ABSTRACT
International circulation is a source of legitimacy and power for economists that distinguishes technically and socially those who have access to foreign institutions and cosmopolitan assets. These resources are particularly prized in peripheral nations, where connections with central areas are valuable capitals for those aiming for prominent political/administrative positions. Moreover, going abroad has effects on the type of economic ideas diffused through peripheral areas. The questions addressed here are How do economists and economic ideas flow? and How do dissimilar ideas spread and (re)shape a structured space of economists? This chapter focuses on the Brazilian case, in which the space of economists is deeply amalgamated with external influences. After describing how international ties helped to shape the Brazilian space of economists, social network analysis is used to depict a polarized social space and reveal patterns of connections with foreign agents and institutions abroad. The network illustrates that circulations towards the US, Europe, and Latin America lie in dissimilar areas of the Brazilian space of economists and that different streams of economic knowledge spread from each of these sources.
