Econintersect: Steve Keen addressed the Australian Teaching Economics Conference recently. In the talk he explained why economics really belongs in accounting degree curricula, not in programs for business majors where it has been historically. He says economics has largely been eliminated from business BA programs except for a very basic introductory course anyway, so the move would not really be a radical one from the perspective of those studies.
Here is what Keen has to say about the talk:
Over the last 40 years, economics has gone from being 40% of any business degree to just 4%. When I did my undergraduate degree, 4 year-long Economics subjects were required in any Business degree; now 1 semester unit out of 24 is required.
This collapse in the Economics component of Business degrees is the reward for 40 years of bone-headed behavior by Neoclassical economist defending the purity of the discipline, which created many of the academic departments that then did Economics in. Non-orthodox economists have been collateral damage in this process.
I recommend that we should finish the process. The only factor preserving one Economics unit in Business degrees is that Accounting accreditation requires it. Post Keynesian economists should work with Accountants to replace Introductory Economics with an “Monetary Economics for Accounting” subject. That will cut off the cash cow 1st year Economics course that currently lets Neoclassical economics survive, and enable a more realistic monetary economics to develop in Accounting departments.
The video is 48 minutes in length.
Notes:
- Steve Keen has contributed to Global Economic Intersection.
- The video is available at YouTube.
