Abstract: The Constitution of Economic Expertise (Salter)
Title: The Constitute of Economic Expertise: Social Science in the Public Square, Past, and Present
Author: Alexander Salter
Abstract: Why are the institutions that constitute scholarly economics the way they are? What determines the kinds of questions economists ask and the answers they find convincing? This article answers these questions by positing that within the modern economics profession, economic ideas compete on margins unrelated to the pursuit of truth. The adaptive value of certain kinds of economics can explain the prevalence of the economics that is currently practiced. The article questions the claim that modern economics has “passed the market test.” Ultimately, the mutual network between Academy and State supports economics that promote the managerial-administrative state and discourages economics that do not. The result of this unfortunate dynamic is the kind of skewed economic practice that has frequently plagued the discipline.
