Ramanan — A Short Note On George Soros’ Principle Of Reflexivity

A Post Keynesian view of Soros on reflexivity.

The Case for Concerted Action
A Short Note On George Soros’ Principle Of Reflexivity
V. Ramanan

INET — Soros, Academics Debate Reflexivity in Journal Issue

The Journal of Economic Methodology, the leading peer-reviewed journal on the philosophical foundations and methodological practice of economics, has published a special issue devoted to the theory of reflexivity developed by CEU Founder and Honorary Chairman George Soros.

The issue includes a new article by Soros articulating his most recent thinking on reflexivity and fallibility, the role of those concepts in social science, and their contribution to events such as the 2008 financial crisis and the euro crisis. The issue also contains contributions, responses and critiques from 18 leading scholars in economics and the history and philosophy of science.

The issue was prepared following a workshop held at CEU in October 2013 featuring Soros and hosted by the Office of the Provost at CEU, Katalin Farkas, who is also a professor in the Department of Philosophy, together with the Institute for Economic Thinking and the Journal of Economic Methodology. The discussion at CEU was moderated by Eric Beinhocker, head of the Institute’s research center at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, and visiting professor at CEU’s School of Public Policy, and included comments by Wade Hands, co-editor of the Journal and distinguished professor of economics at the University of Puget Sound. Both Beinhocker and Hands authored articles in the special issue.

The issue can be accessed free of charge, by following this link.

INET

Soros, Academics Debate Reflexivity in Journal Issue

Dirk Ehnts and Miguel Carrión Álvarez — The theory of reflexivity – a non-stochastic randomness theory for business schools only?

Abstract: The Alchemy of Finance, a book written by George Soros (1987) on the workings of financial markets, „has found a place in the reading lists of business schools as distinct from economics departments“, according to the author (2003, 4). His theory of reflexivity, which is at the center of the book, states that interdependence exists between the cognitive and manipulative functions of market participants. While Soros claims that imperfect knowledge rules on financial markets, academic orthodoxy assumes perfect knowledge and hence displays – in the absence of external shocks – financial markets as efficient. We review the work of Soros on reflexivity and follow up his claim that it can be used to attack the efficient market hypothesis. Both are discussed and then the ideas of Soros are compared to those of Post-Keynesian economics. We argue that Soros’ book is mainly ignored by neo-classical economists because they disagree with his axioms, and by heterodox economists because his ideas are not new. 

Institute for International Political Economy Berlin
The theory of reflexivity – a non-stochastic randomness theory for business schools only?
Dirk Ehnts and Miguel Carrión Álvarez