Women in Economics

Context

YSI recognises the importance of the philosophical analysis of economic questions and actively works towards bridging the extant gap between the discipline of philosophy and economics. In fact, according to the YSI guiding principles a main objective of YSI is to:

“foster a deeper understanding of the philosophy of economics and the history of economic thought in order to place economic questions in their historical and socio-political context and reconnect them with the real world.”

YSI builds partnerships in order for young economists to be able to connect their interests in economics with a better understanding of their field and its methodological challenges. A central partner in this regard is the International Network for Economic Method (INEM). INEM is the leading international academic organisation which promotes scholarly investigation of issues related to the methodology and philosophy of economics and provides opportunities for sharing the results of this research among members of the academic community. The two editors of INEM’s main publication, the Journal of Economic Methodology (JEM), are INET grantees.

INEM is holding its bi-annual conference at the University of Helsinki, Finland, on August 19 -21 2019. The Philosophy of Economics Working Group is partnering again this year with the conference organisers. Exposing young scholars to the discussion taking place among philosophers of economics will contribute to creating methodological awareness among young economists. YSI will use this opportunity to have a workshop and foster young scholar presentations at the conference.

INEM website: http://econmethodology.org/

YSI Workshop

The INEM conference, and particularly the fact that philosophers and economists are gathered together is an excellent opportunity to reflect upon the discipline. For this reason, the Philosophy of Economics working group has considered a workshop on the current state of affairs of the discipline with respect to the role of women. A great deal of attention has been given to this topic in the last couple of years, in which popular movements have made visible the often appalling circumstances of women in their professional life. The Philosophy of economics working group is interested in a scholarly and dispassionate discussion that allows us to take stock of the circumstances of women in economics. Specifically, we are interested in identifying the aspects in which the situation of women has improved, identifying the challenges that are still ahead, and discussing potential ways to tackle them.

In discussion with INEM’s organising committee, the working group has decided to invite Prof Diana Strassmann (Rice University), the founding editor of the journal Feminist Economics, and Dr Beatrice Cherrier, historian of economics.

Aside from bringing scholars from different disciplines around an aspect that concerns scientific practice, the workshop will also work to strengthen the YSI Philosophy of Economics community. It also aims to attract students from Finland, where the conference shall take place. The workshop will consist of short presentations by the invited scholars, followed by an extensive discussion session, aimed at identifying the three aspects mentioned above. Young Scholars who work on this topic might also be given the opportunity to present their work. As is conventional at YSI, the workshop will be followed by a dinner.

The target audience of the workshop will be students of economics from Finland, as well as young scholars that attend the conference. The University of Helsinki, which collaborates with INEM for the organisation of the conference, will supply a venue for the workshop, at the premises of the university.

YSI parallel session

In order to foster research in the field of the philosophy of economics, YSI will contribute with travel/accommodation stipends for young scholars to present their work at the conference. A number of young scholars shall be selected to present in sessions acknowledged as Young Scholar sessions. Scholars are chosen on the basis of an abstract that has been submitted to the scientific committee of the INEM conference.