This book is an examination of the nature of economic explanation. The opening chapters introduce current thinking in the philosophy of science and review the literature on methodology. Professor Blaug then turns to the troublesome question of the logical status of welfare economics, giving the reader an understanding of the outstanding issues in the methodology of economics. This is followed by a series of case studies of leading economic controversies, whose purpose is not to settle substantive questions on which economists disagree, but rather to show how controversies in economics may be illuminated by paying attention to questions of methodology. A final chapter draws the strands together and gives the author’s view of what is wrong with modern economics.

This is a revised and updated edition of a classic work on the methodology of economics, in which Professor Blaug develops his discussion of the latest developments in macroeconomics, general equilibrium theory, and international trade theory. A new section on the rationality postulate is also added.

馬剋·布勞格(1927~2011 )，著名經濟學史傢，倫敦大學名譽教授，白金漢大學顧問

闡述瞭經濟學方法論的定義、範圍、作用及其應用的教訓,考察瞭現代科學哲學的成果，概述瞭西方經濟學方法論的演講，並把所得的理論結論具體運用與一係列的案例研究來總結經驗，作齣綜閤評分