Is our economics education equipping students with the skills and perspectives necessary to tackle the challenges of the 21st century?

It has been 10 years since the launch of the Post-Crash Economics Society report, Economics, Education and Unlearning, reviewing economics education at the University of Manchester. In the aftermath of the report, our society made it into national and international media, the report was downloaded more than 40,0000 times and we won the National Union of Students Society of the Year 2014. Our message has resonated with students from all over the world, there are now over 125 student groups that are currently campaigning to improve their economics education, in the Rethinking Economics Network.

At PCES, we believe that economies should serve both people and the planet; furthermore, we perceive the UK economy to currently serve neither. We see our campaign for a reformed economics education as a crucial step in creating better economies, that are socially just, equitable and protect the environment. Economics graduates go on to the highest roles in the public and private sectors, where they make decisions that shape how economies operate and whom they serve. The importance of economics education in shaping economies is something that economists are well aware of, Paul Samuelson famously said, ‘I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws—or crafts its advanced treaties—if I can write its economic textbooks’.

Our new report reviews what has changed in the economics department, what wasn’t and our view on what a better economics education would look like.

Join us for presentation on the findings of our report and a discussion about what we should expect from our economics education.

Our launch will involve:

- A keynote address by Jo Michell, Chair of the Post Keynesian Economics Society, a Fellow of the Forum for Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policy of the Hans-Böckler Foundation and a member of the Progressive Economy Forum Council
- A workshop from our friends at Decolonising Economics
- A discursive panel discussion with members of the Post-Crash team and academics from the University of Manchester, both in the economics department and out.Keep up to date with Post-Crash Economics Society on Instagram: @postcrasheconomics