Economics 101: More college classes bring moral debates to the surface
Professors have often presented economics as the realm of rational people making efficient choices. Now many are highlighting the ethical questions behind the theories.
Professors have often presented economics as the realm of rational people making efficient choices. Now many are highlighting the ethical questions behind the theories.
In his latest inquiry on The New Yorker, Nick Romeo discusses how CORE’s The Economy is presenting economics students with an updated curriculum, which teaches economics ‘as if the last thirty years had happened’.
CORE’s approach is to teach how the real world works, helping students to address current and future important societal challenges. The full article is also available as a PDF copy.
Dani Rodrik highlights that a key advantage of the CORE approach is its move to replace the standard benchmarks of economics with alternatives that are more realistic and useful.
A report of the American Economic Association urges teachers to avoid using “trivial or sexist” examples such as sports cars or beers, in favour of weightier applications, for example climate change and inequality. The Economist singles out CORE for starting “with inequality, rather than presenting it as an afterthought”. You can read the full article as a PDF.