Post-Crash Economics and the Covid Emergency in the Global Economy : Interdisciplinary Issues in Teaching and Research

This book continues the ongoing debate about the need for alternative, interdisciplinary and heterodox approaches to teaching economics at university. It deals with challenges currently faced by economists, pursues an interdisciplinary approach to enhance collaboration with academics from disciplines other than economics, and analyses several questions and issues related to the 2007-08 financial crisis and the current Covid-19 emergency. The Covid pandemic has shown the flaws of the current neoliberal model and the inability of mainstream economic theory to address the problems created by the pandemic. The book engages with an academic audience interested in incorporating a wider range of economic approaches in their research and teaching, and with undergraduate and postgraduate economics students who are trying to understand the limitations of their current economics syllabi. The novelty of the book is the active involvement of undergraduate and postgraduate students who contribute to this volume with three chapters. The book will be of interest to a wide range of researchers, students and teachers interested in interdisciplinary and heterodox economics. Contents 5 List of Contributors 7 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 10 1 Introduction: The Financial Crisis, the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Future of Economics 11 Pluralism in Economics 12 Covid-19 Pandemic 17 Economic Theory and Policy 20 Conclusions 24 References 25 2 COVID-19 and the Future of Higher Education 28 Introduction 28 Covid-19 and Higher Education 29 Transformation of Education Delivery Longitudinally Is Likely If Online Learning Becomes the Norm 30 Online Learning Necessitates a Change in the Way We Value Degrees 31 Lessons from an Economic Analysis 32 Opportunities and Threats 33 A Personal View: Ian Roache, PhD Candidate and Tutor 35 Post-Script 37 References 38 3 Assessing the Education Needs of the Rohingya Refugees and the Impact of COVID-19 41 Introduction 41 Who Are the Rohingya? 42 Why Is Access to “Education in Emergencies” Important? 43 Rohingya Education Pre-COVID-19 45 The Impact of COVID-19 on the Rohingya Refugees 46 The Fallout of Numerous Emergencies on the Rohingya Based on the J-MSNA (2020) 49 Conclusion 50 References 51 4 COVID-19 in an African Context: What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About the Development Economics Curriculum and the Need for Reform 56 Introduction 56 The Role of the State 57 Industrial Policy 59 Dependency 62 Development Finance 64 Social Policy 66 Care 69 Conclusion 71 References 72 5 The Effects of Covid-19 Stringency Measures: From Increased Educational Inequality to Poverty Trap, with a Particular Focus on European Countries 76 Introduction 76 The Magnitude of Schools’ and Universities’ Closures Across the World 77 How the Effects of Covid-19 on Equity in Education Have Been Analysed 80 How We Look at Educational Inequality and the Need for a Re-focus 85 Conclusions 87 References 87 6 In the Beginning......: An Analysis of the Starting Topics in Introductory Economics Textbooks 91 Opportunity Cost 93 Scarcity 98 Command vs Market Economies 101 Others 103 Conclusions 104 Bibliography 106 7 Labour Rights, Full Employment, Mental Model Choice and a Dynamic Market Economy 108 Introduction 108 Kalecki on Full Employment 111 Core Arguments on the Significance of Low Real Wages 113 An Alternative Model 117 The Basics of the Alternative Model 118 Why Rational Capitalists Might Resist or Embrace Full Employment Policies 122 Conclusion 124 References 126 8 Reflections and Experiences of an Economics Degree: A Plea for Pluralism 128 Introduction 128 Our Expectations 129 The Teaching of Maths 130 The Teaching of Theory 131 The Teaching of Models 133 What Is an Economics Degree? 135 Discussion and Implications 135 References 137 9 An Analysis on the State of Economics Education in Scottish Universities 140 Introduction 140 The Teaching of Economics in Scottish Universities 141 The Dominance of Free Market Economics 145 Implications on Education and Wider Society 148 The Market as God 148 Capitalist Realism 151 The Role of Education for the Future 155 Concluding Remarks 157 References 158 10 Post-crash Economics: What Are the Implications of the 2007 Crisis for the Teaching of Economics? 160 Introduction 160 Forecasting Failure 163 Heterodox Economics 168 Ethics 175 Teaching Economics in the Twenty-First Century 177 Conclusions 181 References 182 Index 187