Statistical representations can shape not only which empirical problems economists see but also which theoretical concepts and tools remain
Statistical representations can shape not only which empirical problems economists see but also which theoretical concepts and tools remain available.
Paper reconstruction — Dustin Avent-Holt & Alysha Bailey (2024), What counts as productive? Redefining ‘producers’ in economic discourse, 1890–1960
Economic categories are produced through discursive demarcations, and material artefacts such as statistical representations help construct and enforce those demarcations.
Economic categories are shaped by institutions and practices that construct economic life and shared understandings of the economy.
A key process in creating economic categories is negotiating boundaries that define the economy, its parts, and their representation.
Statistical representations are a central material culture used to define and make sense of the economy.
Discursive demarcations are shaped by material processes and artefacts, including metrics, statistical representations, stylized facts, and legal statutes, which signal and enforce boundaries around economic objects.
Existing statistical representations determine what empirical problems economists can see and, importantly, what they fail to see.
Discursive demarcations are linguistic attempts to construct boundaries around objects of scientific knowledge and establish what is central or peripheral within an epistemic community.