Pinnacles of Economic Thought of the End of Last Century. Inspired by the Book “Nobel Prize Winners in Economics (1997–2018)” by Voronov, Yu. P.

Abstract

The paper is not a review of the book written by Yu. P. Voronov in the proper sense of the word. Rather, it is more of a reflection on the current state and trends in economics, its leaders and outsiders, the language of this science and ways of presenting its results. Based on texts of the book I want to answer a few questions. First of all, to what extent the decisions of the Nobel Committee in awarding prizes are justified or based on subjective judgement. Another related question is a degree of ideologization and politicization of economics in general and especially that of the scientific establishment. The paper shows that despite considerable efforts to form a truly objective economic science devoid of values and ideological bias such aspects could not be eliminated. At present, economists revise microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic theory and pay great attention to operation of institutes and what impact they have on economic policies, economic growth and wealth differentiation. Careers of leading scientists often profited from combining academic activity with practical work and journalism.