The Economic Way of Thinking and the Training of Economists
The choice of studying economics instead of another subject should be motivated by the fact that economics training equips students with skills and knowledge that other disciplines do not provide. Which are these skills and knowledge, however, is not always very clear. This article clarifies such issue by first exploring the philosophical foundations and the defining features of the discipline, and then by investigating in which ways these are transferred to the students. In other words, we study what is meant by the 'economic way of thinking' that is passed on to the students.
[1] J. Locke, Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. 1960 (1690).
[2] J. Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1907 (1823).
[3] J. Elster and J. Roemer, Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991.
[4] A. Schotter, Free Market Economics, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell. 1984.
[5] J. Davis, The Theory of Individual in Economics: Identity and Value.
London: Routledge. 2004.
[6] N. Kaldor, "Welfare propositions in economics and interpersonal
comparisons of utility," Economic Journal, vol. 69, pp. 549-552. 1939.
[7] J. Buchanan, "Economic and its Scientific Neighbours" in Moral Science
and Moral Order. The Collected Works of James Buchanan: Volume
XVII. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.
[8] A. Klamer and D. Colander, The Making of an Economist: Studies in the
History, Method and Boundaries of Economics. Boulder: Westview
Press. 1990.
[9] D. Colander, "The aging of an economist," Journal of the History of
Economic Thought, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 157-176. 2003.
[10] A. Klamer, Speaking of economics: How to get in the conversation.
London: Routledge. 2007.
[11] J. Kearl, C. Pope, G. Whiting, and L. Wimmer, "A confusion of
economists?" American Economic Review, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 28-37.
1979.
[12] P. Samuelson, Economics. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1948.
[13] C. Wheelan, Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. Norton
& Co. 2002.
[14] D. Coyle, Sex, Drug, and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction
to Economics. Texere. 2004.
[15] S. Levitt and S. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores
the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow. 2005.
[16] S. Landsburg, More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of
Economics. New York: Free Press. 2007.
[17] R. Frank, The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for
Everyday Enigmas. New York: Basic Books. 2007.
[18] S. Landsburg, Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life. New
York: Free Press. 1993.
[19] T. Cowen, Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in
Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist. Dutton
Adult. 2007.
[20] D. Friedman, Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life. Collins
Business. 1997.
[21] T. Harford, The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are
Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used
Car! Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2006.
[22] D. Coyle, The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why it
Matters. Princeton University Press. 2007.
[23] R. Frank, Microeconomics and Behaviour 6th edition. McGraw-Hill /
Irwin. 2005.
[24] R. Arnold, How to Think Like an Economist. Florence, KY: South-
Western College Publishing. 2004.
[25] D. Colander, "Caveat Lector: Living with the 15% Rule" in The Stories
Economists Tell, New York: McGraw Hill. 2006.
[26] M. McDowell, R. Thom, R. Frank and B. Bernanke, Principles of
Economics. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2006.
[27] J. Siegfried, R. Bartlett, L. Hansenm, A. Kelley, D. McCloskey and T.
Tietenberg, "The status and prospect of the economics major," Journal
of Economic Education, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 197-224. 1991.
[28] A. Hirschman, "Rival Interpretations of Market Society: Civilizing,
Destructive, or Feeble?" Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 20, pp.
1463-1484. 1982.
[29] T. Schelling, Choice and Consequence: Perspectives of an Errant
Economist. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1984.
[30] D. McCloskey, If you-re so smart. The narrative of economics expertise.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1990.
[31] B. Caplan, "What Makes People Think Like Economists? Evidence on
Economic Cognition from the Survey of Americans and Economists on
the Economy," Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 395-
426. 2001.
[32] P. Rubin, "Folk economics," Southern Economics Journal, vol. 70, no.
1, pp. 157-171. 2003.
[33] D. Fuller and D. Geide-Stevenson, "Consensus on economic issues: a
survey of republicans, democrats, and economists," Eastern Economic
Journal, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 81-94. 2007.
[34] B. Frey, W. Pommerehne, and B. Gygi, "Economics indoctrination or
selection? Some empirical results," Journal of Economic Education, vol.
24, pp. 271-281. 1993.
[35] J. Haucap, and T. Just, "Not Guilty? Another Look at the Nature and
Nurture of Economics Students," University of the Federal Armed
Forces Economics Working Paper No. 8. 2003.
[36] A. Rubinstein, "A sceptic-s comment on studying economics,"
Economic Journal, vol. 116, pp. C1-C9. March 2006.
[37] J. Moss, K. Kotovsky and J. Cagan, "The Role of Functionality in the
Mental Representation of Engineering Students: Some differences in the
Early Stages of Expertise," Cognitive Science, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 65-93.
2006.
[38] J. Siegfried and R. Fels, "Research on Teaching College Economics: A
Survey. Journal of Economic Literature, vol 17, pp. 923-969. September
1979.
[39] J. Siegfried and W. Walstad, "Research on Teacing College Economics,"
in P. Saunders and W. Walstad (ed.) The Principles of Economics: A
Handbook for Instructors. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1990.
[40] P. Saunders, "The Lasting Effects of Introductory Economics Courses,"
Journal of Economic Education, vol., 12, no. 4, pp. 1-14. 1980.
[41] G. Marwell and R. Ames, "Economists free ride, does anyone else?
Experiments on the provision of public goods, IV," Journal of Public
Economics, vol. 15, pp. 295-310. 1981.
[42] J. Carter and M. Irons, "Are economists different, and if so, why?"
Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 5, pp. 171-7. 1991.
[43] R. Frank, T. Gilovich and D. Regan, "Does studying economics inhibit
cooperation?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 7, pp. 159-71.
1993.
[44] M. Faravelli, "How Context Matters: A Survey Based Experiment on
Distributive Justice," Journal of Public Economics, vol. 91, pp. 1399-
1422. 2007.
[45] B. Frey and S. Meier, "Are political economists selfish and
indoctrinated? Evidence from a natural experiment," Economic Inquiry,
vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 448-62. 2003.
[46] A. Lanteri and S. Rizzello, "Ought (only) Economists to Defect?
Stereotypes, Identity, and the Prisoner Dilemma," Quaderni SEMeQ,
21/07. 2007.
[47] A. Yezer, R. Goldfarb and P. Poppen, "Does studying economics
discourage cooperation? Watch what we do, not what we say or how we
play," Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 10, pp. 177-86. 1996.
[48] A. Lanteri, "Why Self-Select in Economics?" Erasmus Journal of
Philosophy and Economics, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-23. 2008.
[49] S. Ball and P.-A. Cech, "Subject Pool Choice and Treatment Effects in
Economic Laboratory Research," Research in Experimental Economics,
vol. 6, pp. 239-92. 1996.
[50] G. Kirchgaessner, "(Why) Are economists different?" European Journal
of Political Economy, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 543-562. 2005.
[1] J. Locke, Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. 1960 (1690).
[2] J. Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1907 (1823).
[3] J. Elster and J. Roemer, Interpersonal Comparisons of Well-Being.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991.
[4] A. Schotter, Free Market Economics, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell. 1984.
[5] J. Davis, The Theory of Individual in Economics: Identity and Value.
London: Routledge. 2004.
[6] N. Kaldor, "Welfare propositions in economics and interpersonal
comparisons of utility," Economic Journal, vol. 69, pp. 549-552. 1939.
[7] J. Buchanan, "Economic and its Scientific Neighbours" in Moral Science
and Moral Order. The Collected Works of James Buchanan: Volume
XVII. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.
[8] A. Klamer and D. Colander, The Making of an Economist: Studies in the
History, Method and Boundaries of Economics. Boulder: Westview
Press. 1990.
[9] D. Colander, "The aging of an economist," Journal of the History of
Economic Thought, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 157-176. 2003.
[10] A. Klamer, Speaking of economics: How to get in the conversation.
London: Routledge. 2007.
[11] J. Kearl, C. Pope, G. Whiting, and L. Wimmer, "A confusion of
economists?" American Economic Review, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 28-37.
1979.
[12] P. Samuelson, Economics. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1948.
[13] C. Wheelan, Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. Norton
& Co. 2002.
[14] D. Coyle, Sex, Drug, and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction
to Economics. Texere. 2004.
[15] S. Levitt and S. Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores
the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow. 2005.
[16] S. Landsburg, More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of
Economics. New York: Free Press. 2007.
[17] R. Frank, The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for
Everyday Enigmas. New York: Basic Books. 2007.
[18] S. Landsburg, Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life. New
York: Free Press. 1993.
[19] T. Cowen, Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in
Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist. Dutton
Adult. 2007.
[20] D. Friedman, Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life. Collins
Business. 1997.
[21] T. Harford, The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are
Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used
Car! Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2006.
[22] D. Coyle, The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why it
Matters. Princeton University Press. 2007.
[23] R. Frank, Microeconomics and Behaviour 6th edition. McGraw-Hill /
Irwin. 2005.
[24] R. Arnold, How to Think Like an Economist. Florence, KY: South-
Western College Publishing. 2004.
[25] D. Colander, "Caveat Lector: Living with the 15% Rule" in The Stories
Economists Tell, New York: McGraw Hill. 2006.
[26] M. McDowell, R. Thom, R. Frank and B. Bernanke, Principles of
Economics. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 2006.
[27] J. Siegfried, R. Bartlett, L. Hansenm, A. Kelley, D. McCloskey and T.
Tietenberg, "The status and prospect of the economics major," Journal
of Economic Education, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 197-224. 1991.
[28] A. Hirschman, "Rival Interpretations of Market Society: Civilizing,
Destructive, or Feeble?" Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 20, pp.
1463-1484. 1982.
[29] T. Schelling, Choice and Consequence: Perspectives of an Errant
Economist. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1984.
[30] D. McCloskey, If you-re so smart. The narrative of economics expertise.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1990.
[31] B. Caplan, "What Makes People Think Like Economists? Evidence on
Economic Cognition from the Survey of Americans and Economists on
the Economy," Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 395-
426. 2001.
[32] P. Rubin, "Folk economics," Southern Economics Journal, vol. 70, no.
1, pp. 157-171. 2003.
[33] D. Fuller and D. Geide-Stevenson, "Consensus on economic issues: a
survey of republicans, democrats, and economists," Eastern Economic
Journal, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 81-94. 2007.
[34] B. Frey, W. Pommerehne, and B. Gygi, "Economics indoctrination or
selection? Some empirical results," Journal of Economic Education, vol.
24, pp. 271-281. 1993.
[35] J. Haucap, and T. Just, "Not Guilty? Another Look at the Nature and
Nurture of Economics Students," University of the Federal Armed
Forces Economics Working Paper No. 8. 2003.
[36] A. Rubinstein, "A sceptic-s comment on studying economics,"
Economic Journal, vol. 116, pp. C1-C9. March 2006.
[37] J. Moss, K. Kotovsky and J. Cagan, "The Role of Functionality in the
Mental Representation of Engineering Students: Some differences in the
Early Stages of Expertise," Cognitive Science, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 65-93.
2006.
[38] J. Siegfried and R. Fels, "Research on Teaching College Economics: A
Survey. Journal of Economic Literature, vol 17, pp. 923-969. September
1979.
[39] J. Siegfried and W. Walstad, "Research on Teacing College Economics,"
in P. Saunders and W. Walstad (ed.) The Principles of Economics: A
Handbook for Instructors. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1990.
[40] P. Saunders, "The Lasting Effects of Introductory Economics Courses,"
Journal of Economic Education, vol., 12, no. 4, pp. 1-14. 1980.
[41] G. Marwell and R. Ames, "Economists free ride, does anyone else?
Experiments on the provision of public goods, IV," Journal of Public
Economics, vol. 15, pp. 295-310. 1981.
[42] J. Carter and M. Irons, "Are economists different, and if so, why?"
Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 5, pp. 171-7. 1991.
[43] R. Frank, T. Gilovich and D. Regan, "Does studying economics inhibit
cooperation?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 7, pp. 159-71.
1993.
[44] M. Faravelli, "How Context Matters: A Survey Based Experiment on
Distributive Justice," Journal of Public Economics, vol. 91, pp. 1399-
1422. 2007.
[45] B. Frey and S. Meier, "Are political economists selfish and
indoctrinated? Evidence from a natural experiment," Economic Inquiry,
vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 448-62. 2003.
[46] A. Lanteri and S. Rizzello, "Ought (only) Economists to Defect?
Stereotypes, Identity, and the Prisoner Dilemma," Quaderni SEMeQ,
21/07. 2007.
[47] A. Yezer, R. Goldfarb and P. Poppen, "Does studying economics
discourage cooperation? Watch what we do, not what we say or how we
play," Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 10, pp. 177-86. 1996.
[48] A. Lanteri, "Why Self-Select in Economics?" Erasmus Journal of
Philosophy and Economics, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-23. 2008.
[49] S. Ball and P.-A. Cech, "Subject Pool Choice and Treatment Effects in
Economic Laboratory Research," Research in Experimental Economics,
vol. 6, pp. 239-92. 1996.
[50] G. Kirchgaessner, "(Why) Are economists different?" European Journal
of Political Economy, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 543-562. 2005.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:60654", author = "Alessandro Lanteri and Salvatore Rizzello", title = "The Economic Way of Thinking and the Training of Economists", abstract = "The choice of studying economics instead of another subject should be motivated by the fact that economics training equips students with skills and knowledge that other disciplines do not provide. Which are these skills and knowledge, however, is not always very clear. This article clarifies such issue by first exploring the philosophical foundations and the defining features of the discipline, and then by investigating in which ways these are transferred to the students. In other words, we study what is meant by the 'economic way of thinking' that is passed on to the students.
", keywords = "Economists, Expertise, Politics, Surveys.", volume = "3", number = "7", pages = "1599-8", }
