Deck 2: Introduction to Heterodoxy

Question 1

In most economics departments of universities in the United States today, the orthodox paradigm in economics is the:

A) Marxist paradigm.
B) institutionalist paradigm.
C) neoclassical paradigm.
D) structuralist paradigm.

Answer 1

neoclassical paradigm.

Question 2

This textbook defines heterodoxy as:

A) a multi-paradigmatic approach.
B) economic multi-culturalism.
C) the willingness to observe issues from multiple perspectives.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Answer 2

All of the above.

Question 3

Heterodox economics adheres to the principle of:

A) scientific reductionism.
B) scientific holism.
C) marginalism.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Answer 3

scientific holism.

Question 4

Holism is the explicit recognition that:

A) the component parts of the whole cannot be understood in isolation.
B) the functions of individual components of a system can be analyzed without knowing the whole environment in which they exist.
C) the "all other things equal" assumption justifies scientific reductionism.
D) the whole system can be modeled as the sum of its parts.

Question 5

The concept of holism has been applied in which of the following fields?

A) Sociology
B) Physics
C) Ecology
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 6

In the late nineteenth century, mainstream economists in the United States and Britain increasingly embraced:

A) scientific reductionism.
B) holism.
C) communism.
D) spiritualism.

Question 7

Léon Walras' late nineteenth-century model of the economy consisted of:

A) a system of equations that represent the demand and supply sides of the many markets in which transactions simultaneously occur.
B) a small number of equations representing the aggregate behavior of a few groups.
C) a single equation linking total output to the principle inputs such as labor and capital.
D) a verbal explanation of how the distribution of income would become gradually less equal.

Question 8

The British economist John Maynard Keynes is most famous for his:

A) 1956 article explaining his growth model that linked output to investment.
B) 1776 Wealth of Nations, the book that marks the origin of the field of economics.
C) 1936 General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, which effectively created the field that is today known as macroeconomics.
D) 1867 Capital, the book that predicted the eventual demise of capitalism.

Question 9

Neoclassical economists:

A) tend to view the economy from the dynamic perspective of evolving systems.
B) focus on the optimal allocation of a fixed set of scarce resources.
C) have developed an elaborate modeling structure that supports Keynes' idea that aggregate supply and aggregate demand must be kept in balance through active macroeconomic policy.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 10

Neoclassical economists' efforts to match aggregate economic outcomes to microfoundations resulted in:

A) unrealistic microeconomic models of individual behavior.
B) simplistic aggregate functions that could be linked to micro models of individual behavior.
C) linear models that permitted the aggregation of individual micro functions.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 11

Holism differs from neoclassical economics because of the latter's:

A) effective embrace of the scientific method.
B) focus on all three spheres of human existence rather than just economic issues.
C) use of the "all other things equal" assumption.
D) use of static equilibrium models.

Question 12

Among the fundamental ideas that are often embraced by heterodox economists is:

A) humans simultaneously live in economic and social spheres; nature can be ignored.
B) objectivity requires that researchers' own cultures be respected and permitted to shape research.
C) complexity requires that it be assumed away in favor of simplified models.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 13

Among the fundamental ideas that are often embraced by heterodox economists is:

A) environmental consequences of economic activity must be internalized.
B) mathematics is required in economic analysis.
C) economic policy must ignore the distribution of income, which is a social issue.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 14

Among the fundamental ideas that are often embraced by heterodox economists is:

A) they make selective use of multiple models rather than relying on one paradigm.
B) culture influences economic thought.
C) the fallacy of composition distorts human thinking.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 15

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu:

A) provided a coherent framework for analyzing the co-existence of cultures.
B) called for a "sociology of sociology."
C) developed a detailed conceptual framework that enables social scientists to break down the components of the cultures and subcultures according to the influence they have on the behavior of an individual.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 16

Pierre Bourdieu wrote that when people embrace the subculture that permeates the field they identify with, they:

A) adopt certain attitudes and dispositions.
B) effectively reject society's dominant culture.
C) they are no longer in need of a doxa.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 17

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu defined doxa as:

A) a fundamental, deep-founded, mostly unproven set of beliefs that a person comes to rely on for survival within a particular field.
B) the "half-baked ideas" that Douglass North claimed that people latch onto in order to deal with their lack of a full understanding of their complex existence.
C) the justification for the patterns of human thinking and action that people come to accept as normal and appropriate.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 18

When a holder of cultural capital uses it to gain some advantage over someone who holds less cultural capital, Bourdieu calls this:

A) cultural competition.
B) discrimination.
C) symbolic violence.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 19

James Lovelock's (1972) famous Gaia hypothesis states that:

A) the planet Earth functions as a large homeostatic organism that actively adjusts its "internal" natural conditions.
B) the paleontological record suggests that Mother Earth occasionally drives a very large proportion of species into extinction at the same time.
C) all species inevitably perish because they grow too dominant.
D) Earth should be treated like a living organism.

Question 20

Microfoundations are:

A) the rules that guide human behavior, similar to institutions.
B) a logically consistent set of models called for by neoclassical economists to explain how individual consumers and producers generated observed macroeconomic outcomes.
C) fundamental assumptions about how a social system operates.
D) what Keynes based his macroeconomic analysis on.

Question 21

Which of the following statements correctly describes heterodox economics?

A) A set of models that are very similar to those used in mainstream economic analysis.
B) A set of ideas, perspectives, and models that completely rejects the neoclassical approach to economic analysis.
C) An approach to economic analysis that embraces the dynamic, inter-disciplinary, and systemic perspectives of holism.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 22

Which of the following describes an economist who follows a specific economic paradigm?

A) An institutionalist.
B) A Marxist.
C) A Keynesian.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 23

Which of the following statements refers to the concept of holism?

A) The whole is the sum of its parts.
B) If you understand the workings of each part separately, you will understand the whole system.
C) You can predict the outcome of the whole system by knowing the function of its parts.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 24

A hypothesis:

A) is not falsifiable.
B) is synonymous with a theory.
C) must be robustly confirmed by experiments and evidence before it becomes a theory.
D) can be refuted, but a theory cannot.

Question 25

The holistic approach is most compatible with:

A) the scientific method.
B) the Gaia hypothesis.
C) the Medea hypothesis.
D) the scientific method

Question 26

Holistic models are:

A) systemic.
B) dynamic.
C) multi-disciplinary.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 27

Which of the following include fundamental ideas of heterodox economics?

A) A system may have multiple equilibria, or no equilibrium at all.
B) In the face of complexity, economists should embrace the precautionary principle.
C) Human welfare cannot be accurately represented by an aggregate welfare function.
D) Complexity must be explicitly recognized; it cannot be assumed away.
E) All of the above.

Question 28

Which of the following statement(s) is(are) true?

A) Heterodox analysis seldom justifies collective actions by government.
B) Heterodox models demonstrate prominence of individuals in making decisions that make for efficient market outcomes.
C) Neoclassical models require the use of mathematics; verbal models cannot capture neoclassical ideas.
D) Heterodox analysis recognizes complexity, uncertainty, and catastrophic non-linear outcomes, which validates the precautionary principle.

Question 29

Which of the following statement(s) is(are) true about Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence?

A) Symbolic violence often does not manifest itself in overt forms, such as exploitation, oppression, harassment, or even physical violence.
B) People who are the object of symbolic violence are often complicit in their own subordination.
C) Symbolic violence is based on cultural capital.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.