Lawrence A. Boland
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190274320
- eISBN:
- 9780190274368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190274320.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter uses a dialogue between an ‘inquisitive student’ and an ‘economics teacher’ to expose a fundamental problem with how economics is taught at the introductory level. It illustrates the ...
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This chapter uses a dialogue between an ‘inquisitive student’ and an ‘economics teacher’ to expose a fundamental problem with how economics is taught at the introductory level. It illustrates the need to address the questions of equilibrium stability (does an equilibrium return if disturbed) and methodological individualism (the requirement that in an explanation of social events, ‘things don’t decide; only people do’). It also illustrates the inadequacy of what is taught in beginning economics classes. Specifically, if one has to assume the presence of an equilibrium to make any policy point, the validity of the point is always open to the criticism that it might not correspond to reality.Less
This chapter uses a dialogue between an ‘inquisitive student’ and an ‘economics teacher’ to expose a fundamental problem with how economics is taught at the introductory level. It illustrates the need to address the questions of equilibrium stability (does an equilibrium return if disturbed) and methodological individualism (the requirement that in an explanation of social events, ‘things don’t decide; only people do’). It also illustrates the inadequacy of what is taught in beginning economics classes. Specifically, if one has to assume the presence of an equilibrium to make any policy point, the validity of the point is always open to the criticism that it might not correspond to reality.
