Workshop “The Conception of Evidence and the Shaping of Doing Economics”, 20-21 Nov., Iași, Romania

The University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” in Iași, Romania, will host a workshop on 20–21 November 2026 devoted to the nature and role of evidence in economics and other sciences.

In much of modern economics, both mainstream and beyond, the issue of evidence centres on the increasing sophistication of econometric inference. Underpinning this is a confidence that econometric models are sufficiently robust to provide accurate forecasts of economic trends and to illuminate our understanding of phenomena. The rise of experimental game theory within new behaviouralism further augments this allegedly rich evidential base. Our ability to grasp the complexities of the economy continues to grow.

Yet fragilities persist. The failure of the profession to predict — and to understand — the great financial crisis remains emblematic of these limits, and interrogation and reflection are not always apparent in economic thinking. This workshop aims to furnish researchers within the EC2U Alliance with the means to question standard presumptions about the nature of evidence in economics. Through a combination of invited experts, Q&A sessions and group discussions, participants will be encouraged to reflect on different types of evidence, their role in analysis and argumentation, and, more broadly, on the doing of economics.