Call for Papers: Symposium: Economics made fun in the face of the economic crisis

*CALL FOR PAPERS
Symposium: Economics made fun in the face of the economic crisis
10-11 December 2010
Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Organized by
Jack Vromen (Erasmus University Rotterdam, vromen@fwb.eur.nl)
N. Emrah Aydinonat (Ankara University & Bogazici University,
aydinonat@gmail.com)

Call for papers

Best-selling books such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist
have paved the way to a flourishing economics-made-fun genre. The
economics-made-fun genre first and foremost  wants  to enlighten   the
general   public   about   the   breadth   and   power   of economic
analysis in an accessible and entertaining way. It aims at boosting the
public image of economics. Economics-made-fun books mostly focus on
“outlandish” or “freakish” subjects, rather than the traditional
subjects of economics. Given their popularity and success, these books
not only reflect but also influence how young economists approach
economics. The economics-made-fun genre has no monopoly on shaping the
public image of economics, however. While the economics-made-fun books
present economics as a strong and explanatory science, the latest
economic crisis exposed the shortcomings of economics to the general
public. In the face of the crisis, many people, including well-known
economists such as Paul Krugman, started expressing their doubts
concerning the success of economics as a science. Newspaper columns as
well as academic papers discussed the predictive and explanatory
failures of economics. The emerging picture is somewhat confusing:
Economics is presented as a way of thinking that is successful in
explaining everyday and “freaky” phenomena, but on the other hand it
seems to fail in addressing and explaining the most pressing economic
matters. Could a science that cannot answer its core questions explain
the logic of life?

The aim of the present symposium is to get a handle on this confusing
picture of economics. We invite papers that appraise, criticize, or
evaluate the economics-made-fun genre from the perspective of the
nature, scope and success (or failure) of economics as a science. Papers
that focus on the methodology, philosophy and ideology behind the
economics-made-fun genre, its impact on research and public image of
economics, as well as papers that put the genre in a historical
perspective are welcome. We are also open to papers that focus on yet
other aspects of the economics-made-fun-genre.

Keynote speakers (confirmed) are:
.    Robert H. Frank
.    Ariel Rubinstein
.    Diana Coyle

There will be room for six more paper presentations. These will be
selected from Abstracts submitted. The symposium will be held at Erasmus
University Rotterdam, The Netherlands on 10-11 December 2010. The papers
presented at the symposium will be published in a special issue of
Journal of Economic Methodology and will eventually turn into a book.

Extended abstracts (500-1000 words) have to be sent to
aydinonat@gmail.com before 30 May 2010.

Important dates:
.    30 May 2010 deadline  for abstract submissions
.    15 June 2010 notification of accepted/rejected abstracts
.    1 December 2010 deadline for sending the first draft of symposium
papers
.    10-11 December 2010 Symposium

Additional information:

Some of the books that belong to the economics-made-fun genre may be
listed as follows:

Freakonomics & Superfreakeconomics by Levitt & Dubner (2005, 2009)
The Undercover Economist & The Logic of Life by Harford (2005, 2008)
More sex is safer sex by Landsburg (2007)
Discover  Your  Inner  Economist by Cowen (2007)
The  Economic Naturalist by Frank (2007)
The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters by
Coyle (2007/2010)

Background paper:
Vromen, J. J. (2009) “The booming economics-made-fun genre: more than
having fun, but less than economics imperialism”, Erasmus Journal for
Philosophy and Economics, 2 (1): 70-99. Online:
http://ejpe.org/pdf/2-1-art-5.pdf

*

–
N. Emrah AYDINONAT
http://www.neaydinonat.com/
http://twitter.com/aydinonat

---