On the Empirical Content of Demand Analysis

Falsification of nontrivial empirical statements, of a statistical nature or not, is basically destructive. No wonder that it is rarely practiced. Rather than then abandoning a rejected null hypothesis, one tries to salvage it by looking for reasons why the rejection of an otherwise credible, plausible hypothesis occurs. One then attempts to modify the set-up in such a manner that formal rejection is avoided. Testing, in general, but specifically of nonnested hypotheses, can be seen as a kind of model selection. These issues are illustrated with examples from applied demand analysis: the testing of the homogeneity condition and of Slutsky symmetry and the choice of functional form for demand systems.