The value of econometrics to economists in business and government: a study of the state of the discipline

[摘要] This paper is the first ever in-depth study of the econometric practice ofquantitative economists outside academia. It goes further, to examine empirically theoften-heard proposition that academic and nonacademic economists nowadays seem toanalyse the same applied quantitative problems in markedly separate ways. Nine indicatorsof separation between the approaches of ‘town’ and ‘gown’ economists are developed.The study rests on detailed interviews with 50 nonacademic economists drawnwidely from a single area of professional activity: the Australian housing sector. Theseeconomists' use of econometric methods, and their views on the value of these methods,are documented and compared with the academic approach to applied econometric work,as reported in the scholarly literature. The evidence on the nine indicators supports theexistence of a state of separation. The paper points to some undesirable consequences ofseparation and concludes with practical ideas on what should be done about it. Thereare lessons in the findings of this study for the future of other quantitative disciplinesthat are widely practised in government, business and industry.

[学科分类] 自然科学（综合）