Economist

• 1. Ancient Philosophers And Polymaths

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  The earliest economic writings date to antiquity, notably Aristotle's Oeconomica and Xenophon's Oeconomicus. These works addressed rudimentary themes such as the division of labour. In the seventeenth century, leading writers were broad-ranging scholars who wrote on economics alongside philosophy and law. Richard Cantillon described what later came to be known as the Cantillon effect. David Hume anticipated the quantity theory of money during this same era. Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776. This text became one of the first major works devoted entirely to economics. It helped establish economics as a distinct field within the social sciences. His seminal work gave rise to several intellectual traditions including the classical school. Jean-Baptiste Say and David Ricardo formed key parts of that classical tradition. Karl Marx followed with Marxism as a reaction to these earlier ideas.

• 2. Mathematics And Specialized Training

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  Economics became increasingly professionalized over the course of the nineteenth century. Jean-Baptiste Say held France's first chair in economics at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in the early part of the century. By the end of the century, most economists associated with the neoclassical school were academics often trained in mathematics. The figure of the economist shifted from that of a polymath scholar to that of a specialized intellectual. John Maynard Keynes contributed to economic theory advances in the twentieth century. Paul Samuelson developed the neoclassical synthesis which integrated Keynesian economics. Milton Friedman introduced monetarism which influenced new classical economics. In the United States Government, a person can be hired as an economist provided they have a degree including or supplemented by 21 semester hours in economics. They also need three hours in statistics accounting or calculus. Nearly 135 colleges and universities grant around 900 new Ph.D.s every year. Most economists working in academia hold a Ph.D. degree in Economics.

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• 3. Private Sector And Corporate Strategy

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  Economists work in many fields including academia government and the private sector. Economic analysts employed in financial institutions provide long term economic forecasts used within their organizations. They consult to fund managers risk managers and corporate analysts regarding investment strategy. Particularly in the tech sector the focus may be microeconomic addressing pricing competition and customer behavior. Chief economists are often included in strategy formulation for large corporations. In the United States there were about 15,000 non-academic economists in 2008. Their median salary was roughly $83,000 with the top ten percent earning more than $147,040 annually. Incomes are highest for those in the private sector followed by the federal government. Academia pays the lowest incomes among these major sectors. As of January 2013 PayScale.com showed Ph.D. corporate economists earned between $71,000 and $207,000. These professionals study data and statistics to spot trends in economic activity and consumer attitudes.

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• 4. Disciplinary Insularity And Hierarchy

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  Some authors argue that economics occupies a distinctive and often dominant position among the social sciences. Economists earn significantly higher salaries than other social scientists both in academia and on the wider labour market. They also have their own major prize: the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. This perceived superiority is visible inside the profession itself but reinforced from the outside. One explanation for this insularity would be the path economics took after the Second World War. It largely set aside its moral and discursive dimensions and moved closer to the formalism of natural sciences such as physics. This formalist trajectory grounded economics in mathematics and abstract models. At the end of the twentieth century an empirical revolution pushed economists to work on topics traditionally associated with sociology. Economists continue to cite each other overwhelmingly whereas other social sciences cite one another more frequently. Economics is structured around a set of methods and tools largely defined as the right ones by the top of the discipline. A disciplinary elite made up of prestigious departments leading journals and scholars moves from the former to publish in the latter.

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• 5. Technocracy In Public Policy

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  Decision-makers have grown accustomed to turning to economist expertise in central banks ministries of finance and international organisations. They are widely perceived as the experts who really understand the economy including by the general public. But from the inside many economists feel that their influence is not so substantial and appears highly constrained. Partisan conflicts and institutional interests often prevail over expert advice even when economists broadly agree among themselves. The rising influence of economists goes hand in hand with a broader trend called the scientization of policy advice. Governments turn more systematically to academic economists and commission reports are increasingly grounded in economic research. Its abstract mathematical formalism gives it a rational scientific and objective appeal. Devices such as GDP unemployment rates cost-benefit analysis or auction rules narrow the range of options that appear reasonable. Many key choices are framed as technical and delegated to experts even though underlying assumptions are normative and contestable. Reforms associated with the Chicago Boys reshaped higher education through market viability in Chile under Pinochet.

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• 6. Social Composition And Political Views

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  Economics as a discipline is heavily male-dominated compared with many other social sciences. Practitioners also tend to come from relatively higher social strata. Economists form a professional group with a distinctive profile whether in behaviour political views or social position. Like much of the academic world they tend to place themselves somewhat to the left of centre. On average they are less interventionist than their colleagues and appear to have a particular relationship to individual self-interest. Their views are often out of step with those of the general public for example in support for market-based mechanisms. They may support paying organ donors or using carbon taxes despite public opposition. Their relative material comfort tends to widen the social distance separating them from other groups. This raises questions given that economists occupy important positions at the heart of decision-making structures. In Brazil the economist profession is regulated by law specifically Law No. 1,411 of the 13th of August 1951. The professional designation is exclusive to those who graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree in Brazil.

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