Spring Break
Diversity has its limits
Observer Viewpoint
Issue date: 4/16/04 Section: Viewpoint
"Diversity" has been a buzzword at Notre Dame for the past few years. Diversity is lauded in terms of race, gender, socio-economic class and countless other classifications. Sadly, there is one place at Notre Dame where diversity is slowly being eliminated: diversity of thought. In particular, economic thought.
This past year the College of Arts and Letters decided to split Notre Dame's Department of Economics in two: a Department of Economics and Econometrics and a Department of Economics and Policy Studies. Notre Dame's Economics department had long been one of the few departments in the nation committed to cultivating a variety of approaches to the study of economics. This includes scholarship and teaching outside of the mainstream or neo-classical approach. So-called heterodox economics often does not receive the same attention garnered by mainstream approaches. It does, however, frequently focus on broader issues of social concern: labor standards, income distribution, environmental quality, fair trade and poverty. Such approaches often resonate with Catholic social teaching on economics which, in the words of the U.S. Bishop's Pastoral Letter Economic Justice for All, "does not embrace any particular theory of how the economy works."
In contrast, the Economics and Econometrics Department is committed solely to neo-classical theory. It also focuses on a particular method of studying the economy known as econometrics. Econometrics emphasizes the use of mathematics and statistical research to forecast economic trends and make policy decisions. Unfortunately, not all of the economy's effects on individuals can be measured quantitatively. As Economic Justice for All observes: "Our faith calls us to measure this economy, not by what it produces but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person." Econometrics does not offer a formula for measuring concern for human dignity. Like any single approach it has its limitations.
This past year the College of Arts and Letters decided to split Notre Dame's Department of Economics in two: a Department of Economics and Econometrics and a Department of Economics and Policy Studies. Notre Dame's Economics department had long been one of the few departments in the nation committed to cultivating a variety of approaches to the study of economics. This includes scholarship and teaching outside of the mainstream or neo-classical approach. So-called heterodox economics often does not receive the same attention garnered by mainstream approaches. It does, however, frequently focus on broader issues of social concern: labor standards, income distribution, environmental quality, fair trade and poverty. Such approaches often resonate with Catholic social teaching on economics which, in the words of the U.S. Bishop's Pastoral Letter Economic Justice for All, "does not embrace any particular theory of how the economy works."
In contrast, the Economics and Econometrics Department is committed solely to neo-classical theory. It also focuses on a particular method of studying the economy known as econometrics. Econometrics emphasizes the use of mathematics and statistical research to forecast economic trends and make policy decisions. Unfortunately, not all of the economy's effects on individuals can be measured quantitatively. As Economic Justice for All observes: "Our faith calls us to measure this economy, not by what it produces but also by how it touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person." Econometrics does not offer a formula for measuring concern for human dignity. Like any single approach it has its limitations.