Diffusing Economic Knowledge: Economics Education in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

While teaching has been central to the professional life of many economists, pedagogy has long been a neglected area in the history of economics; this volume contributes to rectifying that situation. What is taught and where it is taught, by and to whom, and for what purposes, are interconnected issues with important questions about the internal development of economic ideas and the many areas where economic analysis has become influential. The tools, methods, and content of economic education have changed with the evolution of the field and differed substantially by level of schooling, across nations, and myriad other factors. Common across all efforts is the attempt to transfer economic understanding from experts to those who either want or are thought to need those skills. The essays in this volume deepen our understanding of what the history of economic education can tell us about economics and its roles in the world.