The Econocracy: the perils of leaving economics to the experts is a 2017 book by Joe Earle,
Cahal Moran and
Zach Ward-Perkins that argues that the United Kingdom has become an
econocracy, a society in which improving the economy has become the main purpose of politics. They demonstrate how this undermines democracy, in turn increasing the power and authority of economists. The authors see this as societally damaging because of the problematic state of the discipline of economics.
The book includes interviews with student organisers and a curriculum review of university economics education at seven universities across the UK. The authors are part of the globally active
International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics, which became
Rethinking Economics Rethinking Economics is a network of academic scholars and students in several countries that promotes pluralism in economics. It grew out of the broader International Student Initiative for Pluralist Economics and has groups in the United Kingdom, ...
in the UK. The movement campaigns for pluralism in economics and seeks to democratise economics.
Reception
Aditya Chakrabortty reviewed the book positively in the Guardian calling the book ‘a case study for the question we should all be asking since the crash: how have the elites - in Westminster, in the City, in economics - stayed in charge?'.
Diane Coyle
Diane Coyle (born February 1961) is an economist and a former advisor to the UK Treasury. She was vice-chairman of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and was a member of the UK Competition Commission fr ...
, economist and former vice-Chair of the
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
, reviewed the book on her blog giving a mixed response.
Ha-Joon Chang
Ha-Joon Chang (; ; born 7 October 1963) is a South Korean institutional economist, specialising in development economics. Chang is the author of several widely discussed policy books, most notably ''Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strateg ...
, author of ''Economics: The user’s guide'', called the book 'Utterly compelling and sobering.'.
Martin Wolf
Martin Harry Wolf (born 16 August 1946 in London) is a British journalist of Austrian-Dutch descent who focuses on economics. He is the associate editor and chief economics commentator at the ''Financial Times''.
Early life
Wolf was born in ...
, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, put the book on his ‘Summer books of 2017: Economics’ list. The historian David Kynaston named the book as one of his ‘Best Books of 2016’ in the Guardian calling it ‘a remarkable, perhaps game-changing contribution by three young Manchester graduates.’.
See also
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Pluralism in economics
The pluralism in economics movement is a campaign to change the teaching and research in economics towards more openness in its approaches, topics and standpoints it considers. The goal of the movement is to "reinvigorate the discipline ... nd b ...
*
Econocracy
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Econocracy (book)
Economics books