Economists and Economics in Policymaking : Historical Episodes and Methodological Perspectives

This book examines how economic knowledge shapes policy and society, challenging readers to consider not whether economics influences the real world, but how—through which models, experts, and institutions, and with what underlying assumptions and power dynamics.

This book examines how economic knowledge shapes policy and society, challenging readers to consider not whether economics influences the real world, but how—through which models, experts, and institutions, and with what underlying assumptions and power dynamics. Drawing on the history and philosophy of economics, it moves beyond simplistic assessments of success or failure to explore the epistemic, political, ethical, and institutional conditions that grant economic expertise its authority. The chapters trace economic ideas from theory to practice, investigating how models are constructed, negotiated, and deployed across central banks, international organizations, technology firms, and government agencies. Contributors examine the conceptual and institutional assumptions behind economists' interventions and reveal how they can constrain or expand democratic possibilities and human autonomy. The volume asks critical questions: for whom does economics work, and what consequences follow? By attending to historical trajectories and philosophical foundations, this collection offers a nuanced understanding of economics as a deeply embedded social science whose practices, assumptions, and power structures often remain hidden. It illuminates how economic ideas travel, transform, and quietly govern the societies they explain, making visible the complex processes through which technical knowledge becomes political action. Spanning the history and philosophy of economics, political economy, economic methodology, science and technology studies, and critical policy analysis, this volume is essential reading for students, academics, and policymakers in government agencies, central banks, and international organizations. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Economic Methodology.