Economics is typically a quantitative science, which exclusively relies on mathematical techniques, statistical analysis, experimental work, and neglects qualitative evidence, data, and research methods. Although economic methodology scholars have outlined this unbalance, and a few studies pursued qualitative economic research in the past, these are rather the exception to the rule. However, most social sciences and adjacent disciplines do adopt qualitative methodologies when tackling economic phenomena, issues, and topics. Drawing upon the history of economic thought and the philosophy of the social sciences, this dissertation asks why economists do not rely on qualitative inquiry, how they could implement qualitative research, and in what subject domains. In doing so, it indeed (1) unveils the potential contribution of qualitative methods to both economic theory and policy, (2) highlights the role of sociocultural factors over behavioural elements in economic analysis, and (3) suggests the need for an ontological, epistemological, and axiological shift towards ‘qualitative economics’.