But Economics uses mathematics. Not for proofs (although some misled academics disagree), but for understanding of prior performance.
The real disaster is that mathematics is increasingly using economics and other social sciences as a filter for what is permissible to be calculated. :/
It's not about what you calculate, it's what you do with it and how you represent it.
Hypothetical scenario: you calculate that people from country A are twice as likely to commit a crime in country B when compared to native citizens of country B. Ok. What do you do with that? I'll tell you what you don't do: you don't round up everyone from country A and kick them out and justify it with "mathematics." That is an incomplete view.
Perhaps I'm sorely misunderstanding what problem you see so please correct me of that's so.
You're being reasonable, but this is not how everyone views it. In the real world today, many would say you should not publish or even collect that information regarding country A, because it might result in discriminatory behavior toward citizens of country A.
You're right. In the real world there are messy concerns and problems that aren't present in academia. Innocuous research can be used for nefarious means. If there is a chance of that happening, should the research be published? A very interesting (and very real) ethical question.
