Is Economics Education Fit for the 21st Century?

We, the Post-Crash Economics society have just released our new report, the most comprehensive study of economics education at the University of Manchester, since the release of our previous report, Economics, Education and Unlearning, in 2014.  We have worked with Rethinking Economics England and Wales to analyse our education in the context of some of the biggest socio-economic challenges we face today; asking is our education fit to train economists of the 21st Century?

Unfortunately not: only 2 of the 43 theory modules we graded discussed ecological sustainability, no economics modules discussed slavery or colonialism and real world economics is relegated to a limited number of elective modules. While there has been some positive change as a result of our campaigning, it has been slow progress in a fast-changing world. We are disappointed that our economics education is stuck in the same rut it was in 2014, dominated by neoclassical economics and inadequate to train the economists we need to solve the challenges of the 21st century. 

Spurred on by frustration at our education, we have created a proposal for a new economics education at UoM; one where society, ecology and mathematics are rebalanced, such that all students will graduate with a critical understanding of the economy they live in. We are asking the department to reimagine the guiding principles of economics education, away from optimisation, efficiency and growth and towards an evidence-based, regenerative and pluralist approach to teaching economics that benefits people and the planet.

Key Findings

• Neoclassical macroeconomics, new-keynesian macroeconomics and marginalist microeconomics dominate economic theories taught on both the BA and BSc programmes. 
• There is a great emphasis on learning theoretical approaches, over learning real world economics. 
• The climate crisis and ecological issues are broadly absent from the curriculum. 
• The curriculum does not address historical and contemporary power imbalances..
• Economics is taught in isolation from other social sciences. 
• Qualitative research methods are excluded. 

Recommendations

1. Change the way that students are introduced to the discipline of economics

For the first year of study, we are asking the department to replace the neoclassical microeconomics and macroeconomics modules, with new introductory modules that ground our education in real world problems that the UK economy faces, whilst introducing a diverse range of theoretical perspectives and important historical context. 

2. Decarbonise, Decolonise, Diversify our Economics Learning

For an education to be fit for training 21st century economists, we are asking the department:

Decarbonise by teaching regenerative economic approaches that acknowledge the severity of the environmental crises we face.

Decolonise by using economics as a tool to explore and understand the complex dynamics of oppression that shape our world. Showcasing economics that takes into account the informal economy, race, gender and unequal exchange.

Diversify by exploring a wide range of theoretical approaches to economics.

3. Reform Teaching, Learning and Assessments

We are asking the department to teach the economy as a complex, ever-evolving system that demands critical and creative thinking to understand, instead of a puzzle that can be solved using mathematical methods.  

4. Democratise the Decision Making over our Education

Students deserve to shape their own journey through higher education; therefore, we are recommending: that the BA and BSc programmes are restructured into one economics pathway, that gives students the power to pursue their own interests , and graduate with a fuller understanding of the economic issues they care about.