ABSTRACT
According to the founder of economics, Adam Smith, the original purpose of the discipline was an “Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” as the title of his famous book proclaimed.
However, once economic theory was dominated by neo-classical economics, microeconomic theory became the core of the discipline. This evolution culminated with the Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium model, which became the core body of mainstream economic theory.
The increasing mathematization of economics led to the exclusion from the realm of economic theory of every question or puzzle which cannot be mathematically treated.
Although potentially falsifiable, most statements in social sciences in general, and in economics in particular, are only imperfectly testable.
In the chapter, it is described how some institutional mechanisms favor endogamy in economics.
It is remarked the need that prospective economists study the real-world economy.
