Economic theory, game theory and mathematical statistics have all increasingly become algorithmic sciences. Computable Economics, Algorithmic Game Theory [Noam Nisan, Tim Roiughgarden, Éva Tardos, Vijay V. Vazirani (Eds.), Algorithmic Game Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007] and Algorithmic Statistics [Péter Gács, John T. Tromp, Paul M.B. Vitányi, Algorithmic statistics, IEEE T...

Several commentators have argued that the Economics-Made-Fun (“EMF”) genre contains very little actual economics. As such, it would seem that criticisms of EMF do not apply economics more broadly. In this paper I take a contrary view, arguing that, in fact, at a deep conceptual level, the engine of EMF analyses is precisely the engine of mainstream economics. Specifically, I argue that both EMF...