IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/ratioi/0112.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Political Opinions of Swedish Social Scientists

Author

Listed:

Abstract

We study the political opinions of Swedish social scientists in seven disciplines. A survey was sent to 4,301 academics at 25 colleges and universities, which makes the coverage of the disciplines included more or less comprehensive. When it comes to party sympathies there are 1.3 academics on the right for each academic on the left—a sharp contrast to the situation in the United States, where Democrats greatly dominate the social sciences. The corresponding ratio for Swedish citizens in general is 1.1. The most left-leaning disciplines are sociology and gender studies, the most right-leaning ones are business administration, economics, and law, with political science and economic history somewhere in between. The differences between the disciplines are smaller in Sweden than in the more polarized U.S. We also asked 14 policy questions. The replies largely confirm the pattern of a left-right divide – but overall the desire to change the status quo is tepid.

Suggested Citation

  • Berggren, Niclas & Jordahl, Henrik & Stern, Charlotta, 2007. "The Political Opinions of Swedish Social Scientists," Ratio Working Papers 112, The Ratio Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ratio.se/pdf/wp/nb_hj_ls_opinions.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert H. Frank & Thomas Gilovich & Dennis T. Regan, 1993. "Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 159-171, Spring.
    2. Bruno Frey & Stephan Meier, 2005. "Selfish and Indoctrinated Economists?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 165-171, April.
    3. Fair, Ray C, 1978. "The Effect of Economic Events on Votes for President," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(2), pages 159-173, May.
    4. Victor R. Fuchs, 2018. "Economics, Values, and Health Care Reform," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Health Economics and Policy Selected Writings by Victor Fuchs, chapter 39, pages 497-531, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. David Colander, 2005. "The Making of an Economist Redux," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 175-198, Winter.
    6. Kearl, J R, et al, 1979. "A Confusion of Economists?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(2), pages 28-37, May.
    7. Ricketts, Martin & Shoesmith, Edward, 1992. "British Economic Opinion: Positive Science or Normative Judgment?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 210-215, May.
    8. Robert Whaples & Jac C. Heckelman, 2005. "Public Choice Economics: Where is there Consensus?," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 49(1), pages 66-78, March.
    9. Victor R. Fuchs & Alan B. Krueger & James M. Poterba, 1998. "Economists' Views about Parameters, Values, and Policies: Survey Results in Labor and Public Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1387-1425, September.
    10. Peter Lindert, 2004. "Social Spending and Economic Growth," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 6-16.
    11. Frey, Bruno S, et al, 1984. "Consensus and Dissension among Economists: An Empirical Inquiry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 986-994, December.
    12. Daniel B. Klein & Charlotta Stern, 2007. "Is There a Free‐Market Economist in the House? The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 309-334, April.
    13. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Frank, Bjorn & Schulze, Gunther G., 2000. "Does economics make citizens corrupt?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 101-113, September.
    15. Robert J. Blendon, 1997. "Bridging the Gap between the Public's and Economists' Views of the Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 105-118, Summer.
    16. Whaples, Robert, 1995. "Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians? The Results of a Survey on Forty Propositions," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(1), pages 139-154, March.
    17. Klein, Daniel B. & Stern, Charlotta, 2006. "The Ideological Profile of Faculty in the Humanities and Social Sciences: A Reply to Zipp and Fenwick," Working Paper Series 7/2006, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    18. Alston, Richard M & Kearl, J R & Vaughan, Michael B, 1992. "Is There a Consensus among Economists in the 1990's?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 203-209, May.
    19. Benny Carlson & Lars Jonung, 2006. "Knut Wicksell, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin and Gunnar Myrdal on the Role of the Economist in Public Debate," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 3(3), pages 511-550, September.
    20. Walter Block & Michael A. Walker, 1988. "Entropy in the Canadian Economics Profession: Sampling Consensus on the Major Issues," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 14(2), pages 137-150, June.
    21. Malcolm Anderson & Richard Blandy, 1992. "What Australian Economics Professors Think," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 25(4), pages 17-40, October.
    22. Klein, Daniel & Stern, Lotta, 2005. "Sociology and Classical Liberalism," Ratio Working Papers 81, The Ratio Institute.
    23. Whaples Robert, 2006. "Do Economists Agree on Anything? Yes!," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 3(9), pages 1-6, November.
    24. Malcolm Anderson & Richard Blandy & Sarah Carne, 1993. "Academic Economic Opinion in East Asia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 26(3), pages 5-19, July.
    25. Dan Fuller & Doris Geide-stevenson, 2003. "Consensus Among Economists: Revisited," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 369-387, December.
    26. Luca De Benedictis & Michele Di Maio, 2011. "Economists' Views about the Economy. Evidence from a Survey of Italian Economists," Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 37-84.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. But Swedish Social Scientists are Right Wing
      by David Stern in Stochastic Trend on 2010-01-23 04:45:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Berggren, Niclas & Jordahl, Henrik & Poutvaara, Panu, 2010. "The Right Look: Conservative Politicians Look Better and Their Voters Reward it," Ratio Working Papers 161, The Ratio Institute.
    2. Josef Šíma & Tomáš Nikodym, 2015. "Classical Liberalism in the Czech Republic," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 12(2), pages 274–292-2, May.
    3. Leiser, David & Benita, Rinat & Bourgeois-Gironde, Sacha, 2016. "Differing conceptions of the causes of the economic crisis: Effects of culture, economic training, and personal impact," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 154-163.
    4. Amélie Goossens & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2015. "The Belief that Market Transactions Are Mutually Beneficial: A Comparison of the Views of Students in Economics and Other Disciplines," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 46(2), pages 121-134, April.
    5. Stern, Charlotta, 2016. "Does political ideology hinder insights on gender and labor markets?," Ratio Working Papers 275, The Ratio Institute.
    6. Fischer, Mira & Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich W., 2017. "Support for free-market policies and reforms: Does the field of study influence students' political attitudes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 180-197.
    7. Potrafke, Niklas & Fischer, Mira & Ursprung, Heinrich, 2013. "Does the Field of Study Influence Students' Political Attitudes?," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79934, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniel B. Klein & Charlotta Stern, 2007. "Is There a Free‐Market Economist in the House? The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 309-334, April.
    2. Klein, Daniel B. & Stern, Charlotta, 2005. "Narrow-Tent Democrats and Fringe Others: The Policy Views of Social Science Professors," Working Paper Series 8/2005, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    3. Timothy C. Haab & John C. Whitehead, 2017. "What do Environmental and Resource Economists Think? Results from a Survey of AERE Members," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(1), pages 43-58.
    4. Ann Mari May & Mary G. Mcgarvey & Robert Whaples, 2014. "Are Disagreements Among Male And Female Economists Marginal At Best?: A Survey Of Aea Members And Their Views On Economics And Economic Policy," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(1), pages 111-132, January.
    5. Michele Di Maio, 2013. "Are Mainstream and Heterodox Economists Different? An Empirical Analysis," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(5), pages 1315-1348, November.
    6. Daniel B. Klein & Stewart Dompe, 2007. "Reasons for Supporting the Minimum Wage: Asking Signatories of the "Raise the Minimum Wage" Statement," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 4(1), pages 125-167, January.
    7. Lucey, Brian M. & Delaney, Liam, 2007. "A psychological, attitudinal and professional profile of Irish economists," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 841-855, December.
    8. Hendrik P. van Dalen, 2019. "Values of Economists Matter in the Art and Science of Economics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 472-499, August.
    9. O’Neill, Donal, 2015. "Divided opinion on the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013: Random or systematic differences?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 175-178.
    10. Javdani, Moshen & Chang, Ha-Joon, 2019. "Who Said or What Said? Estimating Ideological Bias in Views Among Economists," MPRA Paper 91958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Dan Šťastný, 2011. "Checking the Czechs: Consensus and Dissention Among Czech Economists," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2011(4), pages 366-380.
    12. Mark A. Wynne, 2006. "The Control of Money," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Fall 2006), pages 53-83.
    13. Robert Whaples, 2009. "The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members: The Results of a New Survey," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 6(3), pages 337-348, September.
    14. Chris Doucouliagos & T.D. Stanley, 2013. "Are All Economic Facts Greatly Exaggerated? Theory Competition And Selectivity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 316-339, April.
    15. Ruske, René & Suttner, Johannes, 2012. "Wie (un-)fair sind Ökonomen? Neue empirische Evidenz zur Marktbewertung und Rationalität," CIW Discussion Papers 03/2012, University of Münster, Center for Interdisciplinary Economics (CIW).
    16. Ferto, Imre, 2005. "Is There a Consensus among Agricultural Economist?," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24669, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Jorge L. Andere & Jorge Luis Canché-Escamilla & à lvaro Cano-Escalante, 2020. "Consensus and Dissension among Economic Science Academics in Mexico," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 9(2), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Bruno S. Frey, 2000. "Was Bewirkt die Volkswirtschaftslehre?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(1), pages 5-33, February.
    19. Kirchgassner, Gebhard, 2005. "(Why) are economists different?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 543-562, September.
    20. Bryan Caplan & Stephen Miller, 2012. "Positive versus normative economics: what’s the connection? Evidence from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy and the General Social Survey," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 241-261, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Academics; social scientists; policy views; political opinions; party sympathies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Martin Korpi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ratiose.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.