Last week
The International Student Initiative for Pluralism in Economics (ISIPE) released an open letter (below) demanding pluralism in the discipline of economics. This holds the promise of the beginning of an important phase in the effort to better align economic theory with real world -- particularly in light of what as become clear in recent decades in terms of the cumulative impact of our global economic system on social and ecological systems.
One of the most important challenges of creating a sustainable society is updating our mental models about economic theory -- in the classroom, the academic literature, and the real world. These students will be critical in bringing about that necessary change:
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It is not only the world economy that is in crisis. The
teaching of economics is in crisis too, and this crisis has
consequences far beyond the university walls. What is taught shapes the
minds of the next generation of policymakers, and therefore shapes the
societies we live in. We, 42 associations of economics students from 19
different countries, believe it is time to reconsider the way economics
is taught. We are dissatisfied with the dramatic narrowing of the
curriculum that has taken place over the last couple of decades. This
lack of intellectual diversity does not only restrain education and
research. It limits our ability to contend with the multidimensional
challenges of the 21st century - from financial stability, to food
security and climate change. The real world should be brought back into
the classroom, as well as debate and a pluralism of theories and
methods. This will help renew the discipline and ultimately create a
space in which solutions to society’s problems can be generated.
United across borders, we call for a change of course. We
do not claim to have the perfect answer, but we have no doubt that
economics students will profit from exposure to different perspectives
and ideas. Pluralism could not only help to fertilize teaching and
research and reinvigorate the discipline. Rather, pluralism carries the
promise to bring economics back into the service of society. Three forms
of pluralism must be at the core of curricula: theoretical, methodological and interdisciplinary.
Theoretical
pluralism emphasizes the need to broaden the range of schools of
thought represented in the curricula. It is not the particulars of any
economic tradition we object to. Pluralism is not about choosing sides,
but about encouraging intellectually rich debate and learning to
critically contrast ideas. Where other disciplines embrace diversity and
teach competing theories even when they are mutually incompatible,
economics is often presented as a unified body of knowledge. Admittedly,
the dominant tradition has internal variations. Yet, it is only one way
of doing economics and of looking at the real world. This is unheard of
in other fields; nobody would take seriously a degree program in
psychology that focuses only on Freudianism, or a politics program that
focuses only on state socialism. An inclusive and comprehensive
economics education should promote balanced exposure to a variety of
theoretical perspectives, from the commonly taught neoclassically-based
approaches to the largely excluded classical, post-Keynesian,
institutional, ecological, feminist, Marxist and Austrian traditions -
among others. Most economics students graduate without ever encountering
such diverse perspectives in the classroom.
Furthermore,
it is essential that core curricula include courses that provide
context and foster reflexive thinking about economics and its methods
per se, including philosophy of economics and the theory of knowledge.
Also, because theories cannot be fully understood independently of the
historical context in which they were formulated, students should be
systematically exposed to the history of economic thought and to the
classical literature on economics as well as to economic history.
Currently, such courses are either non-existent or marginalized to the
fringes of economics curricula.
Methodological
pluralism stresses the need to broaden the range of tools economists
employ to grapple with economic questions. It is clear that maths and
statistics are crucial to our discipline. But all too often students
learn to master quantitative methods without ever discussing if and why
they should be used, the choice of assumptions and the applicability of
results. Also, there are important aspects of economics which cannot be
understood using exclusively quantitative methods: sound economic
inquiry requires that quantitative methods are complemented by methods
used by other social sciences. For instance, the understanding of
institutions and culture could be greatly enhanced if qualitative
analysis was given more attention in economics curricula. Nevertheless,
most economics students never take a single class in qualitative
methods.
Finally,
economics education should include interdisciplinary approaches and
allow students to engage with other social sciences and the humanities.
Economics is a social science; complex economic phenomena can seldom be
understood if presented in a vacuum, removed from their sociological,
political, and historical contexts. To properly discuss economic policy,
students should understand the broader social impacts and moral
implications of economic decisions.
While
approaches to implementing such forms of pluralism will vary from place
to place, general ideas for implementation might include:
- Hiring instructors and researchers who can bring theoretical and methodological diversity to economics programs;
- Creating texts and other pedagogical tools needed to support pluralist course offerings;
- Formalizing
collaborations between social sciences and humanities departments or
establishing special departments that could oversee interdisciplinary
programs blending economics and other fields.
Change will be difficult - it always is. But it is already happening. Indeed,
students across the world have already started creating change step by
step. We have filled lecture theatres in weekly lectures by invited
speakers on topics not in the curriculum; we have organised reading
groups, workshops, conferences; we have analysed current syllabuses and
drafted alternative programs; we have started teaching ourselves and
others the new courses we would like to be taught. We have founded
university groups and built networks both nationally and
internationally.
Change must
come from many places. So now we invite you - students, economists, and
non-economists - to join us and create the critical mass needed for
change. See Support us to
show your support and connect with our growing networks. Ultimately,
pluralism in economics education is essential for healthy public debate.
It is a matter of democracy.
Signed, the member organizations of the International Student Initiative for Pluralism in Economics.
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Stay going.
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