The epistemology of economic sciences questions the nature of the knowledge produced, its foundations, and its implications for research and public policy. The dominant paradigms— positivism, interpretivism, constructivism, and more recently critical realism—shape the methods used and influence the validity of results. This article aims to clarify these stances in order to guide the researcher in economics when choosing a coherent position between research object, theoretical framework, and methodology. We also propose comparisons with management sciences, recent empirical illustrations (financial crisis, digital economy, ecological transition), and a reflection on the future evolution of economic methods.
Rachid et al. (Wed,) studied this question.