The Micro-Macro Link in Heterodox Economics

Any discussion of the micro–macro link in heterodox economics entails two main questions. The first question is relevant for social sciences in general and asks for the correct or adequate treatment of aggregates and aggregation in social theory. Any answer to this general question incorporates a series of diverse philosophical viewpoints, including: ontological claims, for example, whether social and economic aggregates exist; epistemological questions, for example, regarding the role played by aggregates and aggregation in economic theory; and methodological aspects, for example, how to adequately model processes of aggregation. Given that economics faces myriad problems of aggregation—as in the case of market interaction, macroeconomic aggregates, or interpersonal coordination and contracting—the quest to provide suitable theoretical tools to adequately address aggregates and aggregation is of special interest to economists of different persuasions.