Economists and Societies is the first book to systematically compare
the profession of economics in the United States, Britain, and France,
and to explain why economics, far from being a uniform science, differs
in important ways among these three countries. Drawing on in-depth
interviews with economists, institutional analysis, and a wealth of
scholarly evidence, Marion Fourcade traces the history of economics in
each country from the late nineteenth century to the present,
demonstrating how each political, cultural, and institutional context
gave rise to a distinct professional and disciplinary configuration. She
argues that because the substance of political life varied from country
to country, people's experience and understanding of the economy, and
their political and intellectual battles over it, crystallized in
different ways--through scientific and mercantile professionalism in the
United States, public-minded elitism in Britain, and statist divisions
in France. Fourcade moves past old debates about the relationship
between culture and institutions in the production of expert knowledge
to show that scientific and practical claims over the economy in these
three societies arose from different elites with different intellectual
orientations, institutional entanglements, and social purposes.
Much more than a history of the economics profession, Economists and
Societies is a revealing exploration of American, French, and British
society and culture as seen through the lens of their respective
economic institutions and the distinctive character of their economic
experts.
