Andrea Salanti

Roy Weintraub's Studies in Appraisal: Lakatosian Consolations or Something Else?

As made manifest by Clowers (1975) comments on their “science fiction†nature, general equilibrium theories (GET) present such peculiar and puzzling features that the methodologist must perforce seek some specific methodological accommodation for this part of economic theory. The role played by such theories in contemporary economics is so fundamental (in the sense of Green, 1981) that the impossibility of appraising them by means of any version of falsificationism, and their patent lack of (excess) empirical content if approached with the conceptual devices of the methodology of scientific research programs (MSRP), have prompted several scholars interested in the methodology of economics (although from different points of view and for even more different purposes) to search for a reasonable way out.

Struttura competitiva dopo la crisi Alitalia: il caso dela tratta Milano-Roma

Air travel routes and high speed rail connection between Milan and Rome after the Alitalia crisis This paper analyses the first available data about changes in passenger traffic and air/rail fares after the Alitalia crisis and the substantial reduction of the travel time between Milan and Rome, due to the improvement of high speed rail on this connection. As recently happened in similar cases within Europe, the rail has gained a significant share of traffic previously attracted by air transport services. Apart from that, a real price competition is prevented by a number of inefficiencies which are mainly due to the monopolistic position of the new Alitalia on the route Milan Linate-Rome Fiumicino and problems of accessibility affecting our airports, and partly our rail stations too. The role of the various authorities potentially involved is burdened, in the last instance, by infrastructural deficiencies.

Two Short Essays on Mark Blaug's Last Intellectual Battles

In the last period of his professional life Mark Blaug (1927-2011) repeatedly intervened with a series of papers characterised by a critical attitude towards both Whig history and the formalist turn in modern economics. At the same time, however, he never abandoned his long standing commitment to Lakatosian methodology. The two papers which follows have in common the aim of showing that the same critical conclusions can be better served by more updated methodological approaches.

A Reply to Professor Weintraub

Weintraubs reaction to the critique of his 1985 book tha It dared to setforth in Salanti (1991) raises severa tol (perhapo many) questions ofsquite different importance t. Tryino put thigs quarrel into some order,I will answer Weintraubs allegations accordin tog thei r increasing orderof relevance.

Lakatosian Perspectives on General Equilibrium Analysis: A REPLY

Roger Backhouses (1993) methodological assessment of general equilib-rium analysis hails from a more strictly Lakatosian perspective than thoseadopted in Weintraub (1985) and Salanti (1991). As such its full appraisalwould require a detailed discussion of all the pros and cons of theLakatosian approach in economic methodology and in the history ofeconomic thought.