Textbook Economics: Zur Wissenschaftssoziologie eines wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Genres

Abstract

Hanno Pahl: Textbook Economics: A Social Studies of Science Perspective. The paper argues
that introductory textbooks in economics are an important object of inquiry. Although
the knowledge presented in this type of literature often does not cover the research frontiers
of the discipline, economics textbooks are influential media of the external communication
of mainstream economics as well as agents of academic socialization on the inside. Therefore,
they need to be analysed in terms of content and rhetorical strategies, a task that is not
identical with the general critique of neoclassical economics. A case study is undertaken to
identify symptomatic and problematic framings of the bodies of knowledge in three popular
textbooks. The final section contextualizes the findings and poses further research questions.