Economics has always been a contested science, often alleged to fail to cope with situations of crisis. Yet it holds strong positions in policy advice. The Covid-19 crisis serves as a severe stress test for the capacities of economics to keep its position in policymaking by renewing itself and by engaging in collaboration with other disciplines. These are needed to deal with the complex interdependencies in the social system revealed by the crisis, comprising not only health and wealth, but also culture, values, politics and behaviour. How will (and can and should) economics respond to the crisis, and how will (and should) policymakers respond to its response? On what conditions can economics retain its epistemic authority and trust amongst policymakers and the general public? The project will analyse the complex process from economic modelling to policymaking, putting it in a larger context of academic and extra-academic institutions. Diagnostics as well as remedies will be suggested.

2021

2025