nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2008‒01‒26
three papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. WHERE ECONOMICS HAS BEEN HEADED? MULTIPLE IDENTITIES AND DIVERSITY IN ECONOMIC LITERATURE EVIDENCE FROM TOP JOURNALS OVER THE PERIOD 2000-2006 A FIRST NOTE By Caruso, Raul; Campiglio, Luigi
  2. Mapping Careers and Mobility of Doctorate Holders: Dratf Guidelines, Model Questionnaire and Indicators By Laudeline Auriol; Bernard Felix; Ernesto Fernandez-Polcuch
  3. Catechism versus pluralism: the heterodox response to the national undergraduate curriculum proposed by the UK Quality Assurance Authority By Freeman, Alan

  1. By: Caruso, Raul; Campiglio, Luigi
    Abstract: This short paper presents some preliminary results of an ongoing research work focusing on richness and diversity of economic literature. The key idea is that each article published in an economic journal retains multiple identities. These multiple identities are captured through the use of JEL codes. A sample of top generalist journals has been selected. The relative abundance of all JEL categories has been computed for the period 2000-2006. Moreover, a degree of diversity has been proposed for both the sampled journals and the entire Econlit database.
    Keywords: JEL; Econlit; Economic Journals; multiple identities; identity; relative abundance; diversity; evenness; richness.
    JEL: A10
    Date: 2007–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:6797&r=sog
  2. By: Laudeline Auriol; Bernard Felix; Ernesto Fernandez-Polcuch
    Abstract: Human resources are recognised as being key to the creation, commercialisation and diffusion of innovation. Among them, doctorate holders are not only the most qualified in terms of educational attainment, but also those who are specifically trained to conduct research. Not much is known however about their career and mobility patterns on the labour market. This is why the OECD launched in 2004 a collaborative project with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Eurostat aimed at developing internationally comparable indicators on the careers and mobility of doctorate holders. An expert group with representatives from national statistical bodies was formed to develop the technical components of the project and start compiling data at national level. This document presents the three main technical components of the project which are: 1) the methodological guidelines; 2) a core model questionnaire and instruction manual; and 3) the output indicator tables used for reporting data at the international level. The current draft was discussed by the OECD Working Party of National Experts on Science and Technology Indicators (NESTI) in June 2007 and approved for broader diffusion. Its aim is to provide guidance to countries that wish to implement the project at national level. It is planned to work on a new and improved version following the outcomes of the data collection launched in November 2007. <P>Suivi des carrières et de la mobilité des titulaires de doctorats : proposition de directives, questionnaire modèle et indicateurs <BR>Les ressources humaines ont un rôle déterminant pour la création, la commercialisation et la diffusion d'innovations. Parmi cette population, les titulaires de doctorat ne sont pas seulement ceux les plus qualifiés en terme de niveau d'éducation, mais aussi ceux qui ont été spécifiquement formés à la recherche. Peu de choses sont connues néanmoins sur leurs trajectoires de carrières et de mobilités. C'est pourquoi l'OCDE a lancé en 2004 un projet en collaboration avec l'Institut statistique de l'UNESCO et Eurostat ayant pour objectif de développer des indicateurs sur les carrières et la mobilité des titulaires de doctorat comparables au plan international. Un groupe d'experts formés de représentants des agences statistiques nationales a été mis en place pour développer les composantes techniques du projet et initier la collecte de données au niveau national. Ce document présente les trois principales composantes techniques du projet qui sont : 1) les directives méthodologiques ; 2) un questionnaire modèle et manuel d'instruction ; et 3) des tableaux d'indicateurs de sortie utilisés pour recueillir les données au niveau international. Le document dans sa présente forme a été discuté par le Groupe de travail des experts nationaux sur les indicateurs de science et de technologie (GENIST) en juin 2007 et approuvé pour une diffusion plus large. Il est prévu d'en préparer une version améliorée sur la base de l'expérience acquise au cours de la collecte de données lancée en novembre 2007.
    Date: 2007–12–17
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaaa:2007/6-en&r=sog
  3. By: Freeman, Alan
    Abstract: Paper presented to the 2007 conference of the International Confederation for Pluralism in Economics (ICAPE), June 1-3, Salt Lake City, Utah. This paper was authored by myself following consultations, and submitted collectively by the Association for Heterodox Economics, as a result of a consultation request issued by the QAA (Quality Assurance Authority) for responses to the ‘benchmark’ statement for the subject of economics. The benchmark statement seeks to define what will in future be considered the prescriptive standard for economics undergraduate teaching in the UK and in UK-certified institutions abroad. The QAA is responsible for the maintenance of academic standards in the UK and although a non-governmental body, plays a strong role in transmitting government requirements to the higher education sector. The benchmark thus represents the first attempt in UK history to regulate what is considered ‘good’ teaching in economics. It is a highly neoclassical and orthodox document and, it is argued in the AHE response, entirely lacking in a pluralist perspective. It represents an important landmark in that it sets out the consensus, among orthodox academics, of what the ‘mainstream’ consists of and how it should be taught. The paper presented at this session represents the consensus, highly critical, response of UK heterodox economists and social scientists to the QAA benchmark statement. It also contains a comparison between the economics benchmark and that proposed by other social sciences, which suggests that economics stands in an isolated position in its attempt to define its field of enquiry by means of a strict prescriptive orthodoxy.
    Keywords: Economics Teaching; Pluralism; Heterodox Economics; Economics Teaching, Pluralism, Heterodox Economics
    JEL: A22 A13 A12 B4 B5 A14 A11
    Date: 2007–06–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:6832&r=sog

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