There are people who don't realize they're bringing theory into their data analysis. You might here them say things like "let the data speak for themselves". They fancy themselves as being ideologically neutral, but they tend to just not understand the ideology they're implicitly assuming.
I get where the author is coming from, but I also think it's a bit pedantic.
I agree
a solid economic theory often requires empirical measurements
also agree
True. And I often see economists come up with a crazy model that, with the right choice of parameters, can fit the data and ergo "the model is supported by the data". Well, no, if the model is inherently flawed then it doesn't really matter if it can fit the data, it's not going to be useful for predicting or understanding the world
reply
*hear
I hate catching typos after the edit window is closed.
reply