Social Economics: Economics Grounded in Human Dignity
Economics grounded in human dignity, community, and ethics, with roots in Catholic social thought, humanistic economics, and the study of the social economy. Study it 1-on-1 with expert professors.
Social Economics is one of the focuses you can choose in Elton's Heterodox Economics graduate certificate and master's concentration. Study it in depth, compare it with other traditions, or build your own synthesis, guided by professors who know each school well.
Start Immediately. $18,000 Total Tuition. Graduate Certificate Option.
- 1-on-1 Expert Professors
- Study Any School Side by Side
- 100% Remote & Flexible
- Keep Your Job
What Is Social Economics?
Social economics starts from the conviction that the economy exists to serve people, and that questions of value, fairness, and human flourishing belong inside economics, not outside it. Adam Smith wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments before The Wealth of Nations, and social economists take both books seriously.
The tradition draws on Catholic social thought, from Rerum Novarum (1891) and John A. Ryan's case for a living wage, on E. F. Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful, on the humanistic economics of Mark Lutz and Kenneth Lux, and on Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach. The Association for Social Economics has carried it forward since 1941.
You will study the ethics and the evidence together, and explore the social economy of cooperatives, nonprofits, and social enterprises that sits between markets and the state.
Put Human Flourishing at the Center
These are the kinds of questions you can explore with your professors:
- What is a fair wage, and who should decide?
- How should we measure whether people are actually better off?
- What can social enterprises and nonprofits do that markets and governments cannot?
- How do values and community shape economic choices?
Key Thinkers You Will Read
You read the classic texts alongside today's research, so you understand not just what these economists argued but why.
Adam Smith
The Theory of Moral Sentiments: sympathy and the moral foundations of markets.
John A. Ryan
A Living Wage and Catholic social thought in America.
E. F. Schumacher
Small Is Beautiful: economics as if people mattered.
Mark Lutz & Kenneth Lux
Humanistic economics and human needs.
Amartya Sen
Development as freedom and the capabilities approach.
Martha Nussbaum
Central human capabilities and the dignity of the person.
Core Ideas
Dignity & the Living Wage
The ethics of wages and work, from Rerum Novarum to modern living-wage campaigns.
Catholic Social Thought
Solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good as principles for economic life.
The Capabilities Approach
Judging wellbeing by what people are able to do and be, not just by income.
The Social Economy
Cooperatives, nonprofits, mutuals, and social enterprises between market and state.
Economics & Ethics
How moral values enter economic reasoning, and the limits of a value-free economics.
Wellbeing & Happiness
Life-satisfaction research and what it suggests for policy.
Debates and Critiques
Critics argue that economics should keep facts and values separate, and that ethical commitments can weaken objectivity. Social economists reply that every economic model already carries values, so it is better to examine them openly. Measuring capabilities and wellbeing is also hard. You will study these questions with care and form your own view.
Elton's program is pluralist: your professors help you understand each school on its own terms, weigh it fairly against the evidence, and reach your own conclusions.
Learn 1-on-1 With Expert Professors
Map Your Interests
With your advisor, build a learning plan around Social Economics and the fields and questions you care about most.
Meet Your Professors
Meet each week in tutorials of one to three students. Read, discuss, and get feedback on your work from economists who know the tradition well.
Build Real Work
Write policy briefs, build models, analyze data, and research the questions that matter to you, with your professors guiding every step.
Graduate With a Portfolio
Leave with research papers, analyses, and policy proposals that show how you think, ready to share with employers or journals.
Eligibility
To enroll in a master's program or graduate certificate, you need one of the following:
- A bachelor's degree, or
- Some college and 5 years of relevant work experience, or
- Proof of your ability to engage in master's-level study.
No standardized tests are required: no GRE, no GMAT.
Same Tuition as the Economics Program: $18,000
Social Economics is a focus within Elton's economics graduate certificate and master's concentration, so it shares the same tuition, financial aid, and timeline: $18,000 total, with a 10% discount if you pay in full upon enrollment. The graduate certificate on its own is $8,000.
- Start Immediately - Other programs require you wait until September or January to start. With Elton you can start immediately.
- No Risk First Month - If during the first month you or Elton decide that you are not a fit for the university, you will receive a full refund.
- Stacking Credentials - If you stop the program early, you still earn your graduate certificate in economics if you have completed 1/3 of the program.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Economics
What is social economics?
Do I need to be religious to study it?
Is Social Economics a separate degree?
Can I study other schools of thought too?
Other Schools of Economic Thought
- Institutional Economics
- Post-Keynesian Economics
- Modern Monetary Theory
- Ecological Economics
- Austrian Economics
- Marxian Economics
- Feminist Economics
- Production-Side Economics
- Sraffian Economics
- Georgist Economics
- Socialist & Collective Production
- History of Economics
New to the field? Start with our beginner's guide to heterodox economics.
