Verisimilitude and the Scientific Strategy of Economic Theory

Methodological norms in economic theorising are interpreted as rational strategies to optimise some epistemic utility functions. A definition of ‘empirical verisimilitude’ is defended as a plausible interpretation of the epistemic preferences of researchers. Some salient differences between the scientific strategies of physics and of economics are derived from the comparison of the relative costs associated to each strategy. The classical discussion about the ‘realism of assumptions’ in economics is also considered under the light of the concept of ‘empirical verisimilitude’.