Didier Vasin teaches at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, a center for “cross-pollination” between the various disciplines of the humanities. Le texte ci-dessous est issu du discours qu’il a prononcé lundi 31 mai dans le grand amphithéâtre du « Monde » , à l’occasion de la remise du Prix du meilleur jeune économiste 2021, décerné chaque annomée des le con lecon ” the world “.

platform. I do not belong to the system so celebrated, I certainly cannot claim a certain competence, but only curiosity and interest in economics, as well as of economists. In this regard, two different cases have made me aware of the evolution of the system and the activity of those who practice it.

First, the leadership of the School of Social Sciences at Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, which is open to all knowledge, I wanted economics to always be represented among the twenty-five researchers who come to spend a year there to write their book or articles, even in 2020 having chosen a unifying subject “Economics and Society” in Weberian.

Then, since our school has traditionally consisted of four teaching positions, in Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, and Economics, I have been responsible for leading the recruitment process for this latter position, which has obligated me to read the works of many economists, fortunately you are assisted in this task by a committee From real experts. So my view would be that of an outside observer, somehow naive, who, as such, would dare comment with astonishment at times.

Extension of the field of economics

Discovering the research by the economists shortlisted for the Best Young Economist award was a pleasure, especially as they demonstrated a commitment to important societal issues, whether criminal justice or democracy. Representative, public health or scientific innovation – this list is not exhaustive.

This eclecticism is indicative of a major development that has been in the works for several decades: economists’ investment in topics that seem far from their initial goal, i.e. appropriate economic questions – which some researchers, in the disciplines they visited, see as colonialism. This extension of the field of economics certainly bears witness to the dynamism and creativity of those who practice it. However, it can find its limits in two ways: a lack of epistemological criticism and an absence of scholarly exchange.

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