On the Relational Power of Economics: Economists between Academia, Government, and the Economy; An Introduction

Abstract

The place of economics is as much with academia as it is with government and business. This seems to be a widely shared position in the transdisciplinary field of social studies of economics. But what does such a relational approach really encompass - and what does it offer for researching economic practices and agents? To answer this question, we start by retracing recent developments in this area of research. This leads us to identify five core issues: (1) the need to adopt more longue durée perspectives, (2) the need to address complexity and plurality of economic practices, (3) the need to pay attention to economics as a boundary object, (4) the need to assess the role of economics in the field of power, and (5) the need to explore the potential of a pluralistic social studies of economics. We then outline a general methodological framework drawing on Bourdieusian field theory, Foucauldian discourse analysis, and histoire croisée. This framework proposes a socio-historical analysis of genesis, structure, and dynamic of economic practices from a theory of society perspective. Finally, we demonstrate the empirical validity of such a sociological approach by drawing on insights from contributions to this forum and by discussing these in light of the aforementioned issues.