8 quotes
Homo economicus is an implausible caricature, but a highly productive one, and no useful alternative has yet been found.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
Economists can often be remarkably obtuse, failing to see things that are right in front of them. But sometimes a bit of obtuseness is not entirely a bad thing.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
The irony... is that high development theory was right.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
The problem is that there is no alternative to models. We all think in simplified models, all the time. The sophisticated thing to do is not to pretend to stop, but to be self-conscious—to be aware that your models are maps rather than reality.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
A temporary evolution of ignorance, a period when our insistence on looking in certain directions leaves us unable to see what is right under our noses, may be the price of progress, an inevitable part of what happens when we try to make sense of the world's complexity.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
Consider John Kenneth Galbraith or Lester Thurow, both leading economists in the view of the general public, both with all the formal qualifications, both totally ignored by the academic mainstream. Or consider Robert Mundell, who is still revered for his contributions to international monetary theory, yet whose later incarnation as the father of supply-side economics has similarly been ignored.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
Any interesting model of economic geography must exhibit a tension between two kinds of forces: "centripetal" forces that tend to pull economic activity into agglomerations, and "centrifugal" forces that tend to break up such agglomerations or limit their size.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)
Many of those who reject the idea of economic models are ill-informed or even (perhaps unconsciously) intellectually dishonest. Still, there are highly intelligent and objective thinkers who are repelled by simplistic models for a much better reason: they are very aware that the act of building a model involves loss as well as gain.
Development, Geography, and Economic Theory (1995)