Cambridge Economist Says Colleagues Use Unscientific Approach

Economics in many ways remains almost "a branch of theology," Joan Robinson, Reader in Economics in Girton College, Cambridge, declared yesterday afternoon before an overflow audience at, Littauer Center. Although the subject has slowly become more scientific, it hasn't really progressed "any further than alchemy," she added.

Since the field does not lend itself to controlled experiments, such as are used in the physical and biological sciences too many economists spend their time arguing about ideas, rather than trying to prove or disprove them. They "spend most of their time debunking each other's welfare projects," she charged.

She also maintained that some economic forecasting tools were unreliable, Emphasizing the importance of approaching economic change as a process occurring during a period of time, she charged that a static view could not adequately explain the causes of economic conditions.

When people lose jobs because their skills become obsolete, all economists can say is "these people should never have been born." This, she claimed, is hardly a very helpful explanation.

When secured of presenting a "destructive viewpoint," she replied that her outlook was actually optimistic. To say, "We can't answer these objections, so we will pretend they don't exist...shows little faith is the subject" the maintained.