由于北美与西欧的社会环境不同，为经济学家提供的市场条件不同，因而，对经济科学的看法不同，研究的方式不同，经济学家所起的作用也有很大差异。相对而言，北美的经济学家更热衷纯理论研究，他们专攻理论，直至成名成家。西欧的经济学家则更重视当地问题的研究。在诺贝尔经济学奖得主中，北美经济学家占绝大多数。西欧经济学家则多在政治舞台大振拳脚，他们有的出任部长，有的出任总理 Due to the different social conditions in North America and Western Europe, the market conditions for economists are different. Therefore, they have different views on economic science, different research methods and economists’ roles. Relatively speaking, North American economists are keen on purely theoretical research, they specialize in theory, until the fame. Economists in Western Europe place more emphasis on the study of local problems. Among the Nobel laureates, North American economists make up the majority. Western European economists are more active in the political arena, some of them as ministers, and some as prime minister