二十五个经济学大问题（英文版供参考）

What is the correct economic status of private property?

• Property is a naturally arising relationship between human beings and material things. Property and enforceable property rights make possible economic calculation, a wider and more productive division of labor, and therefore increasing levels of prosperity. Indeed, civilization itself is inconceivable in the absence of private property. Any encroachment on property results in loss of freedom and prosperity.
• Property is at the heart of most serious inequalities and oppressions in modern civilization. Only by regulation, transfer payments, redistribution of property, and common ownership can society arrive at fairness, justice, and human dignity for all.
• Property is an important component of our social system but its status as a "right" is contingent. It must be subject to regulation and modification for the general good. The state must intervene to prevent abuses of economic power, even at the cost of reducing traditional prerogatives of owners.
• Property is central to prosperity and economic growth. Accordingly, it is of the utmost importance that the state, or more abstractly the law, maintain and modify the bundle of property rights in such a way as to allocate transactions costs in such a way as to promote maximum growth and economic efficiency. Property does not arise naturally, but is the end product of the legal system.

学派解读：

1. The first choice represents the school of thought known as libertarianism, classical liberalism, or Austrian economics. This perspective holds that private property is a natural right, and that the protection of property rights and the ability to freely exchange goods and services is essential for economic prosperity and individual freedom.
2. The second choice represents the school of thought known as socialism, which holds that private property is the root of inequality and oppression, and that the state should use regulation, transfer payments, and redistribution to achieve fairness and justice for all members of society.
3. The third choice represents the school of thought known as social democracy or welfare state capitalism. This perspective holds that private property is an important component of society but should be subject to regulation and modification in the interest of the general good. The state must intervene to prevent abuses of economic power and ensure social welfare.
4. The forth choice represents the school of thought known as Neo-classical economics. This perspective holds that property is central to prosperity and economic growth, and that the state should maintain and modify the bundle of property rights in such a way as to allocate transactions costs in such a way as to promote maximum growth and economic efficiency. This perspective is based on the efficiency and the market-based approach.

What is the proper method to conduct research in economic science?

• The economist should not mimic the behavior of the natural scientists, because the social sciences involve human beings. Human action is characterized by intentional behavior, which involves the rational use of means to achieve desired ends. The very subject matter of economics—capital goods, money, wage rates, etc.—is not defined by physical or chemical properties, but instead by the mental or subjective attitudes that human minds take toward these things. Consequently, the proper method for an economist is to start with self-evident axioms—such as that people try to achieve the highest satisfaction at the lowest cost—and logically deduce conclusions from them.
• Like the physicist, the economist (if he wants to be scientific) should construct a precise model that yields quantitative predictions about economic variables, such as GDP and unemployment. Then the economist should test those predictions against the actual data as collected by statistical researchers. At any given time, the best explanation or "theory" of a certain economic phenomenon is that model which yields the best fit between predictions and actual data.
• The question is misleading; economics cannot really be scientific in the conventional sense of the term. In physics we have fixed "laws" that are the same in every society and every time period. In contrast, there are no fixed laws in economics. The economist might study a certain historical episode and conclude that, say, rent control didn’t achieve its objectives when it was tried in Manhattan after World War II. Nonetheless, it may still be true that rent control could work in Paris in 2004 if the people in charge take care to avoid the mistakes of the past.
• To be scientific, we need to modify the traditional economistic approach of viewing society as nothing but a collection of atomistic, egoistic individuals. In reality, human beings consider themselves to be part of a greater social whole. A more fruitful avenue of research would be to study the complex groups with which people identify, whether class, race, or sex. Such an analysis would reveal the undeniable power of relationships in society, and give a much better understanding of economic events than typical, simplistic economic models.

1. The first choice represents the school of thought known as Austrian economics. This perspective holds that the proper method for conducting research in economic science is to start with self-evident axioms, such as that people try to achieve the highest satisfaction at the lowest cost, and deduce conclusions from them. This perspective emphasizes the importance of human action and subjective attitudes in economic analysis.
2. The second choice represents the school of thought known as positivism, which holds that the proper method for conducting research in economic science is to construct precise models that yield quantitative predictions about economic variables, such as GDP and unemployment. These predictions should then be tested against actual data. This perspective emphasizes the importance of statistical analysis and testing hypotheses.