Diversity is fundamental in every discipline. Showcasing the work of a diverse range of academics encourages students to critically engage with the theories that they are taught. Diversity in the curriculum expands the scope of learning beyond the mainstream, introducing students to a pluralism of thought. However, the University of Manchester economics department continues to deliver undergraduates with an economics education that provides little diversity of perspective or authorship. The teaching of core module streams such as Microeconomics and Macroeconomics continues to be accompanied by textbooks that provide a singular perspective. Students are not often encouraged by lecturers to explore further literature through reading lists, and when they are, the resources are not representative of the full range of economic thought and authorship. The Post-Crash Economics Society (PCES) is campaigning to change this. We want our economics education to reflect the world around us. We would like to read texts by a multitude of authors, from different backgrounds, with different perspectives. Our economics education is lacking in dimension. A greater emphasis on diversity is simply the starting point.
Diversity involves factors such as ethnicity, race, gender and faith and strives to be inclusive to all peoples. These factors are important within the discipline of economics as they play a role in determining lived experiences, which in turn help shape perspective. Differences in perspective through greater diversity impacts economics education in several ways. Firstly, diversity entails a greater representation of academics from all backgrounds. Whether this be within the department or in the literature, it is essential for students to be exposed to the multitude of identities that economists embody. Secondly, learning from a more diverse foundation allows students to encounter a more holistic account of economics. This also involves introducing heterodox perspectives that counter mainstream economic theory. Finally, diversity necessitates addressing the colonial history of economic thought, and challenges the discipline’s Eurocentricity. By acknowledging the Eurocentricity of economics this can reveal the applicability of theory to real world problems, as certain privileged perspectives that underpin economics may not be relevant to addressing current economic issues.
Economics in its beginnings was a discipline dominated by white men, with the foundations of economics rooted in a Western view of the world. However, little has changed in terms of inclusivity since the discipline’s inception, and this stereotype is still prevalent within economics. For example, in the most prestigious award that an economist can receive, the Nobel Memorial Prize, of the eighty one winners, only two were women and one was a black man. Whilst the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) boasts ethnic diversity among academics to be increasing over time in the UK, the share of ethnic minority academic economists has increased from 19% in the period 2012-2013 to 24% in the period 2018-2019, there are still broad differences in representation across different ethnic groups, with Black individuals still under-represented relative to their share of the UK population (Advani et al., 2020). Further, in the UK only about 15.5% of academic economists in permanent posts are women (BBC, 2017).
Greater diversity in economics is essential for a number of reasons. The representation of marginalised groups broadens the scope of alternative perspectives in economics, which can have impacts on the variety of academic research and policy recommendations. This allows for ignored, overlooked areas of study to be considered more deeply and brought to the forefront of the field of economics. With a majority of mainstream economists being white men, their identity feeds into the assumptions they build which are often partial and lead to discriminating outcomes. For example, women in economics are more likely to account for issues such as the exclusion of unpaid caregiving and domestic work from GDP (see Folbre, 2012). This kind of research has strong implications when counting the true cost of unpaid female labour which can help instruct policy makers about future policy options.
Moreover, the prioritisation of mainstream economic theory works to uphold a Eurocentric understanding of economics which prevents students from gaining a holistic understanding of the discipline. The prominence of Eurocentrism in mainstream economics excludes diversity in practice – scholars, knowledge and theories from the Global South and the East are not provided with a platform to share their differing perspectives. This exclusion in turn leads to the reproduction of Eurocentric knowledge and prevents diversity in representation which further disincentives the pursuit and sharing of knowledge to those who have become sidelined by an unwelcoming discipline.
This year PCES’s campaign focus is on increasing diversity in the economics curriculum. We have been working towards this end in a number of ways. Firstly, we produced a programme, ‘Black Economists you Should Know’ ,over the summer that brought attention to several key figures in economics with Black heritage, who have been underappreciated within the wider field. This programme sought to shine some light on the extensive work of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. Following this, we co-hosted a decolonising economics workshop with the Diversifying Economics Network. We discussed the importance of breaking down Eurocentric narratives in the curriculum and how we might go about diversifying current economics curriculum. The attendees were prompted to discuss the legacy of colonialism in economics and discuss the implications on the state of economics today. Discussion also involved considering ways that the curriculum could be reformed in order to take into account marginalised voices.
Additionally, we are producing alternative reading lists as course companions for various economics modules, in order to supplement current reading recommendations. We have seen a severe lack of variety within required readings, in that they are predominantly written by mainstream economists with little diversity of authorship. Our reading lists are compiled with literature on a wide range of heterodox economic theory from a diverse range of authors. These can be used to compliment economics student’s study, and also used by students from other disciplines to expand their knowledge of different economic schools of thought. Further, we would like to commission an inquiry into diversity across the Economics department at Manchester, which will highlight the proportion of female and ethnic-minority academics employed by the University . This will help students at the University see how well the department upholds multiculturalism, and whether it reflects the commitment to a diverse working environment. Such an inquiry will hopefully show the department that there is a need to improve representation of minority groups within the teaching staff.
We would like to encourage several changes that would promote diversity in the economics department and curriculum. Firstly, we believe that the department, especially lecturers, should review existing reading lists and ensure that these are representative of the various ethnic groups in the population. Additionally, we recommend the introduction of a history of economic thought module. We believe that a history of economic thought module that not only spoke on past economists, but also examined the political conditions that facilitated the conception of their theories would help students recognise the context of economic theory and decolonise their own understanding of economics education.
Recognising the need for greater diversity in economics is merely a starting point. Students ought to receive an education that is reflective of the world around them, taught by academics of all backgrounds, on theories from all schools of thought and in a way that evaluates critically the origins of mainstream theory. We are campaigning to see this change manifest in the University of Manchester’s economics curriculum and department. It is not sufficient to continue with past rhetorics: change is necessary, and greater diversity is essential to this change.
Written by Ella Warren and Zenab Malik
To find out more about diversity in economics please check out these societies and pages:
Diversifying Economics Network: @diversifyecon on instagram, see: https://d-econ.org/mission/ for their mission statement
Institute for New Economic Thinking
Exploring Economics
Rethinking Economics: @rethinkecon on instagram
/http://www.rethinkeconomics.org/
The Black Economists Network: @theblackecon_ on instagram
References
Folbre, N. (2012). Valuing Domestic Product. Available at: https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/valuing-domestic-product/ (Accessed: 3 December 2020).
Advani, A., Sen, S., Warwick, R. (2020). Ethnic diversity in UK economics. Available at: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/15133 (Accessed: 3 December 2020).
Gittleson, K. (2017). Where are all the women in economics?. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41571333 (Accessed: 2 December 2020).