Advancing Pluralism in Teaching Economics
Advancing Pluralism in Teaching Economics

Author: Samuel Decker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-09-03

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1351711482

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The complex economic problems of the 21st century require a pluralist, real-world oriented and innovative discipline of economics that is capable of addressing and teaching these issues to students. This volume is a state-of-the-art compilation of diverse, innovative and international perspectives on the rationales for and pathways towards pluralist economics teaching. It fosters constructive controversy aiming to incite authors and commentators to engage in fruitful debates. This volume addresses a number of key questions: Why is it important for a social science to engage in pluralistic teaching? What issues does pluralist teaching face in different national contexts? Which traditions and practices in economic teaching make pluralist teaching difficult? What makes economics as a canonical textbook science particular and how could the rigid textbook system be innovated in a meaningful way? What can we learn from school education and other social science disciplines? Through examining these issues the editors have created a pluralist but cohesive book on teaching economics in the contemporary classroom drawing from ideas and examples from around the world. Advancing Pluralism in Teaching Economics offers a valuable insight into the methodology and application of pluralist economics teaching. It will be a great resource for those teaching economics at various levels, as well as researchers.

Economics, Social Science and Pluralism
Economics, Social Science and Pluralism

Author: Victor A. Beker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-06-09

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1000598837

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In the work of most classical economists – including Smith and Keynes – theory was often embedded in application. But from the second half of the last century on, mainstream economics styled itself as “pure” economics, where the theory is presented in a very abstract form detached from any application. This book maintains that economics is a social science whose mission is to explain and, when possible, predict, phenomena of the real-world economy. The book argues that the first step to restore economics as a social science is to define what issues economics should address. Only after this research agenda is established should the appropriate methodology be chosen, not the other way around. In this respect, examples from other social sciences as well as from natural sciences are considered more appropriate models for economics rather than physics. Moreover, the need for a closer interaction with psychology, sociology and other social sciences is required to restore the discipline to that field instead of acting as a branch of applied mathematics. The book also argues for a more pluralist approach to economic education to enable prospective economists to understand real-world economic phenomena and potential policy solution. For this reason, a good economics education should necessarily include the study of economic history and of the institutional environment. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to see economics return to its origins as a social science.

From Economics to Political Economy
From Economics to Political Economy

Author: Tim B. Thornton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-27

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9781138599321

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The discipline of economics has been increasingly criticized for its inability to illuminate the workings of the real world and to provide reliable policy guidance for the major economic and social challenges of our time. A central problem in contemporary economics, and a problem from which many of its other failings flow, is its lack of plurality. By a lack of plurality it is meant that contemporary economics lacks diversity in its methods, theories, epistemology and methodology. It is also meant that economics has become far less interdisciplinary. From Economics to Political Economy offers an explanation as to why economics has become so determinedly non-pluralistic, and also gives considerable attention to exploring and evaluating promising strategies for reform. These strategies include developing a pluralist economics under the label of 'political economy' within other social science departments (such as departments of politics). Along the way the reader will learn about the worldwide student movement seeking greater pluralism in economics, encounter some dramatic case studies in intellectual suppression, gain a fuller sense of the nature of contemporary economics and explore the relationship between economics and other social sciences. This book is of interest to any social scientist, particularly those with interests in economics and politics.

Principles and Pluralist Approaches in Teaching Economics
Principles and Pluralist Approaches in Teaching Economics

Author: Samuel Decker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-06-28

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 135171127X

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This volume is a state-of-the-art compilation of diverse and innovative perspectives, principles, and a number of practiced approaches of fields, courses, and methods of pluralist economics teaching. It fosters constructive controversy aiming to incite authors and commentators to engage in fruitful debate. The complex economic problems of the 21st century require a pluralist, real-world oriented, and innovative discipline of economics, capable of addressing and teaching those complex issues to students from diverse perspectives. This volume addresses a number of key questions: Which models could be taught outside the equilibrium and optimality paradigm? Which methods could help to improve our understanding of the complex globalized economy? How can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined in a fruitful way to analyze complex economic problems? How can the academic isolation of mainstream economics that has developed over many decades be overcome, despite its attempted transdisciplinary imperialism? What role should knowledge from other disciplines play in teaching economics, and what is the relevance of transdisciplinarity? Through examining these issues, the editors and authors have created a pluralist but cohesive book on teaching economics in the contemporary classroom, drawing from ideas and examples from around the world. Principles and Pluralist Approaches in Teaching Economics is a unique collection of diverse perspectives on the methodology and applications of pluralist economics teaching. It will be a great resource for those teaching economics at various levels as well as researchers and intermediate and advanced students searching for pluralism in economics.

Pluralism in Economics
Pluralism in Economics

Author: Andrea Salanti

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9781781959633

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Pluralism in Economics sheds new light on the various meanings & consequences of pluralist approaches to the history & methodology of economics. It focuses on philosophical & methodological issues, & contains case studies.

Explanatory Pluralism
Explanatory Pluralism

Author: C. Mantzavinos

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-05-26

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1316668487

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Explaining phenomena is one of the main activities in which scientists engage. This book proposes a new philosophical theory of scientific explanation by developing and defending the position of explanatory pluralism with the help of the notion of 'explanatory games'. Mantzavinos provides a descriptive account of the explanatory activity of scientists in different domains and shows how they differ from commonsensical explanations offered in everyday life by ordinary people and also from explanations offered in religious contexts. He also shows how an evaluation and a critical appraisal of explanations put forward in different social arenas can take place on the basis of different values. Explanatory Pluralism provides solutions to all important descriptive and normative problems of the philosophical theory of explanation as illustrated in sophisticated case studies from economics and medicine, but also from mythology and religion.

Scientific Pluralism
Scientific Pluralism

Author: Stephen H. Kellert

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780816647637

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Scientific pluralism is an issue at the forefront of philosophy of science. This landmark work addresses the question, Can pluralism be advanced as a general, philosophical interpretation of science? Scientific Pluralism demonstrates the viability of the view that some phenomena require multiple accounts. Pluralists observe that scientists present various—sometimes even incompatible—models of the world and argue that this is due to the complexity of the world and representational limitations. Including investigations in biology, physics, economics, psychology, and mathematics, this work provides an empirical basis for a consistent stance on pluralism and makes the case that it should change the ways that philosophers, historians, and social scientists analyze scientific knowledge. Contributors: John Bell, U of Western Ontario; Michael Dickson, U of South Carolina; Carla Fehr, Iowa State U; Ronald N. Giere, U of Minnesota; Geoffrey Hellman, U of Minnesota; Alan Richardson, U of British Columbia; C. Wade Savage, U of Minnesota; Esther-Mirjam Sent, U of Nijmegen. Stephen H. Kellert is professor of philosophy at Hamline University and a fellow of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science. Helen E. Longino is professor of philosophy at Stanford University. C. Kenneth Waters is associate professor of philosophy and director of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science.

Understanding Sustainability Economics
Understanding Sustainability Economics

Author: Peter Soderbaum

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-05-04

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 113654965X

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This highly readable yet challenging book provides a critical examination of the failings of mainstream economics and the resultant environmental problems we are facing. Most importantly, it articulates what an alternative economics for sustainability would look like in both theory and practice. The book provides a brief history of economics and looks at the intersection between politics and the often hidden values embedded in economics. Also covered are the roles of individuals and organizations, political structures and institutions, democracy, environmental decision-making, sustainability assessment and a vision of a future underpinned by sustainability economics. A main point raised is that, in any serious attempt to come to grips with unsustainable trends, fundamental issues such as the theory of science, the role of science in society, paradigms in economics, ideological orientations and institutional arrangements need to be critically examined. The theory is supported by case studies, explanatory figures, further reading sections and discussion questions to facilitate debate and learning.

Climate Economics
Climate Economics

Author: Michael Roos

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-13

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 3030484238

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This book is a philosophical critique of the economics of climate change from both an ethical and philosophy of economics perspective. Mitigating climate change is not so much a scientific problem, but rather a political, social and above all an economic problem. A future without greenhouse gas emissions requires a radical transformation towards a sustainable low-carbon economy and society. How this transformation could be achieved raises numerous economic questions. Many of these questions remain untouched, although economists are equipped with a suitable toolkit and expertise. This book argues that economists have a social responsibility to carry out more research on how global warming could be stopped and that, ultimately, economic analysis of climate change must be a political economic approach that treats the economy as part of a wider social system. This approach will be of interest to policy makers, educators, students and researchers in support of more pluralism in economic research and teaching.

Social Policy and Welfare Pluralism
Social Policy and Welfare Pluralism

Author: John Offer

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2017-10-31

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 144733535X

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Robert Pinker has written extensively on social policy matters since the early 1960s. His distinct approach to understanding concepts such as welfare pluralism is of particular relevance today as welfare pluralism remains an essential component of the policy mix, giving people access to a greater range and diversity of statutory, voluntary, and private sector services than unitary models of welfare provide. Social Policy and Welfare Pluralism presents the first collection of Robert Pinker’s essays in one edited volume. It includes essays on the ways in which welfare theories and ideologies and public expectations have influenced and shaped the political processes of policy making. Other essays focus on clarifying some of the key concepts that underpin the study of social policy. Pinker also reviews the extent to which the United Kingdom has succeeded in creating a ‘policy mix’ in which normative compromises are negotiated between the claims of market individualism and public sector collectivism. The concluding chapter by Robert Pinker reviews the prospects for social policy in the UK over the next five years.