Students from 19 countries demand a much-needed shake-up of economics lessons, to better support food security, climate change and a safer future. Writing in an open letter for AlertNet, the smart students point out the word is an ugly financial mess, and the economics lessons that are setting the students on a path to fixing the mess, are not actually much better.
They argue that these lessons are steering the next generation of policymakers – and therefore the societies we all live in. They write: “We, 37 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 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.”
They end: “Change shall 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 organized reading groups, workshops, conferences; we have analyzed 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. Visit http://www.isipe.net to connect with our growing networks. Ultimately, pluralism in economics education is essential for healthy public debate. It is a matter of democracy.”
Read the full open letter here. You can also read more about the International Student Initiative for Pluralism in Economics (ISIPE), which aims to bring about a more open, diverse, and pluralistic teaching of economics at Isipe.net. And most of all, be encouraged that if you don’t like how things are done, you can change them.
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