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The history of economic thought as a living laboratory

Matthew McCaffrey et al.

Cambridge Journal of Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beaf004article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.44

Abstract

We propose a novel and constructive way to conceptualise the history of economic thought and appreciate its value within economics more broadly. Drawing on the work of economists spanning nearly a century, we explore the idea of the history of economic thought as a living laboratory of theorising. It is living in that it is a persistently relevant method of doing economic theory, as opposed to a separable field or even a dead branch of economics. It is a laboratory in that it provides a constrained space for examining, comparing, critiquing, combining, and developing theories. Following an initial explanation, we explore the roots of this conceptualisation in the works of some twentieth-century economists. We then illustrate it using the example of the development of neo-Wicksellian macroeconomics. We conclude with a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the living laboratory approach.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beaf004

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@article{matthew2025,
  title        = {{The history of economic thought as a living laboratory}},
  author       = {Matthew McCaffrey et al.},
  journal      = {Cambridge Journal of Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beaf004},
}

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Evidence weight

0.44

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.32 × 0.4 = 0.13
M · momentum0.57 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.