| Abstract |
The term ―Economics Imperialism‖ refers to the expansion of economics to other social sciences by studying social phenomena such as intrafamily relations, marriage, divorce, drugs, crime etc traditionally thought to be the subject matter of other disciplines. The views of economists on the subject differ. Proponents emphasise the accuracy and rigour that economics gives to these other subjects through the use of mathematical and econometric models, while opponents ‗blame‘ this expansionism for trying to capture and to ‗enslave‘ the other disciplines through the use of non-realistic and timeless models. The imperialistic state of economics started after the Second World War when economists tried to establish the status of economics as a ‗pure‘ science increasingly distant from the problems of the real world. The formalisation of economics was undoubtedly a catalyst of economics imperialism by strengthening and stabilising the "hard core" of neoclassical economics. Leading figure of this expansionism was Gary Becker through a variety of works analysing social phenomena such as marriage, divorce and crime through rational maximising behaviour.
The emergence of New Institutional Economics was an expression of the new phase of economics imperialism. The New Institutional Economics was seen as an attempt to give the "dismal" science a more social character, by expanding into the broader context of social life. The main representatives of this school are R. Coase, D. North and O. Williamson and basic concepts used are those of neoclassical economics coupled with transaction costs and institutions. Main areas of application are economic history, law and the institution of the firm.
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Economics imperialism and new institutional economics : a critical perspective
