developingeconomics.

org
How to Justify Teaching the Worst of Economics to Non-Economists – Developing
Economics
5-7 minutes

miracle-at-blackboard

By Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven

Being an Economics PhD student in a heterodox department gives me the privilege of

taking courses in a range of different schools of thought within the discipline. In
the Economics department, most of us take the stance that it is imperative to
understand the mainstream in order to criticize them effectively. We go to great
lengths to learn about the nuances of Neo-classical Economics, general equilibrium
theory, and New-Keynesian Economics. Meanwhile, we also have full courses devoted
to non-mainstream approaches, such as Post-Keynesian and Marxian Economics. We are
aware of the ideological underpinnings of a lot of mainstream theory, and many of
us see this as a motivation to challenge the discipline.

Now, the difficulty arises when we are to teach one introductory course in
‘Economics’ to non-economists and we know that this is likely to shape their
outlook on Economics as a discipline. How much time do you then devote to
mainstream models, the criticism of mainstream models, and alternative models? I
myself teach the lab of the course ‘Development Economics’ to graduate students
studying Development Studies. Each week there is a new topic, and each topic covers
mainstream models and their critics. In some topics, alternative theories are also
discussed. The students are usually either inherently critical of Economics as a
discipline or intimidated by its quantitative nature, or both. We spend a lot of
time learning about growth models and economic theories that have been heavily
criticized. Understandably, a common question among students is ‘…but why are we
learning this if it’s all wrong?’ I sympathize with their disillusionment with
Economics, but I want to convince the students that what they are learning can, in
fact, be very useful in order to challenge the dominant development paradigm.

In my experience, the most captivating justification for why we are learning these
outdated and flawed theories is that they are, in fact, incredibly influential. In
order to justify the time we spend on the traditional growth models and endogenous
growth theory in class, I refer to policy approaches and institutional reports that
the students are likely to be familiar with, where the arguments presented are
founded on theories we are covering in the course. I want to show students that
they can use their knowledge of mainstream theory and its flaws to criticize modern
development policies. For example, both the well-known and influential Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (as pointed out by Ben Fine), and the theories underlying
the Better than Cash Alliance’s strategy to roll out finance for all, build on
endogenous growth theory. Moreover, a lot of contemporary writing and policy
recommendations concerning international trade build on Ricardo’s theory of
comparative advantage (e.g. Justin Lin, former Chief Economist of the World Bank).
The fact that institutions that fund huge development projects and shape the
development debate often build their arguments on unrealistic assumptions captures
the students’ attention.

Furthermore, I find that students are less likely to be disillusioned with

Economics when they are provided with an alternative approach to the ‘flawed
mainstream’. For example, after going through the details of the theory of
comparative advantage, we spend the same amount of time on going through the theory
of competitive advantage, and discuss to what extent the two theories relate to
reality.
Another justification is to improve economic literacy. As the students are studying
international development, they are likely to have to deal with economists in their
future careers. In their meetings with economists, it will be a strength that they
can speak the language of the discipline, especially if they intend to seriously
challenge economists’ policy proposals. This justification holds for discussing
basic economic concepts such as balance of payments, terms of trade, and interest
rates, but also for dealing with simple economic models and basic theories of
supply/demand. In this sense, teaching mainstream approaches can help students feel
empowered around economists, rather than intimidated.

A final justification that I appreciate, but that I have not found to resonate as
much with students, is the importance of understanding the history of thought in
your field and understanding why certain models and theories came about in the
first place (e.g. Keynes observed persistent unemployment and lack of aggregate
demand during the Great Depression ). To understand where modern theories are
coming from, it is useful to trace them back through history, to see how they
developed through time.

We are privileged as Economics PhD students at The New School, as we can take 20
classes in both mainstream and heterodox topics. But how do we balance mainstream,
criticism of mainstream, and alternative theories in one course, knowing that these
students may never take an econ class ever again? And how do we justify spending so
much time on models we do not agree with? Any feedback is welcome!

This article was initially written for a Pedagogy class I am taking this semester.
I am grateful for useful comments from my fellow editors at NSER as well as
encouraging feedback from editor of Lady Economist, Katherine Moos.

Photo: Copyright © 2015 by Sidney Harris

The article was originally published on The New School Economic Review blog (April
28th, 2015).