The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online

This article defines the concept of realism and explores its implications for ontology, defending the idea of ontological realism and its relevance to economics, while rejecting the idea of some special ‘realist ontology’ that informs us about the ways of the real world. The main focus is on what it is for the world (its constituents, structure, and ways of functioning) to exist. Economics-relevant scientific realism suggests that much of the social world is characterized by non-causal science-independence. Implications of this are outlined for causation, social construction, economics-dependence of the economy, modelling, and truth in economics.