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Wandering through the Borderlands of the Social Sciences: Gary Becker's Economics of Discrimination

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  • Jean-Baptiste Fleury

Abstract

This article contextualizes the writing, reception, and impact of Gary Becker’s first book, The Economics of Discrimination, in order to deepen our understanding of the relationships between economics and the other social sciences. First, we study the social scientific work on race relations prior to Becker’s book, work that was heavily influenced by the work of the economist Gunnar Myrdal and criticized for lacking an underlying theoretical framework. Second, we analyze the novelty of Becker’s contribution. Becker’s book introduced nonpecuniary motives into the neoclassical framework so as to respond to the criticisms leveled by institutional economists against the marginal analysis of labor markets. In doing so, Becker attempted to redefine the relationship between economists and other social scientists. Third, we study the reaction to Becker’s redefinition of disciplinary territories, which illustrated the current debates within sociology and labor economics. Finally, we study the impact of Becker’s book on social scientific research in the 1960s.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Baptiste Fleury, 2012. "Wandering through the Borderlands of the Social Sciences: Gary Becker's Economics of Discrimination," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 44(1), pages 1-40, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:hop:hopeec:v:44:y:2012:i:1:p:1-40
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    Cited by:

    1. Romaniuc, Rustam, 2017. "Intrinsic motivation in economics: A history," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 56-64.
    2. Phillip W. Magness, 2020. "The anti-discriminatory tradition in Virginia school public choice theory," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 417-441, June.
    3. Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche, 2015. "Crossing Boundaries, Displacing Previous Knowledge and Claiming Superiority: Is the Economics of Discrimination a Conquest of Economics Imperialism?," STOREPapers 5_2015, Associazione Italiana per la Storia dell'Economia Politica - StorEP.
    4. Jean Baptiste Fleury, 2015. "Massive influence with scarce contributions: the rationalizing economist Gary S. Becker, 1930–2014," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 3-9, February.
    5. Marek Loužek, 2014. "Ekonomická teorie Garyho Beckera [The Economic Theory of Gary Becker]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(6), pages 850-864.
    6. Franck Bailly, 2022. "When mainstream economics does human resource management: a critique of personnel economics’ prescriptive ambition," Post-Print hal-03711945, HAL.
    7. Phillip W. Magness & Art Carden & Vincent Geloso, 2019. "James M. Buchanan and the Political Economy of Desegregation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(3), pages 715-741, January.
    8. Frank Bailly, 2022. "When mainstream economics does human resource management: a critique of personnel economics' prescriptive ambition," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 75(301), pages 103-117.
    9. Fontaine, Philippe & Pooley, Jefferson, 2020. "Introduction: Whose Social Problems?," SocArXiv w59f3, Center for Open Science.

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