The Sociology and Professionalization of Economics

Offers a contribution to the history of economic thought, economic methodology and the sociology of economics. This volume represents a substantial part of Coats' work on the sociology and professionalization of economics.
"The Sociology and Professionalization of Economics" contains essays on the social nature of economics as a science; on the origin and history of some of the institutions which have done most to shape the development of the discipline; and on economics as a profession. As with the other volumes in the series, there is particular emphasis on the similarity and differences between economics and economists in Britain and in North America. The volume is divided into three parts. The first addresses issues in the sociology of economics, including possible applications of ideas from the soicology of knowledge and of science to economics and the importance of journals to the discipline. The second includes pioneering work on the establishment and development of such important institutions as the American Economic Association and the Royal Economic Society. The book concludes with essays on economics as a profession with particular emphasis to the role of economists in government.