Jared Bernstein: Economics is not Science

Posted by admin on Sunday, December 11, 2016

Jared Bernstein Money Quote saying there’s a complexity to the art of economics that prevents a purely scientific outcome of policy – so Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick Steven Mnuchin’s stated goal of 3.5% to 4% sustained economic growth may be excessive optimism. Jared Bernstein said:
 

 

“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, because it’s economics and not science” — Jared Bernstein

 

 

In this quote, Jared Bernstein seems to be acknowledging the limitations of economics as a social science compared to hard sciences like physics or chemistry.

When Bernstein says economics is “not science”, he likely means that unlike natural sciences where hypotheses can be definitively proven or disproven through controlled experiments, economics deals with human behaviors, institutions and policies that cannot be isolated and studied in a laboratory setting with all variables controlled.

His comment implies that while certain economic theories aim to be predictive, the complex realities of markets and societies introduce uncertainties that prevent absolutely certain outcomes.

Overall, the quote conveys Bernstein’s perspective that economics possesses an element of uncertainty, since human factors introduce variability not present when studying natural phenomena – so he is reluctant to characterize anything as “impossible” within the field.

U.S. economic growth of 3.5% per year? "I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, because it’s economics and not science" https://t.co/rFMLR4Hxed

— Real Time Economics (@WSJecon) December 11, 2016

Categories: fairness Tagged:economicsjared bernstein