Rethinking Economics in India: A Pluralistic Approach

The Times of India has earlier this month reported that “economics emerges as the fourth choice in the engineering mecca IIT-B.” Personally, I have traversed the road of learning-economics-unlearning-economics-relearning-economics, more like a merry-go-round. The lack of efficient pedagogy and curriculum has sometimes made this road almost tortuous. 

There has been a mobilization among students and teachers worldwide in an expression of dissatisfaction against the orthodox nature of the economics curriculum. This very dissatisfaction has resulted in attempts to reform the university economics programs to make economists more suitable for the real word. Changes in the last two decades in higher education in India have been very immense in terms of public-private universities. 

But we have not set up discussions required for rethinking the pedagogy, resources, and curriculum with respect to different educational linkages in India. Nor do we see economists engaging in curriculum questioning (De and Thomas 2018). The importance of economics, not only in social sciences but also in addressing real-world issues, is growing, especially given the multiple crises we face today. The dominance of a particular economic thought has brought us to a tipping point. To recover better and more inclusively, we require a diversity of schools of economic thought. Pluralism, as opposed to mainstream economics, acknowledges and teaches a variety of approaches to understanding the economy and its relationship with the broader social and political systems through a reflective and engaging process. An ideal economics curriculum should include components of historicity, philosophical foundations, diversity, and an interdisciplinary nature.

This neglect of the historical context in the curriculum promotes a hegemony of the neoclassical interpretation of economic theory while leaving little room for alternative interpretations. Diversity deficit—be it local authors or caste-and gender-based perspectives—has less equipped Indian undergrad students for the real world they are about to enter. Such the neglect of the philosophical underpinnings of economics tends to give a narrow view on domestic and local economic issues. 

While curating B.Sc. Economics (Hons. with Research) courses at VSEP Chennai, I kept in mind these were some of the beliefs that should guide the development of an economics program to address the gap in market demand for economists and the wants of students, teachers, and employers. Yet, equally, I understand that constraints were imposed on universities in their capacity as decision-makers. The regulatory governance framework, in actual terms, means that individual department autonomy to structure its own curricular offerings is greatly limited by external considerations. Personal interests of Board of Studies members and inadequate infrastructure can also act as challenges.

In the shifting landscape of economics education, there is an urgent need to rethink the pedagogy of economics. With growing demands for economics and an increasing awareness in the subject, I sincerely hope better economics curricula will soon be created in Indian universities.