Three essays on the economic science C.1

This bundle of essays is the result of an opportunity to spend more than a year in reading and reflection about economics phase of its development. It is by no means intended as a diagnosis of that phase, or as a set of recommendations for future research. What is offered is one man's explanations of some recent developments in economic theory, his comments and perplexities about the character and basis of economic knowledge, and his intuitions about possible directions of future work in theory and in empirical investigations. In keeping with the unsystematic nature of this undertaking, the essays reflect the particular preoccupations and limitations of their author at least as much as they reflect the current state of economic science. These preoccupations concern broadly the parallel and connected development of economic theory and economic observation and measurement in order to increase man's understanding and society's control of economic conditions, advancement, and well-being. More in particular, they concern the development and the use of mathematical and statistical concepts and tools for these purposes.