The Role of Methodology in the Economics Curriculum

Abstract

First paragraph: The purpose of this chapter is to argue that methodology should be in the core of the economics curriculum. Methodology is often taken to mean simply the selection and application of methods within a given approach. But methodology is much more than that. It allows us to understand why there are different approaches to economics and how we might analyse them and foster constructive communication between them. More fundamentally it helps us to understand and discuss our subject. It should therefore be a central feature of a curriculum designed to teach the subject. But at another level, understanding of methodology also provides a basis for considering curricular reform.