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Standing in the way of rigor? Economics’ meeting with the decolonization agenda

Kvangraven, Ingrid Harvold; Kesar, Surbhi

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Authors

Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven



Abstract

This article critically discusses the scope for decolonizing economics teaching. It scrutinizes what it would entail in terms of theory, methods, and pedagogy, and its implications for scholars grappling with issues related to economics teaching. Based on a survey of 498 respondents, it explores how economists across different types of departments (economics/heterodox/non-economics), geographical locations, and identities assess challenges to economics teaching, how they understand the relevance of calls for decolonization, and how they believe economics teaching should be reformed. Based on the survey findings, the article concludes that the field’s emphasis on advancing economics as an objective social science free from political contestations, based on narrow theoretical and methodological frameworks and a privileging of technical training associated with a limited understanding of rigor, likely stands in the way of the decolonization of economics. Indeed, key concepts of the decolonization agenda—centering structural power relations, critically examining the vantage point from which theorization takes place and unpacking the politics of knowledge production—stand in sharp contrast to the current priorities of the economics field as well as key strands of IPE. Finally, the article charts out the challenges that decolonizing economics teaching entails and identifies potential for change.

Citation

Kvangraven, I. H., & Kesar, S. (2023). Standing in the way of rigor? Economics’ meeting with the decolonization agenda. Review of International Political Economy, 30(5), 1723-1748. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2022.2131597

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Nov 9, 2022
Publication Date Sep 1, 2023
Deposit Date Nov 21, 2022
Publicly Available Date Nov 21, 2022
Journal Review of International Political Economy
Print ISSN 0969-2290
Electronic ISSN 1466-4526
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 30
Issue 5
Pages 1723-1748
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2022.2131597
Keywords Economics teaching, economics pedagogy, decolonizing economics, decolonizing IPE, Eurocentrism
Publisher URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2022.2131597
Additional Information Data Access Statement : Data can be found alongside the article.

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