Steve Medema and I (Journal of Economic Perspectives 2009) came to the conclusion that it may not be a remark be committed to print. We wrote, 

"Jacob Viner reflected this spirit in his oft-quoted statement: “Economics is what economists do.” (We have been unable to find this statement in Viner’s publications, but a remark by Kenneth Boulding (1941, p. 1), a student of Viner’s in 1932–3, suggests that it arose in conversation.)”

The Boulding reference is his textbook, Economic Analysis.

Roger Backhouse

On 10 Apr 2014, at 16:38, Hammond, Daniel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Does anyone have a citation for Jacob Viner's remark that economics is what economists do?
> Thanks,
> Dan Hammond
> 
> 
>