The teaching and practice of economics – Some Ruminations

The training of professionals typically involves the integration of classroom instruction (theoretical knowledge) and practical applications, with the latter reinforcing the former. However, the training that most professional economists undergo suggests a disconnect between theoretical knowledge and applications. Economic education in many leading universities tends to train students to solve models, leaving many students with the impression that there is a dominant view of the subject matter – what many commentators would christen “neoclassical economics”, in technical parlance. The practical applications of the subject as used in the industry, however, are punctuated by a plurality of epistemologies. Bridging the chasm between classroom teaching and practice is one endeavour that is long overdue, yet this project has failed to attract the interests of either the practitioners nor the teachers of the subject. This duality of teaching and practice is an aberration that has become accepted as the norm. Resolving this problem is a long-term project, with the potential first step being to expose students to alternative schools of thought and the toolkits of practising economists in a classroom environment.