Is Economics Education Fit for the 21st Century?

Rethinking Economics is an organisation that I have been affiliated with for a long time. They are a registered charity who are committed to transforming economics education across the world. For so long, students have complained that the curriculum is too abstract, focused on rote learning of ideas set in stone instead of critical assessments of our economic system. Rethinking Economics acts as an umbrella organisation for the countless student societies that have sprung up to campaign for a better education more in line with the needs of the 21st Century.

In 2014, I was a member of Post Crash Economics Manchester, who made a big impact with our 2014 report on the state of economics education in Manchester. We found that most courses were focused on mathematics and were detached from what was going on outside the classroom. Recently, PCES have updated the report for 2024 in Manchester, while RE have released a report on twenty universities across the UK. I spoke to Kasvhi Singh and Shloka Murarka about the report, and it was just great to see how the student movement is going stronger than ever!

You can read the reports here:

https://www.rethinkeconomics.org/edu-material/uk-curriculum-healthcheck-is-economics-education-fit-for-the-21st-century/

https://www.rethinkeconomics.org/blog/2024/05/01/is-economics-education-fit-for-the-21st-century/

Originally recorded on 5th June, 2025.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.