A reconstruction of the notion of Market in the history of economic ethics and economic theory.

Economics has developed into one of the most specialised social sciences. Yet at the same time, it shares its subject matter with other social sciences and humanities and its method of analysis has developed in close correspondence with the natural and life sciences. This book offers an up to date assessment of economics in relation to other disciplines. -/- This edited collection explores fields as diverse as mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, sociology, architecture, and literature, drawing from selected contributions to the (...) 2005 Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET). There is currently much discussion at the leading edges of modern economics about openness to other disciplines, such as psychology and sociology. But what we see here is that economics has drawn on (as well as contributed to) other disciplines throughout its history. In this sense, in spite of the increasing specialisation within all disciplines, economics has always been an open discipline and the chapters in this volume provide a vivid illustration for this. -/- Open Economics is a testament to the intellectual vibrancy of historical research in economics. It presents the reader with a historical introduction to the disciplinary context of economics that is the first of its kind, and will appeal to practising economists and students of the discipline alike, as well as to anybody interested in economics and its position in the scientific and social scientific landscape. -/- Table of Contents -/- Introduction: Economics in relation to other disciplines Richard Arena, Sheila Dow and Matthias Klaes Part I. Economics in relation to the humanities and social sciences 1. The social science of economics Brian J. Loasby 2. Economics and literature Bruna Ingrao 3. Happiness: what Kahneman could have learnt from Pietro Verri Pier Luigi Porta Part II. Economics in relation to the life and natural sciences 4. Newtonian physics, experimental moral philosophy and the shaping of political economy Sergio Cremaschi 5. Evolutionary biology and economic behaviour: re-visiting Veblen's instinct of workmanship Mark Harrison 6. Medicine and economics in pre-classical economics Alain Clément and Ludovic Desmedt Part III. Economics and mathematics 7. Mathematics as the role model for neoclassical economics Nicola Giocoli 8. The role of econometric method in economic analysis: A reassessment of the Keynes-Tinbergen debate, 1938-43 Giovanna Garrone and Roberto Marchionatti IV. Economics and architecture 9. Economics and architecture Maurice Lagueux 10. Economic policies and urban development in Latin America Michele Alacevich and Andrea Costa V. Economics and geography 11. ‘Space’ in economic thought Giovanna Vertova 12. Economics, geography and colonialism in the writings of William Petty Hugh Goodacre Part VI. Economics and sociology 13. Economics and sociology: Gustav Schmoller and Werner Sombart on social differentiation Joachim Zweynert 14. Is Homo Oeconomicus a 'bad guy'? Isabelle This Saint-Jean -/- . (shrink)

The paper focuses on conceptual images of the market built on the core idea of equilibrium. It argues that logical difficulties and dead ends were encountered in building equilibrium models of the market. A heavy toll was paid in loss of realism, failure to understand history, and ineptitude in addressing relevant problems. Equilibrium economics is marked by the exclusion of a wide range of economic phenomena, with a codified lack of attention to change, transition and learning. The loss of relevance (...) involved was a consequence of the primitive idea of conceiving of the market within the semantic field of equilibrium. The most evident failure of the equilibrium imagery was in understanding economic development as a process of social and structural change in history. The paper argues that is time to free economic theory from the obsessive centrality of the equilibrium idea. Attention should shift to the market economy as a complex network of rules, organizations and institutions, which make viable economic change. This approach invites scholars in economics to a fruitful dialogue with other fields of knowledge, to understand both crises and successes in processes of economic change.L’article traite des images conceptuelles du marché construites à partir de l’idée d’équilibre. Il est suggéré que la construction des modèles d’équilibre du marché a souffert de difficultés logiques et a aboutit à des impasses. Il en a résulté une perte de réalisme, et une incapacité à comprendre l’histoire et à aborder les questions pertinentes. L’économie de l’équilibre est caractérisée par l’exclusion d’un grand nombre de phénomènes économiques mais aussi par un manque d’attention au changement, à la transition, et à l’apprentissage. Le manque de pertinence qui en découle est le résultat de l’idée primitive de concevoir le marché dans le champ sémantique de l’équilibre. L’échec le plus évident de l’image d’équilibre réside dans la compréhension du développement économique comme un processus du changement social et structurel au cours de l’histoire. L’article suggère qu’il est temps de libérer la théorie économique de cette idée obsessionnelle d’équilibre. Il faut plutôt concevoir le marché comme un réseau complexe de règles, d’organisations et d’institutions qui rendent le changement économique viable. Cette approche invite l’économie à un dialogue fructueux avec les autres domaines de la connaissance pour comprendre à la fois les crises et les réussites des processus de changement économique. (shrink)