The Subordination of Economic Expertise: The Case of the Ecuadorian Dollarization

Abstract

Under what social conditions is economic expertise produced? How do local and transnational elites impact the production of expertise? We address these questions by analyzing Ecuador's formal dollar adoption in the year 2000. Our study examines the economic, social, familial, and political backgrounds of 131 experts, including their connections with local and transnational elites 20 years before and 24 years after the dollarization. Using field theory, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), and in-depth interviews, we identify the composition of this field of expertise and explore its dynamics over the past four decades. We argue that economic expertise is substantially subjugated to the elite’s interests. Elites influence expertise through economic and political connections with mainstream media outlets and professional, bureaucratic, and academic clusters. Regarding dollarization, experts did not drive the decision; instead, they adapted their position-taking to the elite's convenience. Experts with higher cultural capital but lower economic capital are increasingly isolated in this scenario. These findings suggest the necessity of questioning the consequences of an increasingly homogeneous field of economic expertise that is dependent on elites' interests.