Capes’ evaluation and the field of Economics: the primacy of the American orthodox mainstream

Vol. 42 No. 2 (2022)

Apr-Jun / 2022
Published May 5, 2022
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Marques, Francisco Moraes da Costa. 2022. “Capes’ Evaluation and the Field of Economics: The Primacy of the American Orthodox Mainstream”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 42 (2):378-400. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31572022-3265.

Capes’ evaluation and the field of Economics: the primacy of the American orthodox mainstream

Francisco Moraes da Costa Marques
Servidor Público Federal membro da carreira de Especialistas em Políticas Públicas e Gestão Governamental, pesquisador do Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada-Ipea, Brasília-DF, Brasil.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 42 No. 2 (2022), Apr-Jun / 2022, Pages 378-400

Abstract

Using the Bourdieusian concept of Field, this article looks at Capes’ evaluation
of graduate programs as an expression of the disputes surrounding the very definition of
what constitutes Economics. Based on extensive documentary analysis, it demonstrates how
the criteria in place are markedly exclusionary. On the one hand, they encourage researchers
to adopt the assumptions of neoclassical liberalism, tested by econometric models, in line
with American mainstream; on the other hand, they punish, in more or less extent, all other possible theoretical, methodological and thematic approaches, hindering the development of
studies built upon the many diverse local Brazilian realities.

JEL Classification: N01; B00; A12.


Keywords: Capes evaluation postgraduate studies neoclassical orthodoxy heterodox economy