ABSTRACT
When I first read Mark Blaug’s 1980 book on economic methodology, I was elated. After a famine of almost fifteen years, there was now a major publication by a prominent economist and from a respected publisher. For years publishers and editors rejected manuscripts on methodology, saying that, while they might be well written and often very interesting, there was no market for methodology. But in one strong stroke, Blaug proved them wrong. And, more importantly, his 1980 book was reprinted each year after its initial publication, culminating in the second edition which appeared in 1992. Without any doubt, those of us interested in an open discussion and study of methodology will be in debt to Blaug for a long time. Without wishing to devalue my appreciation of this book, I must admit that my second reading was not so inspiring. There are major problems with this book which need attention. While a second edition was published in
1992, as the quotation above explains, it was essentially the 1980 book. The only changes were a new preface, a new concluding chapter, and updating of the discussion of the maximization hypothesis (his new Chapter 15).
