The Economics of Economists
Institutional Setting, Individual Incentives, and Future Prospects
Will be published approx. on 19. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
377 pages
978-1-009-67961-9 (ISBN)
Description
The profession of academic economics has been widely criticized for being excessively dependent on technical models based on unrealistic assumptions about rationality and individual behavior, and yet it remains a sparsely studied area. This volume presents a series of background readings on the profession by leading scholars in the history of economic thought and economic methodology. Adopting a fresh critique, the contributors investigate the individual incentives prevalent in academic economics, describing economists as rational actors who react to their intellectual environment and the incentives for economic research. Timely topics are addressed, including the financial crisis and the consequences for the discipline, as well as more traditional themes such as pluralism in research, academic organizations, teaching methodology, gender issues and professional ethics. This collection will appeal to scholars working on topics related to economic methodology and the teaching of economics.
Reviews / Votes
'This is a very important and much-needed contribution to scholarship on the economics profession. Is there herding behavior in economics? Is the profession unable to address issues of fundamental concern on account of its social organization? These questions and many others are investigated in this very welcome volume.' John B. Davis, Marquette University, Wisconsin and Universiteit van Amsterdam 'This collection of essays offers vivid images of the academic economic profession, taken from various angles and perspectives. It is attentive to the practices, self-representations and stereotypes of this tribe and judicious on the conflicting evidence emerging from the literature. It turns a non-distorting mirror on the dismal science players, revealing an interesting and informative picture, but it is also thought-provoking in mapping wrong routes and suggesting alternative travel.' Maria Cristina Marcuzzo, Universita degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy 'Immersion in the science studies literature ought to lead economists into engaging in the self-referential enterprise of rethinking their own presuppositions. Since the phenomenon of science revolves around the process of learning about the intrinsically unknown and inherently unforeseeable, it provokes reconsideration of many of the deep issues dividing economists, such as rationality, uncertainty and methodological individualism. This volume takes important steps in opening up space for a more synergetic approach to 'science' and the 'economy'.' Esther-Mirjam Sent, Radboud Universiteit NijmegenMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 24 Tables, black and white; 13 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
547 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-009-67961-9 (9781009679619)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Alessandro Lanteri | Jack Vromen
The Economics of Economists
Institutional Setting, Individual Incentives, and Future Prospects
Book
06/2014
Cambridge University Press
€150.60
Shipment within 15-20 days
Alessandro Lanteri | Jack Vromen
The Economics of Economists
Institutional Setting, Individual Incentives, and Future Prospects
E-Book
05/2014
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€107.99
Available for download
Persons
Alessandro Lanteri is Assistant Professor of Management in the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut. His research rests at the border between economics, ethics and psychology and has appeared in the European Journal of the History of Economics Thought, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies and the Journal of Business Ethics. Jack Vromen is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is also academic director of EIPE (Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics). His research focuses on theoretical and meta-theoretical issues in economics and evolution. Recently he has also developed research interests in neuro-economics, in social mechanisms and in the popularizing 'Economics Made Fun' genre.
Content
Introduction Alessandro Lanteri and Jack Vromen; Part I. The Institutional Setting of Academic Economics: 1. The culture of academic economics Arjo Klamer; 2. The construction of a global profession: the transnationalization of economics Marion Fourcade; 3. Academic rankings between the 'Republic of Science' and 'New Public Management' Margit Osterloh and Bruno S. Frey; 4. Gatekeepers of economics: the network of editorial boards in economic journals Alberto Baccini and Lucio Barabesi; Part II. The Individual Incentives of Professional Economists: 5. Can European economics compete with US economics? And should it? David Colander; 6. Career patterns of economics PhDs: a decade of outcomes for the class of 1997 Wendy Stock and John Siegfried; 7. Scientific norms and the values of economists: the case of priority fights in economics Wade Hands; Part III. Challenges and Solutions: 8. Why economics is on the wrong track Deirdre McCloskey; 9. Do we try to teach our students too much? Robert Frank; 10. The perils of narrative teaching in economics Jack Vromen; 11. Academic women's careers in the social sciences Donna Ginther and Shulamit Kahn; 12. Ought (only) economists to defect? Stereotypes, identity and the prisoner's dilemma Alessandro Lanteri and Salvatore Rizzello; 13. The financial crisis and the systemic failure of academic economics David Colander, Hans Follmer, Armin Haas, Michael Goldberg, Katarina Juselius, Alan Kirman, Thomas Lux and Brigitte Sloth; Index.