Topics essay – please pick one
– Economics is related to many disciplines. Choose one of the following disciplines: sociology,
political science, mathematics, history, philosophy, law, physics, biology – and discuss the patterns
of interaction between this discipline and economics
– How do you see the future of economics? What methodological changes and challenges are we
to expect in the next decades?
– What could be the value of economic theory? Find an example of applying economics in real-
world practices and discuss whether economics has been successful as an applied discipline.
– What are the limitations of economics? Find a critique of (contemporary or past) economics and
use the ideas from the course to analyze whether and how far this critique could be justified
-How do the contexts shape economics? Consider one of many social/political factors and explain,
how and why it may matter for economic analysis and economics discipline
– Pick up an economic model of interest to you (not considered in the course) and analyze it using
the approaches you have studied or other methodological perspectives on modelling.
-Find a paper in empirical economics and evaluate, based on what you have learned in the course,
the methods used there to establish a causal connection.
-Find a debate/controversy in contemporary or past economics (not studied in the course) and
explain the fundamental methodological assumptions used by the participants of the debate
-Find an example of a paper or a policy document in economics that deals with normative
questions and reconstruct its normative (value) presuppositions.
– a topic of your choice (approved by the lecturers, please contact the course coorinator if you
would suggest your own topic)
