Blunt Instrument: Why Economic Theory Can't Get Any Better...Why We Need It Anyway

Why economic theory—with no track-record of predictive success—is still an indispensable tool for protecting civilized life.

Economic theory has never gotten any better at prediction. Its explanations are always after the fact. The mathematical models economists have devoted themselves to for more than a century can’t be improved to enhance their empirical relevance. But from this research program that never paid off, a very useful tool has emerged—game theory. It’s just what civilized socie...