Although it has long been accepted that economics can provide tools with which to understand science, economics has shifted its focus to the economic agent as information processor. This collection of essays presents an overview of this area.

"A serious reconsideration of the 'economics of science' is long overdue," say Philip Mirowski and Esther-Mirjam Sent in the introduction to "Science Bought and Sold," Indeed, it is only recently that one could speak of a field of economics of science at all. Although it has long been accepted that economics can provide useful tools with which to understand science, economics has only lately shifted its focus to the economic agent as information processor, making it more broadly applicable to science. Bringing together central themes in this emerging discipline, the editors have assembled important articles that provide a wider context and background against which the economics of science can be evaluated. Roughly one-third of the essays presented here are original papers, and the rest are critical articles previously published in the field. From essays examining economic welfare to the idea of scientists as agents to the digital aspects of higher education, "Science Bought and Sold" presents a comprehensive overview of the new directions of this expanding area. Contributors: Kenneth J. Arrow Mario Biagioli William A. Brock Michel Callon Partha Dasgupta Paul A. David Steven N. Durlauf Paul Forman Steve Fuller D. Wade Hands Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap Philip Kitcher Sharon G. Levin Richard R. Nelson David F. Noble Michael Polanyi Gary Rhoades Charles Sanders Peirce Sheila Slaughter Paula E. Stephan Stephen Turner James R. Wible John Ziman