The power of economists within the state
By: Johan Christensen
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
ISBN-13: 9781503600492
Subjects: Economic policy; Economists; Case studies; Fiscal policy; Political activity
Description: Market-oriented reforms have been one of the major political and economic trends of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Yet some countries have embraced them more than others. To help explain this variation, Johan Christensen examines one key influencer: the entrenchment of U.S.-trained, neoclassical economists in state bureaucracies. Christensen uses comparative case studies of New Zealand, Ireland, Norway, and Denmark to show how economists affected each nation's tax policies. He finds that, in countries where economic experts held strategic positions, neoclassical economics broke through with greater force. Drawing on interviews with policy elites, he examines the specific ways in which economists shaped reforms by learning on an activist approach to policymaking and the perceived utility of their science to drive change. -- Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Economists and market-conforming reform; title: The new economics and politics of taxation; title: New Zealand : plotting a market-oriented revolution; title: Ireland : populist politics in a generalist system; title: Norway : economic experts in the social-democratic state; title: Denmark : equality before efficiency, politicians before experts; title: The power of economists within the state.