What You Will Learn Today
- How to find key sources of economic data: journal articles, government information, and other resources.
- How to evaluate the information you find like a professional economist would.
- How to link what you learn to what you've covered in class.
Ways to Search
- How to generate search terms
- Person: Heterodox thinkers (Marx), neoclasical thinkers (to critique), modern authors
- Place: United States, East Asia, Renaissance Italy (historic comparisons)
- Thing: income inequality, mininum wage, trade policy, air pollution, affordable housing\
- Idea: neoclassicism, Marxian economics, political economy, post-Keynesian
- Basic library search techiques: (Credit: California State University, Northridge)
- Boolean logic: AND, OR, NOT --> banking AND Marxism NOT neoclassical
- Truncation: Marx* --> Marx, Marist, Marxism, Marixan
- Quotes: "political economy," "comparative advantage"
- Key Sources
- Journal articles: "From Madonna to Marx: Towards a Re-theorization of Homelessness"
- Books: Why Gender Matters in Economics
- Government Information: Global, federal, state, and local agencies
- Specialized Encyclopedias: Real-World Decision Making: An Encyclopedia of Behavioral Economics
Prof. Robinson's Example: Economics and global development versus Economics and the Global South
Class Example: Externalities and environmental economics
Group Work: Alternative Economic Perspectives on Everyday Life
- Group 1: Affordable housing
- Group 2: Inflation
- Group 3: Minimum wage
- Group 4: Financialization
- Group 5: Debt industry (e.g., student loans)
- Group 6: Intellectual property (IP)
Key Journals
- Capital & Class"Since 1977 Capital & Class has been the main, peer-reviewed, independent source for a Marxist critique of global capitalism. Pioneering key debates on value theory, domestic labour, and the state, it reaches out into the labour, trade union, anti-racist, feminist, environmentalist and other radical movements" (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/cnc).
- Ecological Economics"The journal is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature's household" (ecosystems) and "humanity's household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/ecological-economics).
- Feminist Economics"Feminist Economics is a peer-reviewed journal that provides an open forum for dialogue and debate about feminist economic perspectives. By opening new areas of economic inquiry, welcoming diverse voices, and encouraging critical exchanges, the journal enlarges and enriches economic discourse. The goal of Feminist Economics is not just to develop more illuminating theories, but to improve the conditions of living for all children, women, and men" (https://www.feministeconomics.net/about-us/).
- Growth and Change"Growth and Change: A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy welcomes manuscripts from scholars and professionals in all disciplines and specialties. Contributions from economics, geography, regional science, urban and regional planning, public finance, sociology, and agricultural economics are particularly encouraged" (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/14682257/homepage/productinformation.html).
- International Journal of Social Economics"The International Journal of Social Economics publishes original and peer-reviewed theoretical and empirical research in the field of social economics. Its focus is on the examination and analysis of the interaction between economic activity" (https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijse).
- International Review of Applied Economics"International Review of Applied Economics is devoted to the practical applications of economic ideas. Applied economics is widely interpreted to embrace empirical work and the application of economics to the evaluation and development of economic policies" (https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cira20).
- Journal of Economic and Society"The Journal aims to present research that will improve understanding of behavioral, in particular psychological, aspects of economic decisions and processes. It is published under the auspices of the International Association for Research in Economic Psychology (http://www.iarep.org), whose aim is to promote interdisciplinary work relating to economic behavior" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-economic-psychology/about/aims-and-scope).
- Journal of Economic Issues"The Journal of Economic Issues is published by the Association of Evolutionary Economics, an international organization of scholars unified in the beliefs that economy is an instituted process and that social progress requires intelligent institutional adjustment. It seeks to promote an economics that is useful for real world problem-solving" (https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=mjei20).
- Journal of Evolutionary Economics"The Journal of Evolutionary Economics serves as an international forum for this new approach to economics. Following the tradition of Joseph A. Schumpeter, it focuses on original research with an evolutionary view of the economy. Articles feature a strong emphasis on dynamics, changing structures, and disequilibrium processes with an evolutionary perspective" (https://www.springer.com/journal/191).
- Journal of Institutional Economics"The Journal of Institutional Economics is devoted to the study of the nature, role and evolution of institutions in the economy, including firms, states, markets, money, households and other vital institutions and organisations" (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics).
- Journal of Post Keynesian Economics"The full statement of purpose drafted by the founding co-editors is printed in the first issue of the Journal and contributors are invited to consult it. In summary it announces a scholarly journal receptive to innovative theoretical work that can shed fresh light on contemporary economic problems and to encourage evolving analysis and empirical study to contest the mainstream orthodoxy that suffuses the major economic journals" (https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=mpke20).
- New Left Review"A 160-page journal published every two months from London, New Left Review analyses world politics, the global economy, state powers and protest movements; contemporary social theory, history and philosophy; cinema, literature, heterodox art and aesthetics. It runs a regular book review section and carries interviews, essays, topical comments and signed editorials on political issues of the day" (https://newleftreview.org/pages/about).
- Review of Social Economy"The Review of Social Economy aims to promote interdisciplinary perspectives on economic behaviour, institutions and outcomes at both micro and systemic levels, and to strengthen the connections between economics and related disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including philosophy, political science, and sociology" (https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rrse20).
- Science & Society"Science & Society is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal of Marxist scholarship. It publishes original studies in political economy and the economic analysis of contemporary societies; social and political theory; philosophy and methodology of the natural and social sciences; history, labor, ethnic and women's studies; aesthetics, literature and the arts" (https://www.scienceandsociety.com/).
Best Databases for Alternative Economics Perspectives
- ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new windowContains quite a few economics journals in addition to business publications.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowContains quite a few economics journals in addition to business publications.
- Gale OneFile: Economics & Theory This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Contains a wide range of economics journals, including some used for heterodox economic research. - JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR tends to focus on older journal articles (5+ years). However, if you are looking for foundational or historical articles about heterodox economics, it's a great resource.
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new windowScienceDirect has a grab bag of different economics journals.
