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    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help
      10 Jul 2020Working Paper Summaries

      Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help

      by Amar Bhidé
      This paper shows how tools, such as simulations used to design new technologies, can facilitate collaborative economic policy judgments. The paper forms part of a broader, ongoing study of knowledge in practical fields such as engineering, medicine, and business.
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      Author Abstract

      Keynes thought it would be ‘splendid’ if economists became more like dentists. Disciplinary economics has instead become more like physics in focusing on concise, universal propositions verified through decisive tests. This focus, I argue, limits the practical utility of the discipline because universal propositions form only a part of new policy recipes. I further suggest that, as in engineering and medicine, developing economic recipes requires eclectic combinations of suggestive tests and judgement. Additionally, I offer a detailed example of how a simulation model can help evaluate new policy combinations that affect the screening of loan applications.

      Paper Information

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      • Faculty Unit(s): General Management
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      Amar Bhide
      Amar Bhide
      Visiting Professor of Business Administration
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