Economics - frozen in time?
I recently read a feature in The Guardian titled “The new leftists economy”, in which author Andy Becket writes about how modern progressive voices are criticizing the academic discipline of economics. While economists conventionally focus on maximizing profits and boosting economic growth, the societal discussion has shifted increasingly towards issues related to sustainability and inequality. Becket writes about how intellectuals within economics are being accused of failing to account for these increasingly important topics and even being a driving force behind oppression and climate change, leading some to deem economics as irrelevant or even harmful.
As someone who has spent a good portion of my academic career studying economics, I truly comprehend the critiques. My courses in economics sharply differ from those in political science which include and highlight perspectives that have long been neglected,such as gender inequality, as early as the first semester.
In the book Gender perspectives on economics authors Boschini, Jonung and Persson argue that economics departments at Swedish universities should include more gender perspectives in research and education. Gender perspectives were essentially non-existent in economics until 1990, decades after adjacent disciplines, and are still lacking.
Design by Hana Norder
They claim that the inclusion of gender perspectives would improve the economic analysis and make it more relevant for larger parts of the population. They also believe that it would make the subject more inclusive for women. Even though the numbers have started to increase in recent years, economics as an academic discipline is still facing a vast diversity problem with only 17 percent of professors identifying as female in 2019.
It could be argued that the lack of feminist perspectives could be explained by a general shift within economics. During the last couple of decades, the field has drifted further away from the social sciences where gender perspectives are highly present, towards mathematics and data science where an intersectional outlook has generally been deemed as less relevant. For instance, at Lund University, the ”Faculty of economy” (”Ekonomiska fakulteten”) was housed within the Faculty of Social science for the majority of its history. It only gained independent faculty status in 2004, marked by a growing emphasis on programming and data analytics.
Despite the methodology, economics is above all else a study of humans and human behavior. The lack of intersectionality therefore constitutes a fundamental problem. It is equally untrue to claim that there do not exist any gender biases within economics.
In 2012, the journalist Katrine Marçal published Who cooked Adam Smith’s dinner, a feminist critique of traditional economic theory. She argues that economists systema- tically have erased women from the analysis, effectively distorting the results.
This has been the case ever since Adam Smith founded the modern discipline of economics by the publication of The wealth of nations in 1776. Even though many centuries have passed since, several of the fundamental principles remain.
At the core of the study of economics is the concept of the economic man, or Homo economicus. The concept is a model of human behavior that assumes rationality and strict utility maximization. This is not only assumed to be a correct interpretation of human nature but also an absolute prerequisite for an efficient society. But as Katrine Marçal points out, the traits of the Homo economicus originate from traditional male stereotypes that exclude both non-men and the men who do not relate to them, with the risk of excluding values such as equality and emotional well-being.
Katrine Marçal also points out that traditional economic models often neglect the unpaid work that is done within the household, traditionally by women. This causes a skewed perception of economic behavior as well as an undervaluation of classic measurements such as the GDP which summarizes the value of all goods and services in the economy. Since the success of the economy is measured by GDP, much of the female work effort will continue to be underrated.
The radical but well-argued conclusion of the book is that the patriarchal foundations of economics are a driving force behind an economic policy in which many suffer. By including fairness, relationships, and care in the economic analysis, we can create better societies.
Nevertheless, indications of change are emerging. An increased interest in progressive perspectives is reflected in the course catalog at SSE. At the master’s level, an elective in gender economy is currently being offered as well as a course in behavioral economics which explores models of human behavior, beyond homo economicus. The enthusiasm of students and the responsiveness of universities provide optimism for the future.
Featured sources:
Andy Beckett, “The new left economy” https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jun/25/the-new-left-economics- how-a-network-of-thinkers-is-transforming-capitalism
Anne D. Boschini Christina Jonung Inga Persson, Genusperspektiv på nationalekonomi
Katrine Marçal, Who Cooked Adam Smith's dinner?