Economics as a Social Science

by Andrew M. Kamarck

Author	: Andrew M. Kamarck
Publisher	: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages	: 233
Release	: 2009-04-21
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 0472022024

GET BOOK

Economics as a Social Science is a highly readable critique of economic theory, based on a wide range of research, that endeavors to restore economics to its proper role as a social science. Contrary to conventional economic theory, which assumes that people have no free will, this book instead bases economics on the realistic assumption that human beings can choose; that we are complex beings affected by emotion, custom, habit, and reason; and that our behavior varies with circumstances and times. It embraces the findings of history, psychology, and other social sciences and the insights from great literature on human behavior as opposed to the rigidity set by mathematical axioms that define how economics is understood and practiced today. Andrew M. Kamarck demonstrates that only rough accuracy is attainable in economic measurement, and that understanding an economy requires knowledge from other disciplines. The canonical hypotheses of economics (perfect rationality, self-interest, equilibrium) are shown to be inadequate (and in the case of "equilibrium" to be counterproductive to understanding the forces that dominate the economy), and more satisfactory assumptions provided. The market is shown to work imperfectly and to require appropriate institutions to perform its function reasonably well. Further, Kamarck argues that self-interest does not always lead to helping the general interest. Economics as a Social Science examines and revises the fundamental assumptions of economics. Because it avoids jargon and explains terms carefully, it will be of interest to economics majors as well as to graduate students of economics and other social sciences, and social scientists working in government and the private sector. Andrew M. Kamarck is former Director, Economic Development Institute, the World Bank.

Economics as Social Science

by Roberto Marchionatti

Author	: Roberto Marchionatti
Publisher	: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages	: 229
Release	: 2016-10-14
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 1317438345

GET BOOK

There is a growing consensus in social sciences that there is a need for interdisciplinary research on the complexity of human behavior. At an age of crisis for both the economy and economic theory, economics is called upon to fruitfully cooperate with contiguous social disciplines. The term ‘economics imperialism’ refers to the expansion of economics to territories that lie outside the traditional domain of the discipline. Its critics argue that in starting with the assumption of maximizing behaviour, economics excludes the nuances of rival disciplines and has problems in interpreting real-world phenomena. This book focuses on a territory that persists to be largely intractable using the postulates of economics: that of primitive societies. In retracing the origins of economics imperialism back to the birth of the discipline, this volume argues that it offers a reductionist interpretation that is poor in interpretative power. By engaging with the neglected traditions of sociological and anthropological studies, the analysis offers suggestions for a more democratic cooperation between the social sciences. Economics as Social Science is of great interest to those who study history of economic thought, political economy and the history of economic anthropology, as well as history of social sciences and economic methodology.

Economics As a Science of Human Behaviour

by Bruno S. Frey

Author	: Bruno S. Frey
Publisher	: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages	: 259
Release	: 2013-06-29
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 940171374X

GET BOOK

This book champions the view that economics is a social science, and that, moreover, it may serve as a new paradigm for the social sciences. Economics is taken to be part of those sciences which deal with actual problems of society by providing insights, improving our understanding and suggesting solutions. I am aware that the way problems are addressed here has little in common with economics as it is generally understood today; most economists make strong efforts to imitate the exact sciences. Economics tends to become a branch of applied mathematics; the majority of all publications in professional journals and books are full of axioms, lemmas and proofs, and they are much concerned with purely formal deductions. Often, when the results are translated into verbal language, or when they are applied empirically, disappointingly little of interest remains. The book wants to show that another type of economics exists which is surprisingly little known. This type of economics has its own particular point of view. It centres on a concept of man, or a model of human behaviour, which differs from those normally used in other social sciences such as sociology, political science, law, or psychology. I do not, how ever, claim that economics is the only legitimate social science. On the vii viii PREFACE contrary, economics can provide useful insights only in collaboration with the other social sciences-an aspect which has been disregarded by mathematically oriented economics.

The Birth of Economics as a Social Science

by Francesca Dal Degan

Author	: Francesca Dal Degan
Publisher	: Routledge
Total Pages	: 233
Release	: 2019-03-26
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 0429537581

GET BOOK

Although considered a classic thinker, Sismondi is seldom discussed, at least in English. In this context, this volume offers a key reference work on the intellectual and economic contribution of Sismondi to the economic, political, and social sciences. The book explores his works in order to rediscover the direction of a viable path to individual and public happiness. Through examining Sismondi’s work, The Birth of Economics as a Social Science contributes to the current debate on the relationships between liberty, interpersonal relations, and wealth. Moreover, Dal Degan presents an analytical and historical example of the ways in which an author from the past attempted to connect these aspects in his scientific discourse. The first part of the book focuses on Sismondi’s political thought, paying particular attention to the different cultural and political traditions that pepper the author’s reflections on the conditions for liberty. The second part analyzes the epistemological view underlying how Sismondi’s historical method and multidisciplinary approach respond to the need to base economic discourse on a contextual and causal analysis that also addresses the historical and institutional structure of social organizations. Finally, the third part of the book is dedicated to Sismondi’s economic theory. This work brings the works of Sismondi to a wider readership. It will be of great interest to those studying and researching economic theory and the connections between economics and society, as well as the broader social sciences.

Economics and the Social Sciences

by Stavros Ioannides

Author	: Stavros Ioannides
Publisher	: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages	: 310
Release	: 2007-01-01
Genre	: Social Science
ISBN	: 1847204295

GET BOOK

This book is based on the premise that mainstream economics has become excessively specialized and formalized, entering a state of de facto withdrawal from the study of the economy in favour of exercises in applied mathematics. The editors believe that there is much scope for synergies by engaging in an encounter with economics and the other social sciences. The chapters in this book offer important new contributions to such a development. A select group of highly regarded contributors illustrate the potentially enlightening relationship between economics and a wide range of social science disciplines. In addition, some important concepts for economic analysis for example the notion of routines, of social capital and of flexibility are explored from the vantage point of several social sciences. Postgraduate students in most social science disciplines and in economic sociology will find much to interest them in this book, as will students of psychology and economics.

Power and Influence of Economists

by Jens Maesse

Author	: Jens Maesse
Publisher	: Routledge
Total Pages	: 286
Release	: 2021-05-23
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 1000222233

GET BOOK

Economists occupy leading positions in many different sectors including central and private banks, multinational corporations, the state and the media, as well as serving as policy consultants on everything from health to the environment and security. Power and Influence of Economists explores the interconnected relationship between power, knowledge and influence which has led economics to be both a source and beneficiary of widespread power and influence. The contributors to this book explore the complex and diverse methods and channels that economists have used to exert and expand their influence from different disciplinary and national perspectives. Four different analytical views on the role of power and economics are taken: first, the role of economic expert discourses as power devices for the formation of influential expertise; second, the logics and modalities of governmentality that produce power/knowledge apparatuses between science and society; third, economists as involved in networks between academia, politics and the media; and forth, economics considered as a social field, including questions of legitimacy and unequal relations between economists based on the detention of various capitals. The volume includes case studies on a variety of national configurations of economics, such as the US, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Mexico and Brazil, as well as international spaces and organisations such as the IMF. This book provides innovative research perspectives for students and scholars of heterodox economics, cultural political economy, sociology of professions, network studies, and the social studies of power, discourse and knowledge. “The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9780367817084, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.”

Economics, Culture and Social Theory

by William A. Jackson

Author	: William A. Jackson
Publisher	: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages	: 281
Release	: 2009
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 1849802114

GET BOOK

. . . the book is excellent in setting out and explaining a fundamental critique of economics one moreover that has been missed by most other current critics of the field. Making this case is an achievement. Hopefully, it will have a greater impact than its author probably expects. Journal of Cultural Economics Economics evolved by perfecting the taking of culture out of its reductionist and virtual world. But culture has recently been reintroduced, both as a sphere of application for an otherwise unchanging methodology and as a weak form of acknowledging that the economic alone is inadequate as the basis even for explaining the economy. This volume is an essential critical starting point for understanding the changing relationship between economics and culture and in offering a more satisfactory and stable union between the two. Ben Fine, University of London, UK Economics, Culture and Social Theory examines how culture has been neglected in economic theorising and considers how economics could benefit by incorporating ideas from social and cultural theory. Orthodox economics has prompted a long line of cultural criticism that goes back to the origins of economic theory and extends to recent debates surrounding postmodernism. William A. Jackson discusses the cultural critique of economics, identifies the main arguments, and assesses their implications. Among the topics covered are relativism and realism, idealism and materialism, agency and structure, hermeneutics, semiotics, and cultural evolution. Drawing from varied literatures, notably social and cultural theory, the book stresses the importance of culture for economic behaviour and looks at the prospects for a renewed and culturally informed economics. The book will be invaluable to heterodox economists and to anyone interested in the links between culture and the economy. It takes an interdisciplinary approach, arguing against the isolation of economics, and will therefore hold wide appeal for social scientists working in related fields, as well as for economists specialising in cultural economics and economic methodology.

The Gift in the Economy and Society

by Stefan Kesting

Author	: Stefan Kesting
Publisher	: Routledge
Total Pages	: 219
Release	: 2020-12-28
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 1000333353

GET BOOK

Mainstream economics offers a perspective on the gift which is constructed around exchange, axioms of self-interest, instrumental rationality and utility-maximisation – concepts that predominate within conventional forms of economic analysis. Recognising the gift as an example of social practice underpinned by social institutions, this book moves beyond this utilitarian approach to explore perspectives on the gift from social and institutional economics. Through contributions from an international and interdisciplinary cast of authors, the chapters explore key questions such as: what is the relationship between social institutions, on the one hand, and gift, exchange, reciprocity on the other? What are the social mechanisms that underpin gift and gift-giving actions? And finally, what is the relationship between individuals, societies, gift-giving and cooperation? The answers to these questions and others serve to highlight the importance of the analysis of gift in economics and other social sciences. The book also demonstrates the potential of the analysis of the gift to contribute to solving current problems for humanity at various levels of social aggregation. This key text makes a significant contribution to the literature on the gift which will be of interest to readers of heterodox economics, social anthropology, philosophy of economics, sociology and political philosophy.

Social Economics

by Gary Stanley Becker

Author	: Gary Stanley Becker
Publisher	: Harvard University Press
Total Pages	: 180
Release	: 2009-07
Genre	: Business & Economics
ISBN	: 0674020642

GET BOOK

Economists assume that people make choices based on their preferences and their budget constraints. The preferences and values of others play no role in the standard economic model. This feature has been sharply criticized by other social scientists, who believe that the choices people make are also conditioned by social and cultural forces. Economists, meanwhile, are not satisfied with standard sociological and anthropological concepts and explanations because they are not embedded in a testable, analytic framework. In this book, Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy provide such a framework by including the social environment along with standard goods and services in their utility functions. These extended utility functions provide a way of analyzing how changes in the social environment affect people's choices and behaviors. More important, they also provide a way of analyzing how the social environment itself is determined by the interactions of individuals. Using this approach, the authors are able to explain many puzzling phenomena, including patterns of drug use, how love affects marriage patterns, neighborhood segregation, the prices of fine art and other collectibles, the social side of trademarks, the rise and fall of fads and fashions, and the distribution of income and status.