Routledge Handbook of Macroeconomic Methodology

11 Causality and macroeconomics

Alessandro Vercelli

DOI: 10.4324/9781315745992-14

Introduction

Causal assumptions and inferences played a crucial role in the genesis and evolution of macroeconomics. In particular, in macroeconomics we may observe a strict interaction between the evolution of causality concepts, causal evidence, theoretical approaches and policy strategies (Vercelli 1991, Chapter. 7, pp. 106–23). I will restrict the analysis on six episodes that illustrate this process of coevolution since the Industrial Revolution: Hume causality and Classical Economics, Russell’s criticism of causality and Neoclassical Economics, Cowles causality and New Classical Synthesis, Keynes causality and macroeconomic methodology, Granger causality ...