Where are the frontiers of economics?

Abstract

. It is of paramount importance for any researcher to be at the forefront of the chosen research field. The paper studies the phenomenon of the frontiers of science serving as the starting point for a scientist ascending to qualitatively new results. Methodologically, the study rests on the system approach that assumes the dialectical unity of the assimilation of the concrete (Karl Marx) and using the method of alternatives (Karl Popper). Historically, the role of the starting point of economic theory was claimed by: 1) the most abstract concepts, such as labour, Homo economicus, etc.; 2) ostensive definitions of a commodity, an “ordinary person”, etc., allowing one to rely on personal (implicit) knowledge. An analysis of the methodology of scientific knowledge shows that, when ascending from the abstract to the concrete, there is a high probability of falling into the induction trap, which can be avoided through structural similarity (homomorphism) of the object and its theoretical representation (model). This approach allows identifying the functional characteristics of economic phenomena and processes, such as the correspondence of supply and demand in the Walrasian system of general equilibrium equations (the Arrow-Debreu model). The other approach is premised on faith, worldview, intuition, which stimulate qualitatively new hypotheses to be formulated. The two approaches interact and complement each other, forming a continuum of economic knowledge, where there are no clearly defined frontiers, and the genesis can, explicitly or implicitly, happen in each of the constituent elements forming a single whole (scientific article, dissertation, textbook, etc.). It is relevant for any scholar, and even more so for a lecturer, to hold a holistic view of the subject of the discipline under study, its relationship with other knowledge areas and reality.