Evaluating Sources
The argument I found on the internet is Why Can’t
Economists Agree? Mainly argue about the reasons for economists’ differing
opinions. Author think that this is because of they are two competing schools
of thought and economists use different type of data.
From the knowledge I learnt from the EC202, I think there
are two main reasons.
On the one hand, economists may disagree about the
validity of alternative positive theories about how the world works which is
mean they have differences in scientific judgement. For example, economists
disagree about whether the government should tax a household’s income or its
consumption (spending). Advocates of a switch from the current income tax to a
consumption tax believe that the change would encourage households to save more
because income that is saved would not be taxed. Higher saving, in turn, would
free resources for capital accumulation, leading to more rapid growth in
productivity and living standards. Advocates of the current income tax system
believe that household saving would not respond much to a change in the tax laws. These two
groups of economists hold different normative views about the tax system
because they have different positive views about saving’s responsiveness to tax
incentives. (Example is from Mankiw, Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 7th edition, chapter 2-3a)
On the other hand, economists may have different values
and therefore different normative views about what government policy should aim
to accomplish which is mean they have differences in values. For example, some
economists think tax can let people more equality but some economists disagree.
However, Economists agree with one another to a much
greater extent than is sometimes understood. I found a list of Propositions
about Which Most Economists Agree
Above all, because of differences in scientific judgments
and difference in values, some disagreement among economists is inevitable. Yet
one should not overstate the amount of disagreement that economists all agree
the main principle about the economy.
Citation:
Argument:http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/why-economists-do-not-agree.asp
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