The concept of bounded rationality has been at the forefront of a recent empiricist program in economics which under the heading of ‘behavioral economics ‘ seeks to broaden the rational choice paradigm in the direction of psychology, to the neglect of a similar broadening in the direction of sociology. While a small but increasing number […]
economic footnotes, left by Matthias Klaes. Main use: infrequent tracking of events, books, and WiP.
That Coase’s political convictions changed from an early socialism to a later neo-liberalism stands in apparent contrast to the theoretical consistency of his early (’The Nature of the Firm’) and later (’The Problem of Social Cost’) contributions to economics. Offering further evidence about his early views in particular, this paper takes a fresh look at Coase’s views on competition and antitrust to show that he consistently stressed the role of what we will call the principle of ‘institutional direction’, and that this principle involves an important criticism of both neo-liberal and socialist views on regulation and state intervention.
Electronic version: 2005-CampbellKlaes-CJE.pdf
Bibliographical details of final and authoritative version:
Campbell, D. and Klaes, M. 2005. The Principle of Institutional Direction: Coase’s Regulatory Critique of Intervention. Cambridge Journal of Economics 29(2): 263-88.
This chapter provides an introduction to historiographical reflection in the history of economics in the context of selected wider debates in general history, philosophy, and the history of science. Historiographical reflection in the history of economics can proceed in several directions. What is it that distinguishes history of economics from the history of science, for example, or from general history, cultural and social history, intellectual history, the philosophy and methodology of economics, economic history, and finally, economics itself? Related, although not strictly of a historiographical nature, are attempts to justify the pursuit of the history of economics, especially vis-à-vis the economics profession at large. On a more particular level, one may ask how the history of economics could be pursued, should be pursued, or is being pursued. Of this triad, the first inquiry typically takes the form of trying to identify dimensions by which histories of economics could differ from each other in principle. Historiographical debate has approached this question on the basis of various binary oppositions, such as relativist versus absolutist history, historical versus rational reconstruction, presentism versus contextualism, internal versus external, thick versus thin, or social versus conceptual history. After reviewing general historiography, and various strategies of arguing for the disciplinary relevance of history of economics, the chapter critically examines the apparent opposition of rational versus historical reconstruction and thus of absolutism and relativism in the history of economics, pointing to a crucial ambiguity in how historians of economics employ the notion of historical reconstruction.
Preprint: 2003-Klaes-Historiography.pdf
Bibliographical details of authoritative and final version:
Klaes, M. 2003. Historiography. In Warren J. Samuels, Jeff E. Biddle, and John B. Davis eds A Companion to the History of Economic Thought. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 491-506.
One important question regarding individual research strategy in scientific research is which explanatory categories of a given model or framework to maintained, revise, or discard at any given moment in time. On the one hand, this seems to be largely a question of ‘what works’ for the practicing scientist. On the other hand, economic research is a collective process. If the overall research process is of an evolutionary nature, the possibility becomes conceivable that the actual direction of collective conceptual development at any given research frontier follows a trajectory that no individual author in the field would support. These ‘invisible hand’ processes are the subject of this chapter. Based on two case studies, on the development of general equilibrium theory and on transaction cost economics, the chapter undertakes an empirical investigation of discursive formations in economics that display circular patterns of ‘development’, driven by the concptual dynamics of residual categories (Parsons) employed in these formations.
Preprint: 2003-Klaes-ResidualDynamics-preprint.pdf
Bibliographic details of authoritative and final version:
Klaes, M. 2003. Residual Categories and the Evolution of Economic Knowledge. In Hans S. Jensen, Lykke M. Richter, and Morten T. Vendelø eds The Evolution of Scientific Knowledge. Cheltenham: Elgar, pp. 37-56.
Reflexivity has been argued to be self-defeating and potentially devastating for the sociology of scientific knowledge. We first survey various meanings associated with the concept of reflexivity, and then provide an interpretation of Velázquez’ Las Meninas to generate a three-part taxonomy of reflexivity, distinguishing between ‘immanent’, ‘epistemic’, and ‘transcendent’ reflexivity. This provides the basis for engaging with reflexivity as a problem in the economic methodology literature, focussing on recent contributions to the topic by Hands, Sent, Mäki, and Mirowski. Employment of our taxonomy clarifies the similarities and differences between the various forms of reflexivity that can be identified or are addressed in these contributions. Our main argument is that a successful response to the malign aspects of reflexivity requires a simultaneous consideration of various levels of reflexivity, and relies on social-historical perspectives.
Electronic version: 2003-DavisKlaes-JEM.pdf
Bibliographic details of final and authoritative version:
Davis, J. and Klaes, M. 2003. Reflexivity: cure or cure? Journal of Economic Methodology 10(3): 329-52.
The adoption of telematics has at times proceeded at a painfully slow pace in public administrations and health authorities. This paper tells the story of the emergence and benefits of a telematic-based system in the Scottish health service: telemedicine in Edinburgh and Lothian community maternity care. It looks at the role of visions, the strategies adopted, the role of technology, and the tactics implemented to get through the fragile early days, creating new balances of power and favourable conditions for sustained growth. The paper sets out to assess the impact of the development of a telematic-based system in the Scottish health service and to draw out lessons beyond the particularity of the case of maternity care.
Preprint: 1999-KinderKlaesMolina-SPP-preprint.pdf
Bibliographical details of final and authoritative version:
Klaes, M. 1999. Sociotechnical Alignment in the Rise and Evolution of a Telemedicine Constituency in Scotland. Science and Public Policy 26(6): 415-35. With Tony Kinder and Alfonso Molina.
This article has been motivated by the inquiry of the National Heritage Committee of the British House of Commons into the price of compact discs in 1993. Its general thrust is to foster the dialogue between sociological approaches to the study of innovation and microeconomic theory. To do this, it presents a comprehensive case study of technological innovation in the market for recorded music in Britain. The material is analysed with aid of the ’sociotechnical constituencies’ approach recently proposed in this journal by Alfonso Molina, followed by a game theoretical analysis of competitive alignment between the dominant constituents. Using this interdisciplinary approach, the article argues that technological innovation may induce price rigidities by allowing the establishing of focal points for tacit collusion. The innovation of compact discs enabled the major record companies to redefine the overall price level to their advantage, after the industry had undergone a period of profit-squeezing price-competition. This has the important policy implication that radical product innovation may call for regulative changes in the techno-institutional structure of the market.
Preprint: 1997-Klaes-ResPol-preprint.pdf
Bibliographical details of final and authoritative version:
Klaes, M. 1997. Sociotechnical constituencies, game theory, and the diffusion of compact discs: An inter-disciplinary investigation into the market for recorded music. Research Policy 25(8):1221-34.