Applied theory makeovers

I argue that economists' distinction between ‘pure’ and ‘applied’ economic theory is often based on papers' stylistic markers rather than their methodology or scope. I illustrate this point with a model of price competition for boundedly rational consumers, due to Piccione and Spiegler. I first present its original, ‘pure style’ version. I then offer several ‘applied style’ modifications, and speculate how audiences would react to the various versions.