1) What was the "Axiomatic" view of mathematical theories, adopted by Hilbert and the Bourbaki? Were there discoveries around the turn of the 20th Century that caused theorists to distrust "intuitive" understandings of theories?
2) In what ways was Paul Samuelson's approach to economics similar to that of Arrow and Debreu (Deductive, Empirical)? How were their approaches different?
3) Describe Popper's "falsificationist" approach to science and Kuhn's "paradigm approach. Suppose a radically different economic theory were proposed. What would have to be true about it for it to be "acceptable as science per Popper's view? According to Kuhn, what else would have to happen before the economics community would accept it?
4) Recall our discussion of Scientific Paradigms and Research programs. What core beliefs of the Classical model did Keynes challenge? Why are classical (and New Classical) Economists so resistant to Keynes' theories?
5) Friedman attributed the Great Depression to different causes than did Keynes, what were they? From the historical data, was it easy (or possible to tell which set of causes were the culprit?
6) How does the New Keynesian theory differ from the Original Keynesian Theory? What problems (objections) does it try to address? What Improvements does it Make?
7) Using Keynesian Models Economists analyzed economic data and found consistent relationships between unemployment and inflation, and policies governments could use to correct them. Using his theory of Rational Expectations, Robert Lucas argued that these relationships would break down if the government policies changed. How could this be true?
8) New Classical (and in particular Real Business Cycle (RBC)) economists argued that unemployment was voluntary. What was their argument? What was it based on?