Post-autistic economics

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The movement for Post-Autistic Economics (PAE) was born through the work of Sorbonne economist Bernard Guerrien. Started in Spring 2000 by group of disaffected French economics students, Post-Autistic Economics first reached a wider audience in June 2000 after an interview in Le Monde.^[1]

It was supported by the Cambridge Ph.D. students in 2001 with the publication of "Opening Up Economics: A Proposal By Cambridge Students" and is signed by 797 students.

The term autistic is used in an informal way, synonymous to "closed-minded" or "self-absorbed".^{[citation needed]} It has been criticized for using the medical diagnosis, autism, as a derogatory expression.

The movement is best seen as a forum of different groups critical of the current mainstream: from behavioral and heterodox to feminist, green economics and econo-physics.

1 Concept
2 Criticism of the Term
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Concept

PAE has challenged standard neoclassical assumptions and incorporated ideas from sociology and psychology into economic analysis. Specifically, the notions of utility theory, (consumer choice), production and efficiency theory (Pareto optimality) as well as game theory have been criticised: one much discussed article read is Is There Anything Worth Keeping in Standard Microeconomics?.

Other topics include "Gross National Happiness", realism vs. mathematical consistency, "Thermodynamics and Economics", or "Irrelevance and Ideology". Contributors include Bruce Caldwell, James K. Galbraith, Robert L. Heilbroner, Bernard Guerrien, Emmanuelle Benicourt, Ha-Joon Chang, Herman Daly and Richard Wolff.

[edit] Criticism of the Term

Some argue that a characterization of academic economics taught in today's colleges as autistic in the sense of closed-minded is unfair, since many branches of post-modern economics reject narrow world-views and excessive reliance upon mathematics.