The inaugural issue of Social Sciences Directory is out. Peter John (UCL): Political Science, Impact and Evidence. Geoffrey M. Hodgson (Hertfordshire): On the Limits of Rational Choice Theory. John B. Davis (Marquette): Economics Imperialism Under the Impact of Psychology: The Case of Behavioral Development Economics. From Books and Ideas, Andre Orlean asks us to rethink the place of economics within the social sciences and its relationship to politics; and a review of The Explanation of Social Action by John Levi Martin. The first chapter from The Emergence of Organizations and Markets by John F. Padgett and Walter W. Powell. Sudhir Venkatesh is a rising star in sociology for his research on poverty and gang life, but his methods have led to questions from colleagues and a grueling inquiry by Columbia University (and a response). Political scientist James C. Scott reprises the themes of his earlier work in Two Cheers for Anarchism — he also loves to raise animals on his Connecticut farm. From The Monkey Cage, John Sides on why the 2012 election was good for political science; and is Nate Silver’s popularity good or bad for quantitative political science? Adam Berinsky, Neil Malhotra, and Erik Snowberg wonder.
