Do economic theories need empirical support?
I agree with a more axiomatic approach. The whole debate over empirical analysis becomes confused however. I don’t think taking an axiomatic approach to economics means that one discounts support for a theory. However, I don’t believe that empiricism can, in-and-of-itself, prove or disprove theories. Typically with an empirical approach to anything, one has to asked what exactly is being measured. I’m a counselor, and this is also a debate in the counseling field. Can counseling theories be be proven or disproved by empirical analysis?