It's the end of economics (as we know it)

Initiatives

 

 

The European Society for the History of Economic Thought promotes cooperation with European national economic societies and organizations in the history of economic thought, also outside Europe, and in general, the exchange of ideas amongst researchers in the history of economic thought through conferences and seminars.

On this page, we highlight initiatives and events sponsored by associations focused on the history of economic thought, methodology, and philosophy of economics or by other entities interested in the ESHET annual conference and co-organized with ESHET itself.

 



ESHET-INEM Young Scholar Session

“The dialectics of surface and depth: Methodology of economics and history and economic thought for today’s economics”

ESHET 2025 Annual Conference, 22-24 May, Università di Torino

 

Description

The present proposal stems from the 'Frontiers in Philosophy of Economics’ initiative promoted by the International Network for Economic Method (INEM) to advance the understanding and visibility of the philosophy of economics, with a special focus on early-career scholars. In particular, this call for papers is for a young scholar session at the European Society for the History of Economic Thought annual conference in Torino, 22-24 May 2025, whose main topic is the evolution of the economics discipline from a historical perspective (“It’s the end of Economics (as know it)”).

The main idea is to focus on the possible new interconnections between the two approaches explicitly focusing on economics as a discipline, namely the methodology and philosophy of economics, on one side, and the history of economic thought, on the other. Due to radical specialization in research, but also to the new interdisciplinarity and increasingly “applied” nature of economics, making it difficult for today’s scholars to keep abreast of developments in the various fields, today’s economics appears fragmented into a variety of approaches that diverge from the neoclassical paradigm. This fragmentation might be conducive to a more pluralistic outlook, as desired by critics of the discipline’s monism and insularity. Still, it may also produce a “fragmented” version of pluralism, limiting the possibility of dialogue between different perspectives and, in the end, endangering the (however flexible) unity of the discipline. The desired “engaged” version of pluralism should conversely promote conversations between different communities. A step back from the frontier of specialized, applied research programs is needed to increase the chances of synthesis and cross-fertilization of approaches. As a possible precondition to counteract the most harmful consequences of specialization, we suggest that methodologists and historians of economics cooperate in developing an original “depth-surface dialectics”. This latter should combine the “horizontality” of economic methodology (surface), which is induced by exploring connections and commonalities between such approaches, with the “verticality” of the history of economic thought (depth) applied to the various, specific fields of the discipline.

 

Submissions

This ESHET-INEM joint session is reserved for young scholars (persons currently enrolled in a PhD, or who have been awarded a PhD no more than five years before the date of the conference, and regardless of age). Applicants should submit a 400-word abstract and up to five keywords by February 20, 2025 to eshet2025@unito.it (acceptance notification by February 27). They are expected to indicate how they would adopt a joint historical and methodological perspective for analyzing the current status of economic discipline, or they might focus on any specific field in economics, but always follow the so-called depth-surface dialectics.

 

Financial support

The session organizers (Angela Ambrosino, Mario Cedrini, and Valentina Erasmo) will select three abstracts for the session, and each participant will be granted a lump-sum reimbursement (up to 200$) for travel expenses and one (100$) for accommodation, funded by INEM through the “'Frontiers in Philosophy of Economics” initiative.

 

Session and benefits of participating

The three selected papers will be discussed in an ESHET Conference session (1h30) by two senior scholars, ideally representing the surface and the depth, to provide authors with focus comments and helpful suggestions: a historian of economic thought working on the specific field covered in the paper and a “generalist” economic methodologist or philosopher of economics, acting as discussant for the three session papers. Each young scholar is allotted 15 minutes for presentation (with 15 minutes for discussants and debate).

 

Important dates

Deadline for abstract submission: February 20

Acceptance notification: February 27

Full papers by May 4

Conference: 22-24 May, 2025

ESHET-HDCA Joint session “How do human development and the capability approach reshape economics?”

The main topic of the 28th European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) Conference in Torino, Italy, 22-24 May 2025, Campus Luigi Einaudi, is the changing face of economics, or the “end” of a traditional view of the discipline.

While economics is now threatened by the risk of losing identity, with the fading out of (theoretical) foundations, it can explore an opportunity of pluralism, directing attention toward frontier issues, like innovation, sustainability, and gender, that most profit from the discipline's applied turn and its new openness to neighboring social sciences. For more, see the conference website, 28th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET).

For this reason, the ESHET and the HDCA are launching this call for a joint session entitled “How do human development and the capability approach reshape economics? A multidisciplinary perspective.”

To trigger the discussion between the two communities, we invite you to submit abstracts based on the capability/capabilities approach that will be discussed by the ESHET members. Possible topics for this joint session include mainly, but not exclusively:

  • the transformative impact of human development and the CA on the evolution of economic discipline and/or policies;
  • the analysis of foundational conceptual issues about capability theory and related literature;
  • applied works based on the CA which contributed to the mentioned above empirical turn in economics;
  • multidisciplinary research (adopting perspectives that also include philosophy, health, education, law, government, sociology, and more) on human development and the CA;
  • historical and methodological works on human development and/or the CA.

We invite interested scholars to submit an abstract (400 words max., keywords) by February 17, 2025 to valentina.erasmo@unito.it.

Please find the Call for Papers here.

ESHET-EoF Joint Session "Economy of Francesco: New Horizons in Economics"

The 28th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) will be held at the Università di Torino, Italy, May 22-24. The conference is entitled "It's the end of economics (as we know it)". The economics discipline appears increasingly fragmented: this is due mainly, but not exclusively, to the launch of new interdisciplinary research programs – that is, jointly developed with other social sciences – that significantly deviate from the neoclassical core. Fragmentation is however not only a potential threat to the unity of knowledge, but it also creates room for a new plurality of visions, alternative to the one that dominates orthodox economics, and among them, the Economy of Francesco (EoF).

Promoted by Pope Francis, EoF aims to build a more inclusive, ethical, and sustainable economy capable of addressing the challenges of our time, and particularly the persisting socioeconomic inequalities around the world. In this sense, EoF is a call to action for economists and other social scientists (young scholars in particular), entrepreneurs, and changemakers to rethink economic systems through the core principles of solidarity, justice and sustainability inspired by Franciscan values. For more, visit the EoF website.

EoF is therefore launching this call for abstracts for a joint session with ESHET entitled "Economy of Francesco: New Horizons in Economics" to discuss how the EoF perspective can introduce new concepts, practices, and approaches (horizons) in economics. These new horizons also require a rethinking of economists' role. According to the EoF perspective, economists should play an active role in this new renewal of economic principles. We encourage young researchers and members of the EoF community to submit an abstract (400 words max, 3-5 keywords) to gioeligiulia@iiss.it or g.lucchini@lumsa.it

The list of possible topics to be covered by the session papers includes:

  • theoretical analysis of concepts and practices inspired by Franciscan values, including normative analysis of economic issues;
  • elaboration of models, methodological discussions, and empirical analysis of case studies close to Franciscan research interests (inequalities, human development, environment, ethical implications of economic phenomena, sustainable finance, among possible others);
  • how EoF could reshape economists' role today and in the future, and the impact this rethinking could have on the economics discipline;
  • the role of gift-giving in economic theory and practice, including the part it can play in promoting cooperation and communitarian thinking in the society;
  • discussions around the relationship between economic systems and peacebuilding, highlighting pathways to mitigate conflict and promote social harmony;
  • case studies of EoF-inspired projects, and their results;
  • the role of local communities in building sustainable and inclusive economies;
  • scientific research activities held in the EoF Hubs and Villages (for more, see EOF Villages | The Economy of Francesco)

Important dates

  • Abstract submission deadline: February 17
  • Notification of acceptance: March 1

Session organizers

Valentina Erasmo, Università di Torino
Giulia Gioeli, Italian Institute for Historical Studies, Naples
Giorgia Lucchini, LUMSA University

For questions about the ESHET 2025 Annual Conference, please contact: eshet2025@unito.it

"Research Evaluation and the Role of Academic Journals in Today’s Economics" (PRIN 2022, 2022SNTEFP)

The 28th European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) Conference in Torino, Italy, 22-24 May 2025, Campus Luigi Einaudi, will contribute to discussing the changing state of economics. The main idea inspiring the Conference is that economics is undergoing a significant transformation due - among other factors - to radical specialization and a new openness towards other disciplines. It is to be noted that these changes often produce a proliferation of new “niche” journals, which serve as focal points for advancing specific topics of inquiry, as reflected in their stated aims and scope. 

In this context of increasing fragmentation, academic journals will become even more important in structuring the discipline. We here invite submissions for a special session dedicated to exploring the role of scholarly journals in today’s economics and the critical issue of research assessment. While discussions on the current system of academic publishing often focus on criticizing the system itself - whether, in particular, the mechanisms  (e.g., journal-based impact factor metrics) for evaluating academic output or, less frequently, for the multiple biases at stake in peer review processes -, concrete solutions to effectively remedy these shortcomings are rarely explored. 

This session aims to foster a productive and collaborative debate about desirable reform proposals, so to speak, of the current academic publishing system (peer review and research assessment), focusing on structural factors. We therefore invite scholars to propose fresh perspectives and actionable strategies to address the abovementioned challenges.

Topics of Interest 

We encourage participants to submit draft proposals (including preliminary ideas) addressing one or more of the following topics:

  • New models for peer review and editorial processes;
  • New approaches to research evaluation;
  • Strategies for enhancing transparency, equity, and inclusivity in academic publishing;
  • Mechanisms for promoting innovation and reducing bias against unconventional ideas.

This special session offers a unique platform to exchange ideas, explore alternatives, and collaboratively shape the future of academic publishing and research evaluation. We look forward to your contributions to this important and timely discussion.

Submission Guidelines 

Submissions should include an abstract of 300-500 words outlining the key ideas, arguments, or solutions you wish to propose. Proposals (drafts may be brief but should clearly outline the proposed idea or solution) may be conceptual, methodological, or empirical. We welcome contributions from diverse disciplinary perspectives. Abstract proposals must reach eshet2025@unito.it with “Research Evaluation and the Role of Academic Journals in Today’s Economics” as the object. 

Important Dates

Deadline for submissions: February 20, 2025

Notification of acceptance: February 28