While many studies explain how social science theories shape social reality, few reflect critically on how such theories should shape social reality. Drawing on a new conception of social welfare and focusing on financial regulation, we assess the performative effects of theories on public...

The financial crisis has fuelled a heated debate about the responsibility of financial economists. Critics such as Paul Krugman, Robert Shiller or David Colander argue that financial economists have developed useless or even harmful theories. This is an important debate, but it suffers from the...