The role of aformalistic methodology in economics

Although economists use a variety of methodological tools, the emphasis is often put onto formalistic methods. Such methods rely on models, prediction, statistical analysis and, in some cases, on concepts particulary related to neoclassical economics like utility or individual rationality. Some economists argue that the rise of formalistic economics was a much more crucial phenomenon in the discipline than keynesian revolution. Prevalence of formalistic methodology in mainstream economics creates an environment in which economic research conducted in a different manner may be perceived as inferior or, in extreme cases, pseudoscientific. Abstaining from pejorative judgments, aformalistic economics can be defined negatively as the one not using formalistic tools. Although such a definition is broad, it encompasses various methods that have one in common, i.e., they do not use mathematical language or other formal means of research. Additionally, acknowledging the role of aformalistic methodology in economics can be linked with the approval of interdisciplinary research in the discipline. The influx of interdisciplinary thought can be seen as a beneficial factor enabling a better understanding of processes taking place in society. Since economy is inherently linked with all other aspects of human life, it cannot be proclaimed to be a seperate science detached from those aspects. This paper aims to analyze aformalistic methodology and showcase how it used by selected schools of economic thought and economists