Financial economics, not finance, introduced mathematical theory in the 1960s

Evidence

Finance was a mainstream subject of study in the business schools of U.S. universities, but until the 1960s it was treated largely descriptively. There was little or nothing in the way of sophisticated mathematical theory of financial markets. However, a distinctive academic specialty of “financial economics,” which had begun to emerge in the 1950s, gathered pace in the 1960s and the 1970s. At its core were elegant mathematical models of markets. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 33

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes descriptive pre-1960s ‘finance’ from the mathematically modeled ‘financial economics’ — foundational terminology for the book’s performativity thesis.
• XREF: connects to: Financial economics emerged as a mathematical discipline only from the 1960s — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 33; Mathematical economics displaced descriptive institutional study of finance in the US — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 304

Broader Connections

• Financial economics emerged as a mathematical discipline only from the 1960s #corroborates (0.95) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 33
• Mathematical economics displaced descriptive institutional study of finance in the US #expands (0.75) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 304