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The value of heterodox economics
Might I blog this topic all week?
The very existence of heterodox economics brings benefits. A personal anecdote will suffice. My first two publications were both in heterodox journals: the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics and the (institutionalist) Review of Social Economy. These articles lifted me into a top graduate school and financial aid (can you imagine how confused the admissions committees were to see a GMU undergrad with an apparently leftie publication record?). I would not have had comparable success at Econometrica.
This tale relates to the value of diversity more generally. We will miss much of the value of diversity by simply listing a bunch of diverse elements and evaluating them one-by-one. Diversity brings broader benefits by allowing people to use niches as ladders to further steps, frequently into the mainstream, or in my case into another niche. Diversity is also a form of insurance, and of course it doesn't always pay off. Finally many excellent mainstream or sometimes even right-wing economists started with an intense interest in social justice, often gleaned from heterodox writings. Vernon Smith was once a socialist, and George Stigler was early on a trust-basher.
Yes the profession is getting better but we also are losing too much diversity in terms of schools of thought. The diminution of the Austrian School, as an organized and intellectually alive phenomenon seems to me a shame, even though I don't believe in a unique Austrian method. Heterodoxies encourage the mainstream to be more philosophical and more self-reflective.
Sometimes intellectual inefficiency is efficient, and my remarks about heterodox economics should be taken in this light.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on June 3, 2007 at 06:55 AM | Permalink
Comments
This leads us again to the distinction between orthodox and heterodox economics. Even though I agree by and large with your opinion, I strongly disagree with this theoretical separation. Heterodoxy leads inevitably to Orthodoxy, and "orthodox" in greek is the "right belief". If mainstream economics represent right thinking, then heterodox economics represent wrong thinking. As one clearly sees this can lead us nowhere.
May I say that there is only Economics, which essentially has many sides?
Posted by: kvrettos at Jun 3, 2007 10:59:05 AM
I don't see the Austrian School as being in decline. The Ludwig von Mises Institute is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The LvMI is reaching millions of educated laypersons who have a strong interest in economics as well as providing professional assistance to everyone from Hans Hermann Hoppe and Walter Block to Tom Woods and Bob Murphy.
Rothbard may be gone, but his works are in wider circulation than ever.
Posted by: Marc at Jun 3, 2007 11:02:35 AM
Marc, you need to show an increase or steady state for Austrians in order to show it has not declined.
Posted by: TGGP at Jun 3, 2007 11:50:38 AM
Slightly off topic, but the idea of diversity being a form of insurance is interesting. However, if you think about it, what academic institutions are really about is ideas. If they choose students based on diversity of background but without diversity of opinion, there is no diversity at all. You bear all the costs but none of the benefits. There have been several books about how, under the right circumstances, a crowd with different ideas can come to an excellent conclusion, while under a different set of circumstances and non-unique beliefs, it can become a mob.
Posted by: Grey Swan at Jun 3, 2007 11:57:40 AM
Good post, and I agree with the value of allowing/encouraging people to explore different areas. Part of the evolutionary process for ideas and for personal development.
Posted by: Tim Lundeen at Jun 3, 2007 12:03:59 PM
I just want to point out that by definition something heterodox is not mainstream. Complaining that mainstream journals don't carry something heterodox is to miss the point of the word(s) to begin with. It's like complaining that the National Review doesn't carry columns written by American liberals.
Posted by: happyjuggler0 at Jun 3, 2007 1:20:43 PM
Thank you for taking up this smart argument. This argument reminds me of Bruno Frey's paper "Publishing as Prostitution". Briefly, the way the orthodoxy organizes the recruitment of its own class -- by publishing in highly esteemed A+ journals (there is a new branch in economics called "rankology") hinders creativity according to Frey. The only way to get a paper published is by using an existing paper, adding a little something and taking into account possible referee reactions... Frey proposes to change the system of refereeing. However, there is surely a value in scientific pluralism itself.
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> "Might I blog this topic all week?"
Please, don't! Think of the children!
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