A comment on: Daniel B. Klein and Pedro P. Romero, “Model Building versus
Theorizing: The Paucity of Theory in the Journal of Economic Theory,”
Econ Journal Watch 4(2), May 2007: 241-271. Link.
‘Model’ is a ubiquitous term in economics, and a term with a variety
of meanings.
—Kevin Hoover 1995, 33.
***
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful
tone, “it means what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you CAN make words mean
so many different things.”
—Lewis Carroll 1871, 188
What do contemporary economists mean by the terms “theory”
and “model”? Of course, the meaning of those terms is known by every economist,
just as Humpty Dumpty presumably knows precisely what he means. But is the
term “theory” in fact a matter of broad consensus among economists? Ditto for
the term “model.” The Hoover epigraph above suggests the answer may be “no.”
Klein and Romero’s recent (2007) interesting article in this journal sparked