Tag Archives: EC 10

Do Harvard’s Econ Students Have a Point?

By Stephanie Kelton

 
Two days ago, a group of students at Harvard University submitted the following letter to their econ prof — Greg Mankiw – just before they got up and walked out of his introductory econ class.  In the letter,  Professor Mankiw’s students say, “If Harvard fails to equip its students with a broad and critical understanding of economics, their actions are likely to harm the global financial system. The last five years of economic turmoil have been proof enough of this.”
 
These students are clearly aware of the harm that economist scan do when they’re employing faulty models that rest on faith-based (theoclassical) assumptions to dispense policy advice in the real world.  See, for example: