Serving the Institute and the Discipline: The Changing Profile of Economics at MIT as Viewed from Textbooks

In recent years there has been a growing interest in history of science in the study of textbooks and their multiple roles for the contemporary history of science. In this text we look at MIT economics by exploring the role of textbooks in consolidation of the department’s position internally (within MIT) and externally (among other economics departments). We analyze the contribution of economists associated with MIT to the production of textbooks in economics and identify certain characteristics that help us to better understand the perceptions about this department and its role in the evolution of economics in the second half of the twentieth century.