A teacher’s words reflect the theory and methods he uses. Words reveal theoretical structures, the problems identified as relevant, and how those problems should be analyzed. I investigate whether entrepreneurship-rich and institutions-rich theories are represented in Ph.D. programs in economics. I analyze textbooks for the presence of terms that fall naturally into two sets. One set deals with the knowledge and discovery: entrepreneur, innovation, invention, tacit knowledge, and bounded rationality. The other deals with social rules: institutions, property rights, and economic freedom. When the words appear I examine the meaning. I examine the textbooks used in required courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and industrial organization in all Ph.D. programs in economics in Sweden. The investigation is not specific to Sweden, however, because Ph.D. programs in Sweden are virtually identical to programs in the United States. The same textbooks are used, and nearly all of the textbooks examined are written by economists in the United States. I find that (i) all programs are in the tradition of “mainstream” economics; (ii) by and large, the eight expressions scarcely appear in the textbooks; and (iii) when they do appear, their meaning is diluted or distorted, compared to their meaning in theories where the idea is more central. In my judgment, the results constitute powerful evidence that today’s doctoral programs do not train young economists to identify and analyze important economic issues in a relevant way.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by The Ratio Institute in its series Ratio Working Papers with number
58.
Length: 24 pages Date of creation: 18 Nov 2004 Date of revision: Publication status: Published in Econ Journal Watch, 2004, pages 515-538. Handle: RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0058
Contact details of provider: Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden Phone: 08-587 054 00 Fax: 08-587 054 05 Email: Web page: http://www.ratio.se/ More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Niclas Berggren).
Find related papers by JEL classification: A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
References listed on IDEAS 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.:
Robert J. Barro & Paul Romer, 1993.
"Economic Growth,"
NBER Books,
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number barr93-1, September.
Other versions:
Robert J. Barro & Paul M. Romer, 1991.
"Economic Growth,"
NBER Books,
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number barr91-1, September.
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.)