By Thierry Rossier, University of Lausanne

A recent publication by Marion Fourcade, Etienne Ollion and Yann Algan [1] focused on the implicit order among the social sciences, which seem to be dominated by economics. Economists in the US academic space occupy better financial (and institutional) positions compared to the other disciplines. At the same time, the discipline’s emphasis on mastering quantitative reasoning (mathematics and statistics) seems to be fully acknowledged as an indicator of higher intellectual capabilities from the point of view of other social scientists. Therefore, this “objective” superiority of economics is accompanied by a strong subjective feeling of superiority among peers. Furthermore, it translates into a strong hierarchy among economists, which prevents dissident or dominated voices from expressing themselves. From the outside the group appears as highly cohesive.

In our study on the academic elites in Switzerland we have historically analysed the legitimacy and institutional power of economists compared to scholars from other disciplines. An interesting indicator is the share of members of a discipline who become rector (or president) of a university. Continuer la lecture de Increasing Share of Economists become Rectors at Swiss Universities →