For this overview of studies into the content of economics curricula, we want to thank J.Christopher Proctor, an active member of the global student movements Rethinking Economics and oikos International. He made the highly useful “Mapping Pluralist Research” report, from which the summaries into the various studies below come.
International
Micro, Macro, Maths: Is that all? An International Study on Economics Bachelor Curricula
by Arthur Jatteau and Elsa Egerer from 2017
This study, conducted by the ISIPE network, applies the method used in the PEPS 2014 report to 13 countries, from Brazil and Mexico to Turkey and Israel. The study confirms the dominance of the “MMM courses”—macro, micro and math—at the expense of reflexive courses like the history of economic thought.
Read the study here
United Kingdom
The Econocracy: The Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts
by Joe Earle, Cahal Moran and Zach Ward-Perkins from 2016
A book published by three University of Manchester graduates that explains the intellectual backing for calls for pluralism in economics and connects pluralism to the idea of democratizing economic decision making. The book also contains an extensive curriculum review of economics degrees at several top UK universities which shows a stark lack of ‘critical thinking’ in economics assessments.
Read the study here
Employers’ Report 2018
by Allana Yurko from 2018
This report is based off of a series of interviews with employers—primarily in the UK— about their needs from economics graduates. The report finds that employers are looking for graduates with better real world analysis skills and communication skills, and suggests that curriculum be adapted to fit these needs.
Read the study here
Educating Economists? A Report on the Economics Education at Durham University
by Sally Svenlén, Eirc Sargent, George Tyler, and Ola Pedersen from 2018
This report applies a number of previously developed methods—looking at course content, teaching/testing methods, and surveying students—to the Durham University economics program. The report also lays out a robust set of principles on which an economics education should be built. There is currently work ongoing to update the report annually.
Read the study here
A survey of undergraduate economics programmes in the UK
by Christian Westerlind Wigstrom from 2016
This report gives a good descriptive summary of the content of economics programs in the UK.
Read the study here
Economics, Education and Unlearning: Economics Education at the University of Manchester
by The Post-Crash Economics Society from 2014
This 60-page report details the Post-Crash Economics Society’s critique of economics education at the University of Manchester. It analyzes the content of a Manchester economics education, builds an argument for pluralist reform, and lays out a set of specific suggestions to improve the degree. It also provides a set of principles which a pluralist economics degree should be built around.
Read the study here
CSEP Survey of Economics Students: Is it Time for Change at Cambridge?
by The Cambridge Society for Economic Pluralism from 2014
A survey of current and former Cambridge economics students which found that respondents wanted more real word applicability, interdisciplinary, and career skills.
Read the study here
Italy
The teaching of economics and the issue of pluralism: a qualitative and quantitative study
by Michela Ciccotosto from 2018
This master’s thesis compares several economics programs within the University of Turin—some which embrace pluralism and some which do not—through an extensive survey of students. The study shows that students in the pluralist programs were more satisfied with their education, more aware of various topics related to the economy, and were more confident in their abilities as economists. The thesis also provides an extensive literature review and bibliography on pluralism.
Read the study here (in Italian)
France
The case for pluralism: what French undergraduate economics teaching is all about and how it can be improved
by PEPS-Economie from 2014
This report provides a review of French economics degrees and proposes an alternant pluralist curriculum.
Read the study here
From terrible to terrific undergraduate economics curricula
by PEPS-Economie from 2015
This is a shorter summary version of PEPS’ 2014 report. It was initially presented at the INET Plenary conference in Paris in 2015.
Read the study here
Germany
A Survey of German Economics: 2015-2022
by Janina Urban & Florian Rommel from 2022
This paper surveys findings of the recent wave of empirical studies on research, teaching, and policy advice of economics in Germany.
Read the study here
Pluralism in economics teaching in Germany – evidence from a new dataset
by Hannes Fauser and Myriam Kaskel from 2016
A paper which uses the methods developed in the PEPS-Economie 2014 paper to analyze economics education in Germany.
Read the study here
Netherlands
Thinking like an economist? A Quantitative Analysis of Bachelor Curricula in the Netherlands
by Joris Tieleman, Sam De Muijnck, Maarten Kavelaars, and Francis Ostermeijer from 2018
This 130-page report gives a holistic overview of economics education in the Netherlands. It starts with an extensive examination of the purpose of an economics education, focusing on the distinction between training professional vs academic economists. It then details the content of all the economics degrees in the Netherlands, providing both countrywide results and university-specific breakdowns. The results are also available in an interactive format online on this website.
Read the study here
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Are we missing any study into the content of economics programs, let us know here and we will add it!
