Political Scientists and Economists 1
Changes in global and national structures have been posing ever increasing challenges for decision-makers and scientists alike. Many of these challenges share political and economic features and their solution demands co-operation both at the practical level between economic and political actors, but also at the scientific level between economists and political scientists. However, in many areas of scientific inquiry, these two disciplines still wander on their separate paths. For instance, in the ongoing debate about deregulating various parts of the public sector, economists often focus on very different aspects from those considered by political scientists. This could be illustrated by the failure of the energy market law in a referendum on September 22, 2002. While economists could not understand that citizens voted against the perceived reduction in prices, political scientists put the popular opposition in the context of failure of Californian deregulation of the energy sector. Similarly, in the area of fiscal policy, economists frequently emphasize the benefits of competition while political scientists have a tendency to stress the ways in which such competition may limit politicians' actions. Finally, in the debate regarding a European Constitution, economists suggest a separation of powers amongst the European Union (EU) and the Member States based on the economic theory of federalism -often referring back to externalities. Political scientists, on the other hand, are more concerned with the development of a European 'demos' and the institutions which might enhance the accountability of the various EU institutions.
The existing gap between economists and political scientists may surprise those who have observed the success of the Rational Choice approach in political 1 The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant No 5001-066451) which was crucial to realize this dialogue between economists and political scientists.