Teira Serrano, David2024-05-212024-05-212008-05-15https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/19430In this paper I study how the theoretical categories of consumption theory were used by Milton Friedman in order to classify empirical data and obtain predictions. Friedman advocated a case by case definition of these categories that traded theoretical coherence for empirical content. I contend that this methodological strategy puts a clear incentive to contest any prediction contrary to our interest: it can always be argued that these predictions rest on a wrong classification of data. My conjecture is that this methodological strategy can contribute to explain why Friedman’s predictions never generated the consensus he expected among his peersesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessjournal articleMilton FriedmanPrediction in economics