ABSTRACT
The literature on heterodox economics may best be characterised as appearing confused; however, this may be misleading. For many commentators, heterodox economics is inherently oppositional to some orthodoxy or mainstream. The existing literature suggests at best an emerging clarity in the meaning of heterodox economics. The former captures all definitions which offer either a set of theoretical concepts or methodological principles which heterodox economics either accepts or, more likely, rejects. Sociological definitions of heterodox economics may then capture better the actual composition of heterodox groups; as such Dequech regards them as better than intellectual definitions, not least for their ability to be positive. The existing insights into the nature of heterodox economics and the interview literature raise several questions, for which our research project seeks answers. The existing literature evidences commonalities between mainstream and heterodox economists, which pose a paradox.
