The social organisation of epistemology in macroeconomic policy work: the case of the IMF

Richard Harper

doi:10.46298/jpe.10583

Richard Harper - The social organisation of epistemology in macroeconomic policy work: the case of the IMF

jpe:10583 - Journal of Philosophical Economics, November 20, 2009, Volume III Issue 1 - https://doi.org/10.46298/jpe.10583

The social organisation of epistemology in macroeconomic policy work: the case of the IMFArticle

Authors: Richard Harper ¹

1 SocioDigital Systems Microsoft Research

This paper reports an ethnographic study of work practices in the IMF, and IMF mission activity in particular. It will show how this work combines arithmetic, econometric and meeting skills with the adroit management of social processes that transform 'incomplete' or 'ambiguous numbers' into socially validated and hence 'objective for practical purposes' data. These data form the basis of epistemic certainty in the analytical work undertaken, and though this certainty is socially framed, it is treated as sufficient for substantive, robust and 'real world' macroeconomic policy making.

https://doi.org/10.46298/jpe.10583

Source: HAL:hal-03704523v1

Volume: Volume III Issue 1

Section: Articles

Published on: November 20, 2009

Imported on: December 28, 2022

Keywords: work practices,macroeconomics,IMF,missions,ritual,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences

Licence: Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)