New Books in Economics Verena Halsmayer on Managing Growth in Miniature: Solow’s Model as an Artifact
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Nov 24, 2025 Verena Halsmayer, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Vienna and a historian of economics, dives deep into the Solow growth model in her award-winning book. She discusses how economists transitioned post-WWII, emphasizing the importance of technology in growth. Halsmayer explores models as artifacts shaping policy and teaching, and the ambiguous nature that allows diverse political interpretations. The conversation highlights the intertwined histories of economics and science, along with her ongoing work on alternative participatory planning.
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Tools Reveal Intellectual Cultures
- Focusing on tools reveals intellectual cultures and institutional conditions that shape economic knowledge.
- Halsmayer argues models teach both subject matter and how to 'think like an economist'.
Models Have Active Lives
- Halsmayer links performativity and the model's active potential: models can travel and shape practice.
- Economists sometimes regretted how their models stabilized into routines beyond intentions.
Choosing The Model Over Biography
- Halsmayer chose not to write a Robert Solow biography and centered the book on the model's role.
- She used Solow's remarks and interviews as sources but focused on model practices across institutions.
