Economists seem to be everywhere in the media these days. But what exactly do today's economists do? What and how are they taught? Updating David Colander and Arjo Klamer's classic The Making of an Economist, this book shows what is happening in elite U.S. economics Ph.D. programs. By examining...

Have you ever thought of virtues? Temperance, Courage, Justice, Hope, and Love, just to name a few. And, have you ever thought that they could have anything to do with economics? Economists have long ago separated the moral philosophy (ethics) and the science of choice (economics) from each...

Science is a winner-take-all profession in which only a few contributions get excessive attention and the large majority of papers receive scant or no attention. This so-called 'waste', together with all the competitive strategies of scientists seeking attention, is part and parcel of every...

Science is a winner-take-all profession in which only few contributions get excessive attention and the large majority of papers remains receives scant or no attention. This so-called 'waste' together with all the competitive strategies of scientists seeking attention is part and parcel of any...

Attention is the coordination device which makes modern science work the way it does. A typical characteristic of attention in the scientific world is that those who seek attention are the same people who are giving it. Another important feature within groups is the skewed distribution of...

Jan Tinbergen and Milton Friedman were both very much inspired making economic theory work, applying it in service of society. The Tinbergen approach - the economist as Social Engineer - was exported to Chicago in the 1940s where one of Tinbergen's students - Tjalling Koopmans - became a...

A more comprehensive picture, or imaginary in Charles Taylor's term, puts the spheres of market and organizations in a broader perspective. It calls for new concepts – like shared and common goods or practices – and the willingness to contribute. We see that culture, in the sense of...