An 'insider' view of why economics programs at the university level nurture sociopathological tendencies in students.
A study published in 1987 by Arjo Klamer and David Colander and then repeated by Colander in 2005 demonstrates that graduate students in economics are far removed from learning or being interested in the real world:
"They compete among each other for ‘technical excellence’ in mathematics so they can solve tricky technical problems but do not think it is important to know anything much about the real world economy nor about the economics literature and history of the discipline that has gone before them. They adopt classic Groupthink characteristics as they are moulded (socialised, brainwashed, choose your own word) by their professors (who then feed them into their own networks for employment etc)."
As the author says, "there is little wonder the profession has very little to say that makes any sense about the real world. It is largely a disgrace."
Economics students tend to be middle class, highly competitive white males who come from relatively well-to-do families.
That pretty much says it all.
If you want more details, read this piece on 'The Brainwashing of Economics Graduate Students' http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=41542.
Fred Guerin on Facebook.
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