VS (BA):Explanations in Economics and the Social Sciences [Beteiligung]
- Dozentinnen/Dozenten
- Daniel Mayerhoffer, Jan Schulz, M. Sc.
- Angaben
- Seminar
Rein Online 2 SWS
Gaststudierendenverzeichnis, Studium Generale, Erweiterungsbereich, Joint Seminar with Economics Students
Zeit: Einzeltermin am 3.12.2020, Einzeltermin am 17.12.2020, Einzeltermin am 14.1.2021, Einzeltermin am 2.2.2021 14:00 - 16:00; Bemerkung zu Zeit und Ort: All sessions 2 - 4 pm.
- Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches
- Given the current extraordinary circumstances, the lecturers are committed to minimising infection risks and retaining as much exibility for students to choose a learning mode that fits their current individual needs and resources while at the same allow for fruitful discussions where they are most beneficial: All theoretical input will be delivered in short learning videos and curated literature for asynchronous learning at home. Thereby, students may at all times ask questions via the VC. To apply the theoretical concepts and critically discuss models, there will be four live sessions.The live sessions will be held online.
Registration:
in Flexnow from 01.10.2020 (10:00) to 29.10.2020 (23:30).
De-registration
until 15 November 2020 (23:30).
EES students cannot register via Flexnow but should instead send an e-mail to both course instructors (jan.schulz@uni-bamberg.de and daniel.mayerhoffer@uni-bamberg.de).
- Inhalt
- Explanations in economics and the social sciences are largely model-based. This course provides the necessary skills and knowledge to critically evaluate and contextualize those models. The seminar is structured according to three broad themes:
1. rationality and goal-oriented behavior of agents
2. simulation and validation
3. aggregation from the micro to the macro scale and emergent phenomena
In each part, the lecturers will first provide theoretical input on the topic that is afterwards applied to an actual model in a discussion plenary session.
Major learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to ...
- ... explain the necessity to open black boxes to explain emergent social phenomena.
- ... identify and contextualize the relevant model assumptions and idealizations.
- ... distinguish different forms of models, provide examples and locate them within a broader social scientific context.
- ... present their own informed stance on how social models can be internally and externally validated as informative about the real world.
Seminar paper and defence
At the end of the semester, participants write a seminar paper on a model of their choosing and critically evaluate the model and the scientific status of its underlying assumptions. After submission the seminar papers will be circulated among the participants and students will present and defend their findings. For the latter, fellow students are obliged to read the respective seminar papers of the presenting groups in advance in order to be able to raise elaborate questions and make substantial comments during the defence.
- Empfohlene Literatur
- Essential Readings
Reiss, J. (2013). Philosophy of economics: a contemporary introduction.Routledge, chp. 1-3.
Frigg, Roman and Hartmann, Stephan, Models in Science, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Online: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/models-science/ , last accessed at 12/08/2020.
Suggested Readings
Backhouse, R. E., & Medema, S. G. (2009). Retrospectives: On the definition of economics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(1), 221-33.
Christiano, L. J., Eichenbaum, M. S., & Trabandt, M. (2018). On DSGE
models. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(3), 113-40.
Useful Online Resources
The following online resources are aimed to complement the rather ahistorical
lectures and plenary discussions with some historical background on the major
debates within the professions.
Fonseca, G. L. (2019): The History of Economic Thought Website. Online:
http://www.hetwebsite.net/het/home.htm (last accessed at: 11/08/2020).
Network for Pluralist Economics (2020): Exploring Economics. Online:
https://www.exploring-economics.org/en/ (last accessed at: 11/08/2020).
Roskin, M. G. (2016): Encyclopedia Britannica on Political Science. On-
line: https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-science (last accessed at: 11/08/2020).
- Englischsprachige Informationen:
- Credits: 8
- Zusätzliche Informationen
- Erwartete Teilnehmerzahl: 20
- Institution: Lehrstuhl für Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbes. Internationale Wirtschaft
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