The Nobel Factor

"An illuminating and sometimes astonishing book that throws new light on the rise of the new right and the assault on the intellectual underpinning of social democracy. Lateral thinking at its very best--a must-read."--Will Hutton, author of The State We're In"I love this book. It's beautifully written, but more importantly, it manages to combine a sociology of the Nobel Prize in Economics with a genealogy of market liberalism and a history of Sweden's struggle over social democracy. This is difficult enough to imagine, let alone make work, and the authors should be applauded for doing so."--Mark Blyth, author of Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea"At last, two scholars, profoundly versed in the theory, evidence, and history of contemporary economics, puncture the mythology that is the foundation of free-market neoclassical economics. Economics is not science but one policy voice among many others. As Offer and Söderberg document, the pretense of an objective, scientifically based Nobel Prize in Economics has been an artifice of neoliberal propaganda for decades, doing deliberate damage to social democracy. They give a hearing to all sides, and in the end say it like it is. The influence of economics matters a lot and too much of it is sheer theory without evidence."--Jeff Madrick, author of Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World"The Nobel Factor is a tour de force account of how the discipline of economics has developed since the 1960s. Using the Nobel Prize in Economics as their prism, Offer and Söderberg present a refreshingly unapologetic, deeply critical analysis of the ideological turn to market fundamentalism that was propelled by the selection of prizewinners. The authors' analysis of the policy implications makes one question whether economics, as it is generally taught, promotes a healthy economy."--Bo Rothstein, University of Oxford"The Nobel Factor is a fascinating book. It argues that the Nobel Prize in Economics played a role in the transition from social democracy to market liberalism, in both Sweden and the wider world. This is a new idea that should be of wide interest."--Roger E. Backhouse, author of The Puzzle of Modern Economics: Science or Ideology?