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Pluralism in Economics: A Public Good or a Public Bad?

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Author Info
Hendrik P. van Dalen () (Faculty of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and NIDI, The Hague)

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Abstract

A pluralist approach to economics is both necessary from an academic as well a policy point of view. From an academic viewpoint pluralism can be understood as the outcome of competition and specialization in the search for new ideas that can deal with imperfections of the real world. From a policy point of view a diversity of view is also desirable as it helps to spread the risk of large mistakes in policy choices. However, the present-day teaching practices and textbooks are by and large not well suited to deal with a pluralist approach. Possible routes of that can help to enrich teaching and curricula are: (1) teaching the art of economic policy; (2) stress teaching economics by learning from the past; (3) teach by becoming imperialist so that a conversation between discipline gets underway; (4) merge business and general economics as the dividing line between the two is nowadays quite thin; (5) practice Reality Economics; and (6) teach basic principles (especially in the bachelors stage) in a ‘Socratesian’ manner, i.e. let students learn economics by doing (e.g. by experimental economics or interviewing businessmen).

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Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 03-034/1.

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Date of creation: 11 May 2003
Date of revision: 18 May 2004
Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20030034

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Related research
Keywords: pluralism; teaching; innovation; economic methodology;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
A2 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics
B4 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology
B5 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Bruno Frey, 2006. "How Influential is Economics?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 295-311, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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