Postgrad Education In Addition To Keynesian Economics: A Survey

This post is articulation with André Moreira, an economist at the Bank of England

Three years agone 1 of us got into a discussion with Paul Krugman in addition to Brad DeLong close how dominant, or otherwise, the New Keynesian model of describe of piece of work concern cycles was inwards academia. That post contained a footnote with an idea: why don’t nosotros await at what the transcend schools genuinely learn their post graduates, to reckon if in that place are a large proportion of students who are non beingness taught whatever Keynesian economics. We came together with the thought of doing exactly that.

We initially thought that nosotros could create this past times ‘simply’ contacting the academics teaching gist macro courses in addition to asking them for their syllabus. You tin in all likelihood gauge the work nosotros encountered, although cheers to those who did respond. So instead nosotros decided to survey recent students. That worked much better, with 1 exception nosotros Federal Reserve annotation below. (The results are written upwards inwards to a greater extent than item every bit a curt paper – reckon the transcend of the master copy listing from this link).

We decided to inquire a unproblematic question: “Approximately what pct of the gist Macro sequence that yous received covered models involving cost and/or wage rigidities (including New Keynesian models)? Please circular your response to the nearest 5% mark.” We sent this query to graduate students at the transcend fifteen schools during 2014/15 [1]. Here are the results

Table 2: Survey results

The 1 schoolhouse missing is Chicago. Contact information for these graduates is non publicly available, in addition to nosotros were told past times both the course of teaching administrator in addition to the academic inwards accuse of the course of teaching that they convey a policy of non divulging the e-mail addresses of postgraduates, fifty-fifty after nosotros made it clear what nosotros wanted them for. We likewise received no information from our before requests for a syllabus.

Of course of teaching no unproblematic query similar this is perfect: at NYU, for example, the starting fourth dimension twelvemonth teaching focuses on methods, in addition to Keynesian analysis is covered inwards a after (but optional) course. We constitute no major discontinuities according to the twelvemonth students entered the programme (a few variations are noted inwards the paper), in addition to the information matched the syllabus information from those who had been skilful plenty to respond to our starting fourth dimension survey. We sent the results to course of teaching teachers a few months agone for whatever comments or corrections.

The master copy message nosotros depict from these results is that, inwards at to the lowest degree the transcend schools, in that place is no major split betwixt a grouping that teaches Keynesian economic science in addition to those that create not. There is a large sum of variation alongside schools, but in that place is piffling prove of the marked bifurcation alongside transcend universities that exactly about discussions of a saltwater/freshwater split mightiness suggest. We suspect opinions volition differ on whether the variation nosotros yet constitute is natural inwards a dependent champaign similar economic science or is an indication that something is wrong.

We would endure interested inwards whatever thoughts close whether it would endure worth taking this analysis farther inwards whatever way.

[1] Top fifteen according to the IDEAS ranking of economical institutions every bit of September 2013.