history of<br />econometrics, when written by econometricians,<br />suffers from the problem of "reflexivity", or<br />lack of objective perspectives. I therefore ask<br />permission to interject an outsider's<br />perspective into this discussion and express my opinion,<br />as an amateur philosopher,<br />that the history of economics need be written after <br />economists converge on a consensus regarding the aims of their<br />endeavor and what methods advance them toward those<br />aims. My readings into the current economic literature<br />and my conversations with numerous economists<br />told me that such convergence has<br />yet to be achieved. I have documented my observations<br />in the three articles below, one of which (2) was discussed on<br />this blog..<br />1.<br />http://ftp.cs.ucla.edu/pub/stat_ser/r391.pdf<br />2.<br />http://ftp.cs.ucla.edu/pub/stat_ser/r395.pdf<br />3.<br />http://ftp.cs.ucla.edu/pub/stat_ser/r400.pdf<br /><br />As I argue in (1), there is an objective logic,<br />and an objective language, withing which one can characterize <br />the aims and achievements of a field like econometrics.<br />This logic has yet to be understood, let alone accepted,<br />by economists and, until this happens, the history of economics<br />will continue to suffer from "reflexivity".<br /><br />Just to demonstrate how far we are from convergence,<br />consider the question "What is an<br />economic model?" . I would like to raise this<br />question for discussion on this blog,<br />and observe the diversity of opinions.<br /><br />To start the discussion, the Wikipedia's<br />definition of ``Econometric Models'' reads (February 18, 2012):<br />``An econometric model specifies the statistical relationship<br />that is believed to hold between the various economic<br />quantities pertaining to particular economic phenomena<br />under study.''<br /><br />Appreciating the opportunity to post here.<br />Best wishes,<br />Judea PearlDave Gileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05389606956062019445noreply@blogger.com