Danilo Astori is the most outstanding national reference for Uruguayan economists

The Department of Economics of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FCS) and the Institute of Economics of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Administration (FCEA) conducted an online survey of Uruguayan economists to find out the names of the main references (economists or thinkers in economics) for graduates of that profession, both nationally and internationally.

The FCEA Department of Economics disclosed that 3,199 economists were consulted, of the 3,307 graduates between 1980 and 2020 from Udelar and from the three private universities that teach the Bachelor of Economics (ORT University, Catholic University and University of Montevideo).

The response rate was 27?% (898 economists) and the consultation was made between February and April 2021, the publication notes.

The specific questions were: “People often refer to economists or thinkers in economics, contemporary or from other times, who arouse respect and/or admiration. If that happens to you, what national references would you name? and then: “And what international references?”.

Astori and Oddone the most mentioned

In relation to the national referents, the report points out, 171 people were appointed: 143 men (84?%) and 28 women (16?%).

There were 32 references with 10 or more mentions, which captured 80?% of the total mentions. Of these 32 referents, 28 are men (88?%) and four are women (12?%).

The five most cited referents are four men and one woman: Danilo Astori, Gabriel Oddone, Andrea Vigorito, Enrique Iglesias and Mario Bergara.

The work, however, makes a series of clarifications regarding the choice of the economists chosen as referents.

“The central knowledge of the discipline is transmitted over time through written texts or academic production, as well as through people, fundamentally teachers, but also bosses or supervisors in the work performance or referents of the discipline with high public visibility. The answers of the Uruguayan economists in relation to the international referents are associated with the first type of channel, while those referring to national economists probably obey fundamentally (although not only) the second type”, the work points out.

In this line, it is also highlighted that, although men and women highlight the same five main national references, the “order is different”.

“The most named referent remains. The biggest gender difference is that women are more likely to quote women. Thus, they identify 25 women (15?% of their national references) while men name 15 women (9?% of their national references). In turn, the list according to links presents differences. Mario Bergara does not appear in the list for economists who have or have had an academic employment relationship, but Juan Dubra does. In the case of those who never had a relationship, Andrea Vigorito does not appear in the group of the five most named and Aldo Lema does. On the other hand, 13?% of the referents are women for whom they have had ties and 16?% for those who have not, a difference of opposite sign to that found in relation to international referents”, it is sustained in the disclosure.

Finally, the five most named by the generations graduating after 2012 are those already presented for the total number of respondents. For the above, although the first is the same, the list does not include Andrea Vigorito and includes Ariel Davrieux (former director of the Office of Planning and Budget).

among Nobels

In the case of international references, a total of 308 names were mentioned and the five most prominent were: Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, John Maynard Keynes, Amartya Sen and Thomas Piketty.

Regarding the references of international economists, the first five references are the same for men and women, but the order is also different.

“Among men, the most named is Paul Krugman and among women, Amartya Sen, both Nobel Prize winners. Additionally, if we separate the respondents according to their year of graduation, we also detect some differences. Although the five most named are the same, the first is different: Keynes for graduates before 2013 and Krugman for the most recent. In turn, the proportion of references to women referents is greater for recent generations: 12?% of the total referents versus 3?% for older generations”, adds the work.

The work was carried out by the economists Verónica Amarante (Iecon – FCEA), Marisa Bucheli (Decon – FCS) and Tatiana Pérez (Decon).

FCEA

National economists + named as referents of the economists. Find out more about the survey conducted by Verónica Amarante, Marisa Bucheli and Tatiana Pérez on the DE bloghttps://t.co/f6ooAqmCIA@OddoneGabriel @DaniloAstori @Mario_Bergara @AldoLema_uy @JuanDubra1 pic.twitter.com/3MKnNU8LCU

— Department of Economics FCEA (@deFCEA) July 19, 2022