Living Science, or Amusing Economic Nobelistics

Abstract

Unlike the classics of economic thought, it was not until the 1990s that Russia's wide readership became familiar with the Western economists of the 20th century. Special place in the flow of publications devoted to consideration of their life path and analysis of theories created by them holds the literature on Nobel prize winners in economics as leaders of the world economics science. In the post-Soviet period in the domestic historiography of economics science there actually emerged a peculiar section — economic Nobelistics, which uses a wide range of genres: from strictly scientific, or academic, to popular science. In the review on the book “Nobel Prize Winners in Economics (1991–2020)” by Yuri P. Voronov, which analyses achievements of Nobel prize-winners in economics in the last thirty years, an attempt is made to draw readers' attention to such an aspect of this monograph as original presentation of Nobel economists' theories by the author. It is noted that the distinctive feature of the book is accessible, fascinating presentation of the scientific material. At the same time, entertainment in the book, playing the role of stimulus of cognitive interest, essentially performs two functions: a means of teaching and a means of popularization of scientific knowledge. Such features as literary language, author's digressions, original and intriguing titles create the effect of “lively” science. At the same time, entertainment in the book, which plays the role of a stimulus of cognitive interest, essentially performs two functions: a means of teaching and a means of popularizing scientific knowledge. And such features of the work as the literary expressiveness of the language, author's digressions, original and intriguing section titles create the effect of “live” science.