Student Movement Reshapes Global Economics Curricula

Emerging from student dissatisfaction after the 2008 global financial crash, Rethinking Economics began as a movement to broaden economics education. Initially sparked by students at Harvard and Manchester Universities, the initiative coalesced in 2013 at the London School of Economics. The organization now boasts thousands of members in over 40 countries.

Rethinking Economics aims to foster an economics education that is plural, critical, decolonized, and historically grounded. It challenges the prevalent single framework, advocating for an economy embedded in ecology, power, and inequality. Since 2019, the movement has recorded over 80 campaign wins in 35 countries, including 23 major curriculum reforms impacting tens of thousands of students.

Notable successes include new interdisciplinary programs at Goldsmiths, University of London (2014), the University of Lille (2020), and Leiden University (2023). In South Africa, the campaign evolved from a protest for educational access into a broader critique of academic systems, carving out progressive courses where mainstream teaching remained unchanged.

Academics like Clara Mattei and Jayati Ghosh acknowledge the movement's impact, noting its crucial role in pushing for more courageous economic frameworks. Ghosh states, 'economics is too important to be left to economists,' highlighting the value of diverse perspectives in understanding pressing global issues.