3. Types of metaphors and identificational slips in economic discourse

The employment of metaphors, originating from either inter- or intra-discipline borrowing, can be fruitful if one specifies correctly the type of resemblance which the metaphor is intended to reveal. After a discussion of the role of metaphors, the chapter identifies four types: the nominal, heterologous, homologous, and unificational. An ‘identificational slip’ is committed when the employed metaphor is intended to reveal one type of resemblance which evidence does not support.