ABSTRACT

This essay discusses the nature of, and challenges for, social economics. It begins by exploring how social economics differs from mainstream economics in its goals, definition, and models, and briefly examines the roots of Neoclassical orthodoxy. It then argues that social economists need to take more seriously the human and social nature of our created knowledge. An example from the empirical study of gender and risk preferences illustrates the effects of personal and cultural factors. The essay also argues that social economists have not yet sufficiently challenged the orthodox economics view of the economy as an ethics-free sphere. This view has contributed to increased inequality and a failure to act decisively in response to climate change. A better understanding of where orthodox economics models and methods come from opens up new ways of understanding our search for knowledge and emphasizes the importance of ethics in economic life.

摘要

本文讨论了社会经济学的性质和面临的挑战。它首先探讨社会经济学在目标、定义和模型方面与主流经济学有何不同，并简要考察了新古典正统观念的根源。然后它认为，社会经济学家需要更认真地对待我们创造的知识的人性和社会性质。性别和风险偏好实证研究的一个例子说明了个人和文化因素的影响。这篇文章还认为，社会经济学家还没有充分挑战正统的经济学观点，即经济是一个没有伦理的领域。这种观点导致不平等加剧，未能果断采取行动应对气候变化。