--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This book is an essay in what is…" description: "\"“This book is an essay in what is derogatorily called \"literary economics,\" as opposed to mathematical economics, econometrics, or (embracing them both..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/charles-p-kindleberger-40961_books_this-book-is-an-essay-in-what-is-derogat_1960781.jpg" --- # This book is an essay in what is derogatorily called… ![“This book is an essay in what is derogatorily called "literary economics," as opposed to mathematical economics, econometrics, or (embracing them both) the "new economic history." A man does what he can, and in the more elegant - one is tempted to say "fancier" - techniques I am, as one who…” quote by Charles P. Kindleberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/charles-p-kindleberger-40961_books_this-book-is-an-essay-in-what-is-derogat_1960781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/charles-p-kindleberger-40961_books_this-book-is-an-essay-in-what-is-derogat_1960781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/charles-p-kindleberger-40961_books_this-book-is-an-essay-in-what-is-derogat_1960781.jpg) > ““This book is an essay in what is derogatorily called "literary economics," as opposed to mathematical economics, econometrics, or (embracing them both) the "new economic history." A man does what he can, and in the more elegant - one is tempted to say "fancier" - techniques I am, as one who received his formation in the 1930s, untutored. A colleague has offered to provide a mathematical model to decorate the work. It might be useful to some readers, but not to me. Catastrophe mathematics, dealing with such events as falling off a height, is a new branch of the discipline, I am told, which has yet to demonstrate its rigor or usefulness. I had better wait. Econometricians among my friends tell me that rare events such as panics cannot be dealt with by the normal techniques of regression, but have to be introduced exogenously as "dummy variables." The real choice open to me was whether to follow relatively simple statistical procedures, with an abundance of charts and tables, or not. In the event, I decided against it. For those who yearn for numbers, standard series on bank reserves, foreign trade, commodity prices, money supply, security prices, rate of interest, and the like are fairly readily available in the historical statistics.”” [Charles P. Kindleberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-p-kindleberger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author prefers narrative and descriptive economic analysis over complex mathematical models, especially for rare, catastrophic events. **In simple terms:** He favors simple, story‑driven economics. Key Takeaway Use clear narratives for complex topics. Themes economics methodology history statistics narrative Mood analytical critical Type explanatory reflective When to use this quote - policy reports - historical research - public presentations Key Concepts economic historiography qualitative analysis model skepticism Questions to Reflect On - When is a simple narrative insufficient? - How can rare events be better modeled? A Different Perspective Quantitative rigor may be sacrificed, limiting predictive power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Finance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finance/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) ## Related quotes > [Conventions of generality and mathematical elegance may be just as much barriers to the attainment and diffusion of knowledge as may contentment with particularity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/conventions-of-generality-and-mathematical-elegance-may-be-just-as/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Mathematical economics is old enough to be respectable, but not all economists respect it. 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