Professor Nick Barr and Professor Amos Witztum from the London School of Economics and Political Science provide a 'set of discourses', in which they discuss their view of economics and the role of economics as a discipline.
The discussion starts with Professor Barr reading a quotation from Pigou, suggesting that economics is about 'light' (i.e. the development of an analytical framework) and 'fruit' (the application of that analytical framework to economic policy problems).
Some economists argue that the main purpose of the academic study of economics is to push forward our theoretical understanding (light); others, like Pigou, argue that the main purpose of the subject is to find 'the causes of things', to apply analytical framework to economic policy problems in order to improve human lives (fruit). Throughout these videos Professor Nick Barr and Professor Amos Witztum debate their differing perspectives but both do agree that the 'light' and the 'fruit' are affected by each other. Much of what they discuss can also be applied to other social sciences.
In part 3 of this short debate the two discuss Economic philosophy in relation to the Light and Fruit debate.
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