In the last twenty-five years – from 1996 to 2021 – a series of actions have marked the evolution of the economy: from transformations linked to new information and communication technologies to the Covid-19 pandemic, among other things, through to the financial and economic crisis of the second half of the first decade of the 21st century. In this article, we look at the impact of events in the last twenty-five years on economics teaching, whether this is evolving alongside the economic reality or not, what has given rise to a mismatch between economics and the social and economic reality. To analyze this, in the first section, we will tackle the social mission of the “economist” in the sense of being teachers of highly diverse collectives, and in the second section, we will reflect on the evolution of economics teaching at University. The analysis leads us to conclude that, although economics teaching has varied over time, it has not undergone substantial change in recent decades. The lack of diversity of thinking in economics curricula joins forces with a lack of diversity among prominent thinkers and professionals to often translate into an incomplete view explaining the complex economic reality and an interaction with other disciplines, particularly social sciences.
In this interview Elisenda Paluzie analyses the origins of the so-called Post Crash movement in Catalonia and the effects on a renowned institution such as the one she heads: the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Barcelona (UB). Paluzie believes this critical movement, which began following the recent economic crisis, is principally rooted in a lack of plurality in teaching, which can be based on three elements: theory, methodology and interdisciplinarity. She comments on how these three factors are treated in her faculty and ends on the need for the teaching of economics to evolve. In this regard she highlights ‘The core Project’, an initiative with a goal to reset the approach to economics teaching with new coursebooks, in the belief that the materials currently holding sway continue to approach matters as if during the last 20 years nothing had occurred.
This article reflects on the history of the loss of plurality in economics, from an autobiographical perspective and with regard to some of the key moments in the discipline. To do so the article embarks on an exploration of economics learning in three cities at three different periods, telling five stories.