Work

Introduction: Economic Thought and the Making of the Euro: Intellectual Patterns and Policymaking in European Integration

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ‘Many economists are actually a tribal clique,’ declared the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024. 1 ‘[They] are among the most tribal scientists that you can think of. They quote each other. They don’t go beyond that world. They feel comfortable in that world. And maybe models have something to do with it.’ Whatever one may think of the ECB president’s provocative comment, her quip highlighted the central role of economists and economic thought in the functioning of the world economy. Lagarde pinpointed some of the deficiencies frequently attributed to them or to their discipline: their self-reproduction, their self-centredness, their arrogance and their detachment from reality. 2

Source: Contemporary European History

DOI: 10.1017/s0960777326102033

Authors: Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, Roberto Ventresca

Institutions: European University Institute, University of Florence

Language: English

Topic: European Union Policy and Governance

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550

Funders: European Commission, European University Institute, H2020 European Research Council