Methodology of economic research: main approaches and problems. Methods for researching economic phenomena

Having understood the subject of economic science, one should answer the questions: how does it do it? by what methods and means? that is, consider its methodology. The methodology of any science is the doctrine of the principles of construction, forms and methods of scientific knowledge, and in relation to economic theory, we are talking about the knowledge of economic phenomena and processes.

To do this, scientists use a whole system of methods, techniques, ways and means. The fundamental method of research of economists continues to be the method of materialistic dialectics. Its main provisions are as follows:

* Primary, objectively existing is material life;
* any economic phenomenon must be considered in conjunction with others, both simultaneously occurring, and previous and subsequent;
* economic life is in constant motion change and development;
* the process of this development occurs on the basis of the laws of dialectics.

For representatives of the Western economic theory of the foundations, the methods of subjective and objective idealism are the basis for the study of economics. Their main features are economic psychologism, technological determinism, etc.

Modern economic science uses a whole system of private methods to understand economic reality.

These include:

* the method of scientific abstraction, which consists in abstraction in the process of cognition from external phenomena, features, non-essential aspects and "immersion", penetration into the essence of a phenomenon, an object in order to understand its main connections. For example, when elucidating the law of demand, only the relationship between demand and price is analyzed when abstracting (distracting) from many other conditions (the degree of market saturation, the effect of internal and external competition, etc.);
* induction and deduction. Induction is a conclusion that moves from facts to a hypothesis, a general statement, that is, the study begins with the accumulation of facts, then they are systematized, analyzed and generalized. Deduction is the main method of proof, it is the purpose of inferences. The beginning of deduction is axioms, or hypotheses, which have the character of general statements, and the end of deduction is theorems, i.e., consequences from initial premises;
* method of economic and mathematical modeling. This method is currently a powerful tool for studying and solving economic problems. Its essence is reduced to the description of economic phenomena and processes with the help of mathematical dependencies and algorithms. It expands the sphere of knowledge, increases the visibility of complex economic problems. Economic ties are expressed in the form of functional dependencies; their mathematical representation gives a system of equations, which, in fact, is a mathematical model of an economic phenomenon;
* method of graphic images. It helps to visually perceive the relationship between various economic indicators, evaluate their "behavior" under the influence of changes in the economic situation;
* methods such as the ascent from the simple to the complex, the unity of quantitative and qualitative analysis, historical and logical, the balance method, etc. are widely used.

There are two fundamentally different methods (levels) of research (analysis) of the economy - based on a macro approach and a micro approach:

* macroeconomic approach involves the analysis of the patterns of functioning of the economy as a whole (macroeconomics). Macroeconomics operates with such integral indicators as, for example, gross domestic product (GDP), general employment, unemployment, inflation, etc. Macroeconomics is regulated through the market and the state;
* The microeconomic approach involves the study of the behavior of a firm, an individual enterprise (microeconomics) as the main production link. It operates with such concepts as revenue, income, profits of individual firms, family expenses, the price of a particular product.

Regulation at the micro level is carried out by developing and implementing a strategy for the behavior of a particular firm.

In recent years, the mesoeconomic approach has also been developed (restored). It is used to analyze the "middle link" of the economy (mesoeconomics) - specialized industry and sub-industry complexes (with the corresponding market segments). When considering the methods by which a scientist "works" in the process of cognition of economic reality, the question arises: "What is the criterion for the correctness (truth) of the results of scientific analysis?". The criterion of the truth of knowledge has always been and is practice. Only she gives the final answer about the falsity or correctness of certain conclusions, conclusions, recommendations.

The specificity of the subject of economic theory involves the use of certain research methods. Method in Greek means the way to something. A method is a set of techniques, methods, principles by which the subject of science is studied. The reality of the results depends on the correctly used method.
Usually, the research method is formed on the basis of a certain methodology. Methodology is a general approach to the study of economic phenomena, a system of methods and techniques of analysis with a certain philosophical approach.
The first way to study economic phenomena and processes was the empirical method, which consists in collecting and describing facts and events. This method is the main and indispensable way to obtain initial information about the economy. In this case, the revealed and collected facts serve as the basis for scientific generalization.
In the 17th century, William Petty perfected the empirical method and created the statistical method. A feature of the economic-statistical method is the collection and processing of quantitative data on economic phenomena and processes.
In a wide range of methods of scientific knowledge, the most important is the method of scientific abstraction, which was the first in economic science to clearly formulate David Ricardo. The method of abstraction involves the selection of the most significant aspects of the phenomenon under study and distraction (abstraction) from everything secondary, random. With the help of this method, economic categories are formulated that express the essential aspects of the objects under study, and economic models are built.
An equally important method of research in economics is the method of materialistic dialectics, the creator of which is Karl Marx. This method involves consideration of economic processes and phenomena in continuous movement, change, development, interconnection and interdependence. Contradiction acts as an internal source of development.
In economics, the methods of induction and deduction are widely used. The method of induction is the derivation of theoretical propositions and principles from facts, the movement of thought from the particular to the general. The method of deduction means the movement of knowledge from theory to facts, from the general to the particular. It allows facts to be conceptualized and principles and hypotheses to be fact-checked.
Although induction and deduction are opposite ways of investigating economic phenomena, it is difficult to separate them in the actual cognitive process. They complement each other, thus ensuring the effectiveness of these methods.
In the process of ascent from the general to the particular and vice versa, methods of analysis and synthesis are used. The analysis of economic phenomena involves the division of the phenomenon under study into its constituent parts, which are subjected to detailed study. The results of the study of individual parts are generalized (synthesized) and the internal relationships of the elements of the system as a whole are established.
One of the systematic research methods is economic and mathematical modeling. This method became widespread in the 20th century. A model is a formalized description of an economic process or phenomenon. It allows you to determine the causes of changes in economic phenomena, the patterns of these changes, their consequences, and also makes it possible to predict economic processes. Despite the active use of this method, its possibilities have their limits, since not all phenomena and processes in the economy and society can be formalized and translated into a functional mathematical language.
Experiment plays a special role among the methods used in economics. Experiment - setting up and conducting scientific experience in practice under controlled conditions. For example, a new wage system is being worked out within a group of workers. An experiment is an artificial reproduction of an economic phenomenon or process in order to study it in the most favorable conditions and further practical application. Experiments can be carried out both at the micro and macro levels, both in a market economy and outside it. Economic experiments make it possible in practice to test the validity of certain economic recommendations and programs and to prevent major economic mistakes and failures.
However, it must be remembered that economics is social in nature, associated with the social behavior of people, which limits the possibility of conducting large-scale experiments and the possibility of thoughtlessly transferring the results of one experiment to other areas of people's economic life.
In economic theory, positive and normative approaches are distinguished in the interpretation of economic knowledge. A positive analysis is focused primarily on an objective interpretation, a scientific explanation of the observed economic processes and phenomena, the construction of scientific hypotheses on their basis, and the identification of patterns in the functioning of the economic system. Positive analysis explores the relationships between economic phenomena as they are. For example, the law of demand can serve as a positive judgment: an increase in the price of a good leads, other things being equal, to a decrease in the quantity demanded for it. There is no value judgment in this statement, it is simply a statement of fact.
The normative approach is based on the study of how it should be and what needs to be done in order to achieve certain results, that is, it involves value judgments. Normative analysis is very important in the formation of economic policy. It involves the search and selection of ways and means (tools, levers) to achieve the goals, to obtain certain results with the available opportunities. Since the interests of people are affected by the normative approach, the most important problem is the right choice of the goal and the means to achieve it.
Due to the combination of various methods, an integrated approach to the study of complex processes and phenomena in the economy, affecting the economic activities of numerous economic entities, is provided.

To study the mechanisms of the market system and test the validity of the proposed theories, an economic experiment is used, which in modern realities can be carried out not only on a limited scale. It allows obtaining information about the typical behavior of economic agents under control.

Founder of experimental economics

Vernon Smith, who was born into a family with socialist views on life, found active use of economic experiments. Therefore, one should not be surprised that this person began his research as an adherent of the state and social system. In his understanding, such a structure was drawn in which literate people make decisions for other people.

Interest in economics came to the scientist after spiritual evolution, when he became a classical liberal. In 1952, he managed to get a master's degree, and three years later - to defend his doctoral dissertation. Prior to that, he was educated as an electrical engineer.

Participation of the founder in the first scientific experiment

The not yet held Nobel laureate observed the first economic experiment under the guidance of his teacher. It was devoted to the formation of market equilibrium. Students were divided into sellers and buyers with budget constraints. For the first of them, an acceptable level of costs was set, and for the second, a monetary threshold.

As a result of the research, it turned out that when carrying out trades, persons who, in theory, could not conduct a transaction, under experimental conditions, made it with some benefit. Other bidders, who are in the opposite situation, sometimes managed to be forced out of the market. And it was not some kind of accident, since such effects happened quite often (with a probability of up to 25 percent).

It turned out that the general equilibrium can be influenced by more factors than the theory suggested. Even the correct result can be reached in different ways. In the course of scientific experience, methodological and technical difficulties arose. However, this economic experiment already predetermined two separate directions in the future discipline.

The purpose of the research

To date, the role of ongoing experiments has increased significantly, since not one serious discipline is simply unthinkable without them. Initially, the research was carried out at the micro level, when small economic structures are taken as a basis. However, over time, the situation has changed.

A large number of experiments in economic science began to be carried out at the macro level. They have to be carried out under certain conditions that cannot be completely leveled in the process of research. Most often, scientific experiments in macroeconomics are field, not laboratory. The differences from the micro level are significant enough.

Despite different approaches, the main task of any research is to test the practical application of certain programs and tasks that will avoid major mistakes and failures in economic activity. An economic experiment does not prove or disprove theoretical research, but it makes it possible to establish the likelihood of an event occurring.

Pilot Process Methodology

Controlled studies have common features. All of them are designed to simulate ongoing dynamic processes. However, the system itself in this case is formed by the experimenter. People in it act as economic agents who were recruited according to some criteria. In reality, participants perform many functions from which they cannot completely abstract. Therefore, the methods of economic experiment should be different.

The formation of a model is associated with the loss of some part of the data. This provides an opportunity to abstract away less significant elements. Attention in this case is concentrated on the basic components of the system and interconnections. Two types of quantities can be entered into the model:

Exogenous. Implemented in finished form.
Endogenous. Appear inside the model as a result of solving a specific problem.

Thus, it can be argued that the economic experiment is closely related to the creation of models, which are a formalized description of the economic process, the structure of which is determined by objective properties and subjective characteristics.

The main stages of the

Modern experiments take place in several stages:

A clear study of the system, the dynamics of which is supposed to be subjected to research, is carried out in order to correctly select the desired section of the theory, on the basis of which the specification of the model will be constructed.
A simulation model for the studied system is being developed. It should include a large number of descriptions for the main objects, the conditions for the transition from one state to another.
An experiment is being carried out with the decision maker. During the process, he is asked to consider a certain situation. There must be a decision to be made.
The specification of the basic rules is determined, and the evaluation of the main parameters is also carried out. The developed principles are introduced directly into the model, after which it acquires autonomy.
An independent prototype is tested, thanks to which it is possible to obtain a time frame for the behavior of the system under changing initial states. After that, static research methods are applied.
Ready is used to improve the effectiveness of the management of the system under consideration by predicting the possible behavior in time.

The model takes into account various economic agents acquiring homogeneous products. The market in this case acts as the external environment of the presented goods. Guided by the dynamics of price changes, consumers make a certain forecast.

Illustrative examples of economic experiments

One illustrative example of the problem associated with the role of the experimenter is a study conducted at Western Electric. At that time, it was planned to establish on what factors labor productivity depends. More than a dozen experiments have been conducted regarding free breakfasts, more breaks, and other perks for workers.

The result amazed everyone. After the abolition of worker benefits, labor productivity in the factory began to rise. The experimenters made a mistake that led to a distortion of the indicators. The Observer Turned into the Workers understood that the ongoing research was invaluable to the development of American society. It follows from this that the leader must be in the shadows.

A large number of economic experiments were conducted by Henry Ford. To increase the income of the enterprise, he offered the workers to receive a percentage of the total profit. As a result, their labor productivity increased significantly, since it was profitable for people to work efficiently.

Coordination games

Experienced economists, when considering such games, think about whether it is possible, if necessary, to coordinate laboratory elements on one of the equilibria. If possible, are there any general provisions that can help in a particular prediction. It turns out that under certain conditions, the test people can coordinate the best equilibria, even the less obvious ones.

Deductive selection factors are those that allow predictions to be made based on the properties of the game. As for the inductive principles, they make it possible to predict the result on the characteristic dynamics.

Market trading

The founder of experimental economics conducted a series of experiments on the consolidation of prices and volumes. He paid attention to theoretical equilibrium values directly in market conditions. In the course of the research, the behavior of conditional sellers and buyers was studied. The economist found that in certain configurations of centralized trading, price indicators have a common facet with sales volumes.

As a conclusion

Although the economic experiment does not prove any theoretical assumptions, it allows us to make a qualitative assessment of a certain situation in the economic activity of the state or any other association. Much depends on the parameters taken into account in the research.

The word "method" in Greek means "the way to something." With regard to economic science, this is the way to achieve the scientific truth of economic processes. A method is a set of techniques, methods and principles of scientific knowledge. If the subject of science is characterized by WHAT is researched, then the method is characterized by HOW it is researched.

The world of economic reality is complex and confusing. The task of economic theory is to bring a chaotic set of facts into a system, to cognize reality and determine promising ways of development. Economic theory establishes connections between facts, generalizes them and derives certain regularities on this basis.

A variety of forms and methods of scientific knowledge help to navigate the diverse economic phenomena. This is formal logic methods(observation and processing of the obtained material through analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, quantitative and qualitative analysis of economic processes). This is system research methods. This is developing hypotheses and testing them, conducting experiments, developing models, plotting. This is dialectical method(ascent from the abstract to the concrete, the unity of the historical and the logical, taking into account in the process of research the mutual influence of the material and spiritual foundations of the life of society on each other).

The main methods of study are:

1. Usage scientific abstractions, or generalized concepts, abstracted from everything secondary and accidental, from immediate concreteness, in order to highlight the most significant features or aspects of the phenomenon under study. The method of scientific abstraction is the knowledge of the essence, the laws of its development through the consistent study of its individual forms.

“If the form of manifestation and the essence of things directly coincided,

then all science would be superfluous.

Using the method of scientific abstraction involves:

a) moving from the abstract to the concrete.

Receptions: analysis - decomposition of the subject under study into components, followed by the study of each and the selection of the simplest link

2 K. Marx, F. Engels. Works, v.25, part 2, p.384.

abstraction, behind which the quality of this phenomenon is lost (goods, money,

capital);

deduction - obtaining private conclusions based on general provisions (from general to particular).

b ) movement from the concrete to the abstract.

Receptions: synthesis - connection of system elements into a single internally interconnected whole;

induction - the formation of general conclusions based on the study of many facts (from particular to general).

The economist investigates reproductive processes, ascending from facts that are constantly noticed to causes that are discovered by strict thinking, i.e. analyzes phenomena. Having studied the most essential in the phenomenon, through synthesis shows in what forms this essential is manifested on the surface of economic reality, appears in the form of concrete facts.

The result of using the method of scientific abstraction is the formation of a system of economic categories that characterize this economic phenomenon.

2.Extrapolation – forecast of economic development based on identifying trends with a certain adjustment for the future.

3. Hypothesis - preliminary unverified assertion.

4. Modeling - this is the construction of an image described according to certain rules and expressed in a certain language. Economic model - this is a simplified description of some aspects or properties of the economic system that are of interest to us.

Depending on the presentation language, models are divided into:

Verbal (verbal-descriptive);

Mathematical;

Graphic.

In microeconomic theory, all three types of models are used, but preference is given to mathematical (brevity and rigor) and graphic (visibility). There are also mixed models.

There are a number of economists in economics who attach particular importance to economic and mathematical research methods. Among them: classics - L. Walras, V. Pareto, W. Jevons; contemporaries - V. Leontiev, L. Kantorovich, S. Shatalin and others.

An economic model is a simplified picture of economic reality. Such a model allows a better understanding of the economy, since it abstracts from the unnecessary details of reality. At the same time, economic theory is based on facts, and therefore it is realistic.

In the process of economic research, a large number of methods and techniques are used. Let's dwell on the main ones.

The essence of the abstract method lies in the fact that the researcher in the study of economic processes can be mentally abstracted from particular properties and relationships between economic phenomena, dwelling on the general features that characterize the essential aspects. The result of abstraction is the formation of general concepts and laws in the economy, such as needs, resources, the laws of supply and demand, etc. The formation of the conceptual apparatus of economic science creates a condition for the analysis and synthesis of economic phenomena.

The method of analysis and synthesis lies in the fact that in the process of cognition, the researcher first mentally decomposes the object under study into its constituent elements, analyzes the features of each of them, then reveals the essential connections between them, restores the dismembered object.

Thus, we can examine in detail all the factors affecting the size of the market supply of a given product, determine which of them affect the increase in supply, and which lead to a reduction in supply, give a quantitative assessment of all this. In the future, by synthesis, taking into account all the pros and cons, it is possible to predict the direction of change in the market supply of goods for the future.

At the same time, the researcher must avoid errors associated with the mechanical transfer of results that are true for individual parts of the overall process, but unacceptable for the whole. For example, for a firm, other things being equal, an effective form of management is command-hierarchical. The management of the company involves strict subordination. The head of the company (manager) organizes the process of production and sale of goods and services with the help of a system of orders and instructions. At the same time, the expansion of such a management system to the macro level and the creation of a command economic system within a country and a group of countries have shown their inconsistency.

In addition, in the analysis and synthesis of economic phenomena, the assumption "ceteris paribus" is widely used. It means that all variable factors influencing economic results are divided into two groups: those accepted in this scientific study as constant and the actual variable factors. For example, when analyzing market demand for a product, we can proceed from the fact that only one factor influences the magnitude of demand - the price, abstracting from many other factors (the number of buyers, their tastes, the expected level of inflation, etc.)

Modeling is a continuation of the method of analysis and synthesis. In economics, a model is a mentally constructed and described sample that reproduces the main features of a real economic process. One of the first economic models was the famous "economic tables" of the French economist of the XVIII century F. Quesnay. In them, the author considered the proportions that must be observed in society in the production of material goods. In the future, K. Marx, L. Walras, V. Leontiev and others were engaged in modeling economic processes. Modern economic modeling makes extensive use of the mathematical apparatus, mathematical programming, probability theory, and mathematical statistics.

Functional analysis plays an important role in the process of building economic models. As is known from the course of mathematics, the numerical function y=ƒ(x) exists if for any numerical set X the law ƒ is specified, according to which a single number y is assigned to each number x from this set.

The independent variable x is called the argument of the function, and the dependent variable y is called the function. Moreover, if the value of the function increases (decreases) with an increase (decrease) in the argument, then there is a direct relationship between them. In the case when the argument and function change in different directions, there is a feedback between them.

Functional dependence can be represented analytically (given by an algebraic formula), in the form of a table or graph.

The general form of the analytical notation y \u003d ƒ (x), where ƒ - a characteristic of a function that indicates the actions that need to be done with x to get y. For example, the equation y \u003d a + bx shows that in order to obtain y, we need to multiply the variable x by the coefficient b and add the resulting product with a constant number a. The advantage of the analytical form of notation is its compactness, the ability to perform various mathematical operations that facilitate the search for function values. At the same time, the analytical approach does not provide a visual representation of the directions of change in the function. Thus, we know that, other things being equal, the quantity demanded for a given good (Qd) depends on its price (P). In analytic form, this can be represented as Qd= f(P). However, it is difficult to determine from the formula in which direction Qd changes when the price increases or decreases.

The tabular form of the functional dependency record overcomes this shortcoming. It provides the ability to represent quantitative relationships between relevant variables. For example, in a table, we can show the amount of demand for a product for each price level. At the same time, the tabular form of notation is not without drawbacks: in the table, the relationship between x and y is shown only for discrete values, which makes it difficult to identify a general trend in changes in y when x changes.

A graphical form is used to identify the relationship between an argument and a function for all x € X. The graph of the function y \u003d ƒ (x) is the set of all points of the Cartesian coordinate system of the form (x; ƒ (x)), where x € X. From the graph, you can easily find the value of the function for x € X.

The experimental method involves the artificial reproduction of any economic process. With the help of the experiment, it is possible to identify its positive and negative sides, to assess the possibility and necessity of practical implementation. For example, the conveyor system for organizing production, before gaining worldwide recognition, was tested in the automotive industry by G. Ford.

As a macroeconomic experiment, we can consider the creation in 1917 in our country of a command socio-economic system. The reforms of the market economy, carried out in developed countries according to the recipes of D. Keynes, M. Friedman, and other economists, were also experimental in nature.

The quantitative side of mass socio-economic phenomena and processes in their qualitative certainty is studied with the help of special statistical methods and techniques. Their widespread use in economics is due to the fact that in economic research, as a rule, one has to deal not with separate isolated facts, but with statistical aggregates of interrelated facts.

In economics, a statistical aggregate is understood as a set of any socio-economic objects that have common qualitative features. In particular, when we introduce the concept of an entrepreneurial firm in microeconomics, we understand it as the whole set of organizations engaged in the processing of resources into goods and services on a paid basis and bringing them to consumers. All entrepreneurial firms are characterized by certain qualitative features: the desire for profitable business, the processing of certain economic resources, the orientation of activities to meet market demand, etc.

In general, the methodology of economic research has common roots with other natural and social sciences. Its fundamental difference from them lies mainly in the objects of study. Economics studies the problems associated with the rational choice of economic actors (households, business firms, government agencies). This choice is based on a comparison of costs and benefits.

Topic 2. “Economic systems. The content of property relations»