Networks of economic policy expertise in Germany and the United States in the wake of the Great Recession

Abstract

This article shows how the network structure of economic expertise can influence the diffusion of ideas in economic policymaking. Applying social network analysis, we analyse the networks of economic policy advice in the United States and Germany around the Council of Economic Advisors and the Sachverständigenrat. With the help of co-publication and institutional affiliation data, we argue that the more fragmented structure of academic expertise in Germany hindered the diffusion of new ideas and fostered continuity in the austerity paradigm. In contrast, the more connected structure of economic expertise in the United States facilitated the diffusion of ideas and changes in dominant ideas about economic intervention.