In the next Perspectives on Science seminar, Jaakko Kuorikoski (TINT / University of Helsinki) will give a talk titled “Structure without foundations? – DSGE, microfoundations, and causality”.
The seminar takes place in person at Metsätalo room 10 and online via Zoom from 14:15 to 15:45 on Monday the 13th of January 2025. To join the seminar, please contact samuli.reijula@helsinki.fi for the Zoom invitation.
Perspectives on Science is a research seminar which brings together experts from the philosophy of science and several fields of science studies. It is organized by TINT – Centre for Philosophy of Social Science at the University of Helsinki. More information about the seminar can be found on the TINT web page https://tint.helsinki.fi.
Abstract
This paper argues that the standard narrative emphasizing the necessity of microfoundations in justifying assumptions about causal structure in DSGE models is a red herring and that the exclusive focus on the Lucas critique has meant that the more general role of theoretical grounds for causal inference and scenario modeling has been widely misunderstood. In contrast to the standard narrative, the practice of model building and modification within the DGSE program does not exemplify an epistemic strategy of deriving more secure structural assumptions from improved knowledge of individual choice behavior. Instead, the development of DSGE models largely consists in incorporating new and independently justified assumptions about aggregate invariances or meso-level mechanisms under general equilibrium constraints.
Author bio
Jaakko Kuorikoski is a professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki and a member of The Centre for Philosophy of the Social Sciences TINT. Before this, Kuorikoski worked as an associate professor in a cross-disciplinary New Social Research program at Tampere University and as a lecturer in Theoretical Philosophy at Helsinki. His main areas of specializations are philosophy of economics and philosophy of the social sciences. His current research interests include new kinds of data and evidence in the social sciences, scientific understanding, philosophy of macroeconomics, and model-based social epistemology of science.