This paper explores possible reasons for the long and enduring dominance of neoclassical theory over the undergraduate microeconomics textbook. It proposes that those very attributes of neoclassical microeconomics that raise serious theoretical misgivings constitute the basis for the current hegemony of the standard undergraduate textbook. It further discusses the effects of the standard text on the education of economists in developing countries and conditions of the entrenchment of this text in undergraduate teaching. Finally, it looks at the possibilities of the emergence of alternative textbooks both in the centre and in the periphery of the global academic map. Copyright (c) 2008 The Author. Journal compilation (c) 2008 Economic Society of South Africa.
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Volume (Year): 76 (2008) Issue (Month): 4 (December) Pages: 749-764 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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