ECO 304L Chapter 2: 2.3 Why Economists Disagree
1 Feb 2017
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There are two reasons economists may disagree with one another: Economists may disagree about the validity of alternative positive theories of how the world works: economists may have different values and therefore different normative views about what government policy should aim to accomplish, differences in scientific judgments. Economists often disagree for the same reason. Economics is a young science, and there is still much to be learned. Economists sometimes disagree because they have different hunches about the validity of alternative theories or about the size of important parameters that measure how economic variables are related: differences in values. Suppose that peter and paula both take the same amount of water from the town well. To pay for maintaining the well, the town taxes its residents. Peter has income of ,000 and is taxed. Paula has income of ,000 and is taxed ,000, or 20 percent of her income. Sometimes, economists give conflicting advice because they have different values: perception vs.
