Skip Navigation



Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published online on October 30, 2007
Cambridge Journal of Economics, doi:10.1093/cje/bem036
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
32/2/257    most recent
bem036v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lee, K. S.
Right arrow Articles by Mirowski, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

The energy behind Vernon Smith's experimental economics

Kyu Sang Lee and Philip Mirowski*

* Ajou University, Korea and University of Notre Dame, USA, respectively

Address for correspondence: Kyu Sang Lee, College of Social Sciences, Ajou University, San 5, Wonchun-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea; email: kyuslee{at}ajou.ac.kr

This paper begins with the interplay of the induced value theory and the Hayek hypothesis, and subsequently suggests that we need to understand Vernon Smith's experimental method as not simply empirical, but encompassing a commitment to a special version of neoclassical demand theory. To this end, we compare his commitment to Harold Hotelling's important work on demand, an exemplar of what we dub the Mirowski–Hands thesis. By providing an overview of Smith's research up until the mid-1970s, we place this progenitor of experimental economics in a new light, revealing his special epistemic commitments.

Key Words: Vernon Smith • Hayek hypothesis • Induced value theory • Mirowski–Hands thesis • Energy metaphor

JEL classifications: B21, B31, C90, C92

Manuscript received March 1, 2006; final version received May 21, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.