Contributions to the understanding of contemporary economics

Abstract

The article is a review of three important volumes published in the last few years by the American Economic Association. The author gives account of the frequently controversial reactions aroused, more specifically by one of the volumes, “A Survey of Contemporary Economics”. Summarising the views of some eminent writers (Stigler, Robertson) on the development of economic science in the last decades, the author considers that some of the remarks expressed are unduly pessimistic and seem to him unjustified by the present state of the science. In his opinion, the volumes reviewed make an important contribution to the understanding of contemporary economics and they point to the lines along which it is evolving, in a direction which coordinates theoretical analysis with practical testing.

JEL: A11, B31