DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31063/2073-6517/2020.17-3.4
For citation:
Maltsev, Al. A., & Kavaliou, A. V. (2020). Theoretical and Methodological Views of Russian and Belarusian Economists: Path Dependence? Zhurnal Economicheskoj Teorii [Russian Journal of Economic Theory], 17 (3), 560-573.
Abstract:
The article presents the results of a comparative sociological survey of Russian and Belarusian economists. Our research demonstrates significant similarities in their theoretical and methodological views: for example, while believing that modern economics is in crisis, many Russian and Belarusian economists seek to develop what they consider as unique ‘national’ economic concepts and to identify alternatives to mainstream economics. Such unanimity of views may be explained by the consequences of isolation of Soviet economics from global academic trends. This article discusses how economic research was organized in the USSR and how these organization patterns contributed to the specificity of theoretical and methodological views of modern Russian and Belarusian economists. The conclusion is made about the path dependence of the Russian and Belarusian academia as many of its Soviet traditions and patterns still persist today.