Letter from the Editor

It is a pleasure and an honor to take over the role of Editor in Chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance from our founder-editor Jonathan Hamilton. His will be a hard and challenging act to follow but trusting to the support of our superb team of editors, and the staff of OUP, I look forward to working with you in the coming years to strengthen the already considerable breadth and reach of this series.

The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance is a crucial reference resource that serves as both a living repository and a timeless legacy. Economic theory and research have an influence across various social science disciplines and inform public policy debates. Yet there are few, if any, sources that reflect the breadth and depth of economics and finance and facilitate connections among particular topics within them. We are creating the central reference work in the field, which is quickly becoming a trusted source for students and scholars.

The ORE is all the more important as the volume and diversity of research has grown so much that it is virtually impossible to keep up with new work outside one's narrow field of expertise. To the extent that the discipline is marked by islands of knowledge while innovative research draws on cross-fertilization across approaches or topics, the ORE creates connections, focuses on mechanisms, provides a sense of context and history, and helps identify research questions that can inform new research, whether in classic areas or emerging ones. In short, the ORE serves as a springboard to new contributions for faculty and graduate students alike.

Articles on foundational topics focus on the evolution and structure of research programs and their dynamics, the questions and puzzles that drive research, and the interaction between theory and empirics. Articles on more recent research developments engage and stimulate by discussing motivations, including links to foundational approaches, and unresolved questions or possible directions of new research. Multiple views are engaged on areas of debate and dispute, which are especially beneficial for students and researchers by challenging assumptions and opening new research directions. The ORE provides a rich, comprehensive exploration of economics, offering clarity and reasoned guidance while avoiding simplistic prescriptions that ignore complexities, uncertainties, and controversies. In addition to information, the ORE provides insight.

Anindya Banerjee
Editor in Chief