Why Do Economists Persist in Using False Theories?

It is easy to establish that many of the core theories used by Economists are false. For example, there is overwhelming empirical evidence against the theory of utility maximization; for a survey of this evidence, see Zaman and Karacuka (2011). Similarly, Romer (2016 ) documents how leading monetary economists persist in believing that monetary policy does not affect… Read More Why Do Economists Persist in Using False Theories?

Scientism: Flawed Foundation of Economic Methodology

This is part D of the first lecture on Gratitude, Contentment, and Trust, part of a free online course on A New Approach to Islamic Economics. Register for course via: http://bit.ly/AZIEML In previous parts of this lecture, we discussed the attributes of gratitude, contentment, and trust, as the behavioral bases for an Islamic approach to… Read More Scientism: Flawed Foundation of Economic Methodology

Origins and Consequences of US Monetary Hegemony

The two World Wars in the 20th century depleted the gold stocks of European governments and made a return to the (UK Sterling based) gold standard impossible. This led to the Bretton Woods conference of 1944, where leaders of the world came together to find an alternative, non-gold-based, global trading system. John Maynard Keynes brought… Read More Origins and Consequences of US Monetary Hegemony

Four Flaws in Foundations of Statistics

This is a write-up of Section E of Chapter 1 “Why We Need A New Approach to Statistics?” of Real Statistics: A Radical Approach. To register for the ongoing online course: http://bit.ly/AZRealStats – This section describes four fundamental flaws in modern statistics, which make it necessary to rebuild the entire discipline on new foundations for the 21st Century.… Read More Four Flaws in Foundations of Statistics

European Rejection of Unobservables

O, wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as others see us! – Robert Burns. The essay below is my personal perspective, from an Islamic point of view, of certain aspects of the European intellectual traditions. The abstract mathematics of modern economics contain messages directly opposite to teachings of Islam. Economics says that rational behavior… Read More European Rejection of Unobservables