Investigating the economics blogosphere

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2020-08-31
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en
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Research shows that some academics have taken to blogging for its ease of access, interaction with audiences, and influence on policy debate. This thesis investigated the influence of the economics blogosphere on economics discourse. A top 100 list of the most popular blogs in the sphere was created as a proxy for influence, and it was found that a slight majority of authors in the list were economists. Many economists were found to make explicit normative statements in their blog posts, which they do not do in academia. Furthermore, through a case study on Modern Monetary Theory it was found that economics blogging likely influences economics discourse and policy debate. This alternative to academic communication facilitates non-experts in accumulating symbolic capital, which along with heightened skepticism towards economics in general has caused a shift in the expert paradigm.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen
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