Thread
A 🧵 on the history of @rethinkecon
11 years ago today, econ students at Harvard University walked out of their class with Mankiw in protest of how biased and manipulative it was.
It was major, because Mankiw wrote the most used textbook in econ degrees around the world.
1/17
11 years ago today, econ students at Harvard University walked out of their class with Mankiw in protest of how biased and manipulative it was.
It was major, because Mankiw wrote the most used textbook in econ degrees around the world.
1/17
The Harvard students were inspired by the OWS movement, which in turn was sparked by the 2008 financial crisis.
Outside the classroom crises, climate change, power and corruption are all part of the economy. In the classroom the world was perfect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKS1jZxWLPM
2/17
Outside the classroom crises, climate change, power and corruption are all part of the economy. In the classroom the world was perfect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKS1jZxWLPM
2/17
The students wrote this open letter to explain their walkout.
"We are deeply concerned about the way that this bias affects students, the University, and our greater society."
harvardpolitics.com/an-open-letter-to-greg-mankiw/
3/17
"We are deeply concerned about the way that this bias affects students, the University, and our greater society."
harvardpolitics.com/an-open-letter-to-greg-mankiw/
3/17
The event helped to inspire econ students in UK, Denmark and many other countries to form groups and demand changes to their curricula for similar reasons as the econ students at Harvard.
An example of that, is the @PostCrashEcon.
www.rethinkeconomics.org/re-group/pces/
4/17
An example of that, is the @PostCrashEcon.
www.rethinkeconomics.org/re-group/pces/
4/17
In 2012, @rethinkecon ran its first conference in London, which also launched the network mainly in London, but with other groups at universities in e.g. Israel, USA and Brazil.
The aim was to connect people interested in real world economic issues.
www.worldeconomicsassociation.org/newsletterarticles/interview-with-yuan-yang/
5/17
The aim was to connect people interested in real world economic issues.
www.worldeconomicsassociation.org/newsletterarticles/interview-with-yuan-yang/
5/17
By 2014, econ students from local groups at 65 universities in 30 countries joined to publish an open letter in newspapers across the world. The network called itself the International Student Initiative for Pluralisme in Economics (ISIPE).
www.isipe.net/open-letter
6/17
www.isipe.net/open-letter
6/17
ISIPE was an informal network. Over time, most of the groups of ISIPE joined the formal network of @rethinkecon, which is still growing steadily. It also organizes national networks supporting the local econ students at universities, while creating public awareness.
7/17
7/17
Looking further back, the current iteration of economics students revolting against their curricula is not new. It goes back far.
In the 1970s, @ProfSteveKeen and other econ students in Sydney e.g. campaigned against the mainstream econ curriculum.
sydneyuniversitypress.com.au/products/78713
8/17
In the 1970s, @ProfSteveKeen and other econ students in Sydney e.g. campaigned against the mainstream econ curriculum.
sydneyuniversitypress.com.au/products/78713
8/17
After "a chorus of complaints about the nature of economic research and training in economics departments at most univeristies", the AEA formed a investigative commission in 1988.
The commission warned how econ degrees could turn out idiot savants.
bit.ly/3zEHgxT
9/17
The commission warned how econ degrees could turn out idiot savants.
bit.ly/3zEHgxT
9/17
In may 1992, a plea for pluralism in economics was brought in the AER.
This was not by students, but rather by leading economists, incl. several nobel laureates.
web.archive.org/web/20180330005107/http://www.feed-charity.org/new-page-3.htm
10/17
This was not by students, but rather by leading economists, incl. several nobel laureates.
web.archive.org/web/20180330005107/http://www.feed-charity.org/new-page-3.htm
10/17
In 1997, @Econ_Critica was formed in Argentina. "After 10 years struggle against the neoclassical hegemony" they launched a conference in 2007, and later their very own academic journal.
www.sociedadeconomiacritica.org/historia-de-la-sec/
11/17
www.sociedadeconomiacritica.org/historia-de-la-sec/
11/17
In June 2000, the Post-Autistic Economics Movement was born out of Paris. The name "post-autistic" refers to how the authors believed economics had lost touch with reality and had become way too abstract.
www.paecon.net/PAEtexts/a-e-petition.htm
12/17
www.paecon.net/PAEtexts/a-e-petition.htm
12/17
Word of the PAEcon spread worldwide, and gained a lot of attention. It led to the "Real World Economics Review" which is about to publish it's issue no. 100.
Check out this link for the whole story of the PAEcon:
www.paecon.net/HistoryPAE.htm
13/17
Check out this link for the whole story of the PAEcon:
www.paecon.net/HistoryPAE.htm
13/17
Out of PAEcon came national movements in France @Pepseconomie and in Germany @PluralEcon, who thus both existed before the Mankiw Walkout or @rethinkecon.
14/17
14/17
If econ students demanding pluralism is not new, why is it so much bigger now?
I suggest three reasons:
1. Economic crises revealed shortcomings of econ
2. Econ curricula have become increasingly narrow, increasing students dissatisfaction
3. The internet and social media
15/17
I suggest three reasons:
1. Economic crises revealed shortcomings of econ
2. Econ curricula have become increasingly narrow, increasing students dissatisfaction
3. The internet and social media
15/17
If you wanna learn more about different approaches to economics, @PluralEcon made the brilliant website Exploring Economics.
www.exploring-economics.org/en/orientation/ 16/17
www.exploring-economics.org/en/orientation/ 16/17
And if you wanna help improve and modernize economics education, check out what our friends in the dutch national network, @REthinkNL.
They made @econstudies as a guide to design better economics education: www.economystudies.com/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VoHyMcC3Nc
17/17
They made @econstudies as a guide to design better economics education: www.economystudies.com/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VoHyMcC3Nc
17/17
