Poul Thøis Madsen

The Financial Crisis and Principles of Economics Textbooks

How have authors of widely used U.S. introductory economics textbooks responded to the traumatizing financial crisis? The answer interests textbook authors as well as the users. An encompassing quantitative and qualitative text analysis that applies new methods demonstrates that in general, the financial crisis is described in a few sporadically added lines or is dealt with in boxes, separate sections, or specific isolated chapters. This is no great surprise, as it would be a monumental task to change textbooks significantly in the short run. Yet the analysis also indicates small, innovative changes already being made that could inspire future editions. Against this background, the author discusses how any introductory textbook could integrate the financial crisis more adequately into the general presentation, thereby enhancing students’ interest.

How do Five American Political Science Textbooks Deal with the Economic Dimension

Politics and economics interact. As a consequence, political science textbooks must often relate to the economic dimension—implicitly or explicitly. But we know very little about how these textbooks relate to economics. Are they merely unreflective customers of neoclassical economics or do they strive for a cross-disciplinary approach? An analysis of five American textbooks identifies two very different and concurrent interactions between politics and economics. The first is a theoretically conceived market economy in which market forces independently drive growth and create equilibrium, where politics has a rather secluded role. The second is the actually existing mixed economy, characterized by increased inequality, economic concentration, power, and environmental problems, influenced by a state forced to regulate. The problems of operating with such a dichotomy— and possible solutions to it—are being explored in the article.

What’s Wrong with American Principles of Economics – According to Mainstream Economists?

Heterodox economists have ‘always’ criticized mainstream economic textbooks, but what about criticisms put forward by mainstream economists? A limited but lively and rather overlooked mainstream debate is identified in this essay, in which the general message is that there is a critical gap between textbooks and the real world. The criticisms aired in this debate almost seem to be forgotten, although most of them are still highly relevant and, if taken seriously, might lead to significant changes of economics textbooks.