Robert F. Garnett

Pluralism, Academic Freedom, and Heterodox Economics

Frederic Lee’s laudable attempt to expand heterodox economists’ academic rights is vitiated by his narrow conception of pluralism as tolerance. The author proposes an alternative view of academic pluralism that is more consistent with the epistemological assumptions and ethical requirements of academic freedom, and more conducive to the flourishing of heterodox economics—and economics at large—as a scholarly community. JEL classification: A20, B40, B50

Big Think: A Model for Critical Inquiry in Economics Courses

Economic educators often profess the goal of teaching our students to “think like economists.” Since Siegfried and colleagues (1991) coined this phrase, its meaning has been interpreted as a focus on analytical concepts and methods of economics as opposed to the broader goal of preparing students for independent, critical thought in the complex world beyond college. Colander and McGoldrick (2009b) argued that students are more likely to achieve both of these objectives when the learning process includes open-ended questions that encourage them to move beyond algorithmic application of textbook principles. In this article, the authors operationalize this “big think” approach through an instructional module on differential tuition pricing, the development of which was enhanced by careful attention to contemporary learning theory.

Reflexive Pedagogy: Disciplinary Idioms as Resources for Teaching

Disciplinary models of learning such as ethnography (cultural anthropology) and market competition (economics) have received little attention in the burgeoning literature on ‘how teacher thinking shapes education’. To mobilize the pedagogical potential of these disciplinary idioms, the authors draw from the pathbreaking works of Palmer and Rowland, the anthropological literature on teaching as ethnography, and their own experiences as teachers of cultural anthropology and economics to conceptualize a process they term reflexive pedagogy. Reflexive pedagogy – the deliberate cultivation of discipline-specific learning theories – encourages instructors to integrate the intellectual frameworks and identities of their teaching and scholarly lives and thus provides an effective vehicle for faculty dialogue and teacher development.

The Economist's Oath: On the Need for and Content of Professional Economic Ethics

Twentieth century economics is a tale of soaring academic status and public influence, overlaid with acute incuriosity about the ethics of professional economic practice. Through it all, we remain heirs to a broad liberal tradition that urges us to acknowledge the ethical complexity of professional activities in which, as George DeMartino writes, ‘one’s expertise and position combine to yield institutional power’ (p. 111). Holding these disparate vantage points firmly in view, DeMartino’s latest book, The Economist’s Oath, delivers a stinging indictment of modern economics and a promising strategy for the revival of genuine professionalism in our work as teachers, scholars, analysts, advocates, advisors and consultants. Released in December 2010, on the heels of Charles Ferguson’s awardwinning 2010 documentary, Inside Job, DeMartino’s book rode—and added impetus to—a spectacular if fleeting wave of attention to economists’ professional ethics. Ferguson’s film evoked probing questions from journalists and citizens across the globe regarding the culpability of high-ranking US economists in the 2008 global meltdown. When the American Economic Association (AEA) offered no substantive answers to these questions, DeMartino became a go-to source for information and perspective. Though he never addressed the AEA leadership directly on how they might respond to the controversy, DeMartino’s arguments were clearly among those that influenced the timing and character of the new disclosure policy adopted at the AEA Executive Committee’s January 2012 meeting (http://www.aeaweb.org). However, The Economist’s Oath (despite its title) is anything but a plea for stringent ethical codes. Across 18 elegantly crafted chapters, DeMartino advances a novel view of professional ethics, not as a body of penalties and rules but as a domain of scholarly inquiry. Citing the field of economics education as one of many positive examples, DeMartino proposes an ongoing conversation about what it means to be an ethical economist across the manifold roles and circumstances in which economists perform their professional work. He cites further examples from medicine, law, accounting, journalism, anthropology, psychology, social work and public health in which ethical awareness and inquiry are embedded in the institutional matrix of professional life. DeMartino holds no principled opposition to legal sanctions or formal professional codes; but he worries Review of Political Economy, Volume 25, Number 1, 165–177, January 2013