Elements in History of Economics – serie

The mathematisation of economics took place in three different ways, each based on an image of mathematics that was endorsed by a practice of mathematisation and which remained the dominant image until another image became dominant. The first dominant image was that of mathematics as a science of forms, which was embraced in the 1920s by the early econometric programme of scientisation. The resulting methodology was the modelling style developed at MIT in the 1940s and 1950s. The next dominant image was that of mathematics as a science of structure. It was introduced into economics by von Neumann and opened the door for Bourbaki mathematics which set the standards for mathematical rigour. The image of algorithms entered economics through research into decision making under uncertainty. By turning the decisionmaker into a 'representative agent' who takes decisions at a macro-level, this approach reshaped macroeconomic analysis in the 1970s and 1980s.

The mathematisation of economics took place in three different ways, each based on an image of mathematics that was endorsed by a practice of mathematisation and which remained the dominant image until another image became dominant. The first dominant image was that of mathematics as a science of forms, which was embraced in the 1920s by the early econometric programme of scientisation. The resulting methodology was the modelling style developed at MIT in the 1940s and 1950s. The next dominant image was that of mathematics as a science of structure. It was introduced into economics by von Neumann and opened the door for Bourbaki mathematics which set the standards for mathematical rigour. The image of algorithms entered economics through research into decision making under uncertainty. By turning the decisionmaker into a 'representative agent' who takes decisions at a macro-level, this approach reshaped macroeconomic analysis in the 1970s and 1980s.

Historians and political scientists typically examine Keynesianism as an economic doctrine suitable for industrialised nation-states. This Element studies intergovernmental organisations as central to the discussion and globalisation of Keynesian ideas. It provides a historical survey of how Keynes's work and the Keynesian macroeconomics it inspired impacted the League of Nations and the United Nations, from 1920 to 1980. League experts both critiqued and used Keynes's writings to legitimise their proposals for monetary and fiscal stabilisation. Later, United Nations economists turned to Keynesianism to conceptualise and operationalise their own work. Keynes was also a guiding reference for UN experts in imagining the multilateral regulation of monetary and trade relations. By uncovering the contrasting understandings of Keynesianism that cohabited within the capacious settings of international organisations, this Element tells the story of how thinkers from both the Global South and the Global North co-created today's instruments of macroeconomic governance. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Historians and political scientists typically examine Keynesianism as an economic doctrine suitable for industrialised nation-states. This Element studies intergovernmental organisations as central to the discussion and globalisation of Keynesian ideas. It provides a historical survey of how Keynes's work and the Keynesian macroeconomics it inspired impacted the League of Nations and the United Nations, from 1920 to 1980. League experts both critiqued and used Keynes's writings to legitimise their proposals for monetary and fiscal stabilisation. Later, United Nations economists turned to Keynesianism to conceptualise and operationalise their own work. Keynes was also a guiding reference for UN experts in imagining the multilateral regulation of monetary and trade relations. By uncovering the contrasting understandings of Keynesianism that cohabited within the capacious settings of international organisations, this Element tells the story of how thinkers from both the Global South and the Global North co-created today's instruments of macroeconomic governance. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

What do economists do in central banks? Why do central banks hire economists? This Element investigates the evolving role of economists and economic knowledge within central banks, arguing that their current centrality is neither self-evident nor historically inevitable. It shows that the influence of economists within central banks is the result of a complex, gradual, and uneven historical process shaped by institutional structures, disciplinary transformations, and shifting relationships between science and policy. Drawing on a rich but dispersed body of literature, the Element traces how economists progressively gained authority through the establishment of statistics departments, the adoption of macroeconometric models, and the emergence of a shared cognitive infrastructure between academia and central banks. Rather than focusing on individuals or doctrines, it examines general trends and institutional shifts across national case studies to show how central banks function as boundary organizations, at the intersection of science and policy.

What do economists do in central banks? Why do central banks hire economists? This Element investigates the evolving role of economists and economic knowledge within central banks, arguing that their current centrality is neither self-evident nor historically inevitable. It shows that the influence of economists within central banks is the result of a complex, gradual, and uneven historical process shaped by institutional structures, disciplinary transformations, and shifting relationships between science and policy. Drawing on a rich but dispersed body of literature, the Element traces how economists progressively gained authority through the establishment of statistics departments, the adoption of macroeconometric models, and the emergence of a shared cognitive infrastructure between academia and central banks. Rather than focusing on individuals or doctrines, it examines general trends and institutional shifts across national case studies to show how central banks function as boundary organizations, at the intersection of science and policy.

The authors introduce the historical epistemology of economics as a broad historical approach for exploring the production of economic knowledge in particular historical settings. Instead of following the evolution of economic theories, historical epistemology addresses the practices economists rely on, the tools they work with, the material settings they work in, and the kinds of professional identities they adopt. Structured around the three themes of historicity, practices, and persons, the Element's sections illustrate this approach through a set of short, closely researched studies and commentaries. The authors demonstrate how historical epistemology discloses new ways of telling the history of economics, going beyond economists' own stories about their discipline. Historical epistemology emerges as a multifaceted and critical perspective that highlights contingency, practice, and lived experience. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.