Economists and Societies is the first book to
systematically compare the profession of economics in
the United States, Britain, and France, and to explain
why economics, far from being a uniform science, differs
in important ways among these three countries. Drawing
on in-depth interviews with economists, institutional
analysis, and a wealth of scholarly evidence, Marion
Fourcade traces the history of economics in each country
from the late nineteenth century to the present,
demonstrating how each political, cultural, and
institutional context gave rise to a distinct
professional and disciplinary configuration. She argues
that because the substance of political life varied from
country to country, people's experience and
understanding of the economy, and their political and
intellectual battles over it, crystallized in different
ways--through scientific and mercantile professionalism
in the United States, public-minded elitism in Britain,
and statist divisions in France. Fourcade moves past old
debates about the relationship between culture and
institutions in the production of expert knowledge to
show that scientific and practical claims over the
economy in these three societies arose from different
elites with different intellectual orientations,
institutional entanglements, and social purposes. Much
more than a history of the economics profession,
Economists and Societies is a revealing exploration of
American, French, and British society and culture as
seen through the lens of their respective economic
institutions and the distinctive character of their
economic experts. |
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