standpointseconomic

Standpointeconomic is a neologism used to describe an approach in economic analysis that foregrounds the perspectives of different social standpoints—such as gender, race, class, geography, and occupation—when examining economic phenomena. Rather than assuming a single, universal economic agent or model, standpointeconomic emphasizes how power relations and social position shape economic knowledge, policies, and outcomes.

The concept draws on standpoint theory from sociology and feminist theory, which argue that knowledge is socially situated. In economic contexts, this translates into recognizing that data, assumptions, and conclusions can be conditioned by the researchers’ positions and by the communities studied. Standpointeconomic thus aims to reveal blind spots in traditional analyses and to diversify the questions asked and the methods used.

In practice, standpointeconomic informs research design, data interpretation, and policy evaluation. It often involves disaggregated data, qualitative methods, and participatory or community-based approaches that incorporate lived experiences. Topics commonly explored through this lens include wage disparities, unpaid care work, informal labor, regional development, environmental justice, and the distributional effects of globalization and public policy.

Reception within the discipline is mixed. Proponents argue that it broadens inquiry, improves relevance, and challenges assumptions of objectivity by making social position explicit. Critics caution that prioritizing standpoints can complicate generalization and comparison, and that rigorous methodological safeguards are needed to avoid bias or fragmentation. Nonetheless, standpointeconomic contributes to pluralism in economics by highlighting how diverse experiences shape economic realities and by encouraging more inclusive analytical practices.