Structural versus Atheoretical Econometrics

John Rust's take on the debate is available on the website below.

link here

comments are a response to a paper by Michael Keane. the Keane paper makes points that are similar to the Deaton "randomisation in the tropics" article that created so much debate earlier this year. The Keane paper contains some interesting discussions of the role of quasi-experiments in economics, the extent to which "atheoretical" exploration of relationships has led to progress in other sciences, the importance of validation and related issues.

link here