The relationship is circular. Asimov's story was of course based on emerging notions of economics, which had become increasingly mathamaticised and grounded in statistics. His writing also affected and influenced economists, and at least one, Paul Krugman, has stated this specifically:
There are certain novels that can shape a teenage boy's life. For some, it's Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged; for others it's Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. As a widely quoted internet meme says, the unrealistic fantasy world portrayed in one of those books can warp a young man's character forever; the other book is about orcs. But for me, of course, it was neither. My Book – the one that has stayed with me for four-and-a-half decades – is Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, written when Asimov was barely out of his teens himself. I didn't grow up wanting to be a square-jawed individualist or join a heroic quest; I grew up wanting to be Hari Seldon, using my understanding of the mathematics of human behaviour to save civilisation.
I studied Physics because of reading Asimov as a child, and discovered it was way more difficult and boring in real life. Re-read Foundation when I heard the TV show was coming out, and discovered that it was a terrible book. Asimov, you old deceiver
What made you think it was terrible? I recently reread it too, and while the writing isn’t earth-shatteringly good, I definitely appreciated it for being the novel idea it was at the time.
It's not really a story at all, just an exploration of an idea. The plot is very predictable, and the characters are just the thinnest of veils for whatever point the author is trying to make.
First time I've ever heard of this (always preferred Heinlein to Asimov) and I'm glad I'm not the only one who immediately drew connections to Historical Materialism and Marx.
There are certain novels that can shape a teenage boy's life. For some, it's Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged; for others it's Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. As a widely quoted internet meme says, the unrealistic fantasy world portrayed in one of those books can warp a young man's character forever; the other book is about orcs. But for me, of course, it was neither. My Book – the one that has stayed with me for four-and-a-half decades – is Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, written when Asimov was barely out of his teens himself. I didn't grow up wanting to be a square-jawed individualist or join a heroic quest; I grew up wanting to be Hari Seldon, using my understanding of the mathematics of human behaviour to save civilisation.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/04/paul-krugman-a...