G. Hodgson, “Is There a Future for Heterodox Economics?” (E. Elgar 2019)

Is There a Future for Heterodox Economics?
Institutions, Ideology and a Scientific Community

Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Institute for International Management, Loughborough University London, UK

Over the last 50 years, the community of heterodox economists has expanded, and its publications have proliferated. But its power in departments of economics has waned. Addressing this paradox, this book argues that heterodox economists are defined more by left ideology than by a shared understanding of the nature of orthodox economics and of what should replace it. Heterodox economists cannot agree on what heterodoxy means. This volume applies work on the social nature and institutions of science to help explain the failure of heterodox economics to gain ground. It assesses some strategic options for its future.

Over the last 50 years, and particularly since the financial crash in 2008, the community of heterodox economists has expanded, and its publications have proliferated. But its power in departments of economics has waned. Addressing this paradox, Geoffrey M. Hodgson argues that heterodox economists are defined more by a left ideology than by a shared understanding of the nature of orthodox economics and of what should replace it. Heterodox economists cannot agree on what heterodoxy means.

Employing insights from the sociology and philosophy of science, the author explores the marginalization of heterodox economics in the academic community and its exclusion from positions of power. This perceptive book also shows how the weaknesses of a particular version of heterodoxy stemming from the Cambridge economics of the 1970s have been replicated globally in much of contemporary heterodox economics. The author considers how the field can adapt in order to improve and sustain its presence in academia.

Social scientists and economists will find this book both enlightening and useful. In particular, it will be invaluable to student networks and others critical of mainstream economics, and to those teaching economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Book page in the Publisher’s website

Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. Space exists to stop everything happening in Cambridge
2. What is heterodox economics?
3. Rumours of the death of Max U are exaggerated
4. The separate heterodoxy of evolutionary economics
5. Heterodox economics as a scientific community
6. Some possible ways forward
References
Index