Economic indicators, including the GDP data, are a display of historical data

History, by itself, cannot inform us about the state of an economy.

History cannot tell us whether the fundamentals of the economy are improving or deteriorating.

Theory rests upon the idea that human beings are acting, consciously and purposefully, fulfils this criterion.

Ludwig von Mises labeled this approach as praxeology.

Frank Shostak: In economics, we know the causes because human beings are acting consciously and purposefully.

This knowledge, in turn, helps us to understand the world of economics.

In economics we don’t assume or guess, rather we know what causes in economics emanate from human beings, he says.