ABSTRACT
As a topic unto itself, methodology is given very little attention in courses taken by most undergraduate economics majors. Yet methodological concerns influence the very debates and disagreements that help to shape economic theory, practice, and policy. Conflicting economic paradigms 1 —ways of making sense of the economic world—are often best understood by locating the methodological suppositions that guide practitioners in the field. So, if you are able to identify methodological differences you are better equipped to understand the plurality of perspectives advanced in economic debates. This chapter offers an introduction to economic methodology with special attention given to the variety of economic methods informing the practice of radical political economy.
