Applying economic models requires tacit professional judgment, not fixed rules.

Evidence

In this sense, I have argued that perspectives on economic change, such as postindustrialism and financialization (others could readily be added to the list),have to be justified notin terms of some absolute truth they reveal about the world but in terms of their usefulness with respect to specific theoretical problems.Different ways of‘seeing’ the salient shifts that constitute long-term change in the economy produce new questions for investigation, and can potentially help to resolve impasses in areas of ongoing research. — Greta R. Krippner, The Financialization of the American…, 129 (#expands, via linked claim)

The test of its meaningfulness and usefulness is not whether it accounts for everything that is happening in global politics. Obviously it does not. The test is whether it provides a more meaningful and useful lens through which to view international developments than any alternative paradigm. In addition, no paradigm is eternally valid. While a civilizational approach may be helpful to understanding global politics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, this does not mean that it would have been equally helpful in the mid-twentieth century or that it will be helpful in the mid-twenty-first century. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 24 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Frameworks for economic change should be judged by theoretical usefulness, not absolute truth. — Greta R. Krippner, The Financialization of the American…, 129; Economic theories function as analytic engines rather than exact copies of reality.; A model with fewer free parameters is easier for practitioners to adopt. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 726 (+2 more)

Related

• Frameworks for economic change should be judged by theoretical usefulness, not absolute truth. (similarity 0.91)
• Economic theories function as analytic engines rather than exact copies of reality. (similarity 0.89)
• Analytical paradigms should be judged by relative utility, not completeness or permanence. (similarity 0.88)
• Economists’ modeling may bend economic reality toward theoretical assumptions (similarity 0.79)
• Economic models are deliberately simplified representations enabling mathematical reasoning. (similarity 0.78)
• Scholars should verify economic shifts empirically before explaining them (similarity 0.78)
• Economic models serve as engines of analysis, not photographic records of reality (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Frameworks for economic change should be judged by theoretical usefulness, not absolute truth. #expands (0.82) — Greta R. Krippner, The Financialization of the American…, 129
• Economic theories function as analytic engines rather than exact copies of reality. #expands (0.80)
• Analytical paradigms should be judged by relative utility, not completeness or permanence. #expands (0.78) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 24
• A model with fewer free parameters is easier for practitioners to adopt. #corroborates (0.72) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 726