Political Economy in Social Sciences in Brazil: scope, trajectory and profile of papers

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The article rescues the trajectory of Political Economy, to define this area and discipline. Then, it analyzes the production of academic papers, in the decade 2009-2018, in the subarea of Political Economy in Social Sciences in Brazil. It seeks to show the relative weakening of this subarea in recent decades. The objectives were to define criteria for inclusion of papers in the area of political economy; identify the specific themes that have been researched and the methodological resources adopted; evaluate the results found and suggest institutional and research paths for the development of Political Economy in Social Sciences.

Materials and Methods:

The methodology identifies, quantifies and distinguishes the content of papers of Political Economy published in nine national journals A1, A2 and B1, according to the current classification of Capes Qualis Periodicals for Political Science and International Relations.

Results:

It concludes that economists lead production, especially on the themes of development and macroeconomics; in international political economy, there is a balanced distribution of papers between the journal directly linked to the subarea analyzed and the journals closest to the social sciences stricto sensu, in which, on the other hand, content of social policies and political institutions predominates.

Discussion:

The development of the subarea involves the construction of theoretical-methodological bridges and institutional networks between economics and politics.

KEYWORDS
political economy; social sciences; political science; papers; Brazil