The case for pluralism: what French undergraduate economics teaching is all about and how it can be improved Online publication date: Wed, 08-Apr-2015
by The Members of the PEPS-Economie Students' Association
International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE), Vol. 5, No. 4, 2014
Abstract: This two-pronged paper offers an evidence-based assessment of the worrying lack of pluralism in French undergraduate economics curricula, and subsequently suggests some solutions. Focusing on the titles of the economic courses given in all French universities, and taking a straightforward and tractable empirical approach, we first show that French undergraduate curricula do little to develop a critical understanding of both real world economic phenomena and economics as a (fallible) scientific discipline. We then suggest an alternative curriculum designed to satisfy the demanding three-fold conception of pluralism that we advocate (i.e., interdisciplinary, methodological and theoretical pluralism). This alternative curriculum is not so much based around techniques (as most curricula are today) as topics, questions and problems. Theories and tools are thus presented only inasmuch as they contribute to our understanding of such issues.
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