In How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads, Steven Payson offers a US-focused critique of the professional practice of teaching and researching economics today, covering areas such as publishing, hiring and promotion. As readers will likely find themselves nodding in recognition at many of the issues identified by Payson, Christopher May finds this a welcome voice ..

May, Christopher

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Book	Review:	How	Economics	Professors	Can	StopFailing	Us:	The	Discipline	at	a	Crossroads	by	StevenPaysonIn	How	Economics	Professors	Can	Stop	Failing	Us:	The	Discipline	at	a	Crossroads,	Steven	Payson	offersa	US-focused	critique	of	the	professional	practice	of	teaching	and	researching	economics	today,	covering	areassuch	as	publishing,	hiring	and	promotion.	As	readers	will	likely	find	themselves	nodding	in	recognition	at	many	ofthe	issues	identified	by	Payson,	Christopher	May	finds	this	a	welcome	voice	contributing	to	the	growing	call	totransform	the	study	of	economics.	How	Economics	Professors	Can	Stop	Failing	Us:	The	Discipline	at	a	Crossroads.	Steven	Payson.Lexington	Books.	2017.Find	this	book:	The	academic	discipline	of	economics	has	been	subject	to	a	growing	level	of	criticism,from	both	within	and	outside	the	academy.	Often	led	by	students,	the	criticisms	ofeconomists	and	their	ideas	are	myriad	and	frequently	related	to	their	perceivedposition	as	handmaidens	to	neoliberalism.	In	the	UK,	groups	such	as	Post-CrashEconomics	or	Rethinking	Economics	have	been	launched	by	students	dissatisfied	withthe	mainstream	teaching	of	economics,	with	The	Econocracy	often	presented	as	theirmanifesto.	Reflecting	this	appetite	to	see	economics	done	differently,	my	own	course‘Economics	for	the	Real	World’	(an	undergraduate	political	economy	course	offeringan	alternative	view	to	that	taught	in	the	economics	department	at	my	university)	sawits	enrolment	double	in	2017,	its	second	year.	This	climate	of	dissatisfaction	with	andcriticism	of	the	mainstream	has	generated	a	wide	range	of	commentary	and	books,	towhich	we	can	now	add	Steven	Payson’s	intervention.How	Economics	Professors	Can	Stop	Failing	Us:	The	Discipline	at	a	Crossroads,however,	is	rather	differently	conceived	from	many	of	these	other	critiques	and	complaints,	which	for	the	mostpart	focus	on	economics	as	theory.	By	contrast,	Payson	self-avowedly	seeks	to	‘call	out’	professors	of	economicsfor	‘their	overall	lack	of	ethics,	integrity,	and	responsible	leadership’	(xi,	emphasis	in	original).	This	is	to	say,	thebook	is	often	a	critique	of	professional	practice,	although	Payson	is	far	from	uncritical	of	economics	itself.	Indeed,early	on,	he	argues	that	what	distinguishes	economics	professors	from	similarly	senior	colleagues	in	otherdisciplines	is	that	the	faults	Payson	identifies	are	reinforced	by	the	very	discipline	in	which	they	work:	there	is	avicious	circle	operating	that	links	economic	analysis	of	‘rational’	actions	and	the	behaviour	of	economicsprofessors	(and,	by	extension,	their	less	senior	colleagues).Payson	mounts	a	number	of	withering	critiques	of	the	work	of	(mostly	North	American)	professors	of	economics.He	suggests	that	much	theoretical	work	is	perceived	by	its	authors	as	being	as	strong	as	its	strongest	analyticallink,	when	really	it	is	as	weak	as	the	weakest	simplifying	assumption	deployed	(and	some	are	pretty	weak	andunconvincing).	Unsurprisingly,	he	also	is	critical	of	Milton	Friedman’s	famous	(and	still	influential)	position	thateconomics’	assumptions	don’t	matter	(however	odd/false	they	might	appear)	if	the	predictions	that	result	havesome	salience.Likewise,	Payson	is	highly	critical	of	neologisms	and	new	‘technical’	concepts,	all	of	which	he	regards	asrepresenting	more	of	a	rite	of	passage	for	economics	graduate	students	to	struggle	through	than	offering	any	realsocial	benefit	for	those	seeking	to	understand	the	economy	and	its	workings,	not	least	of	all	as	few	people	outsidethe	discipline	read	much	of	this	analysis	(so-called).	More	generally,	he	mounts	a	detailed	critical	analysis	of	theprocess	of	publishing	in	economics,	which	includes	a	rather	wry	set	of	tables	comparing	what	authors	say	inarticles	intended	for	publication	in	the	American	Economic	Review	with	what	they	really	mean,	which	at	timesverges	on	(but	doesn’t	quite	become)	a	parody	of	academic	discourse.	Mostly,	it’s	all	meaningless	and	unread,serving	merely	as	fodder	for	the	discipline	itself.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads by StevenPaysonPage 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-11-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/11/05/book-review-how-economics-professors-can-stop-failing-us-the-discipline-at-a-crossroads-by-steven-payson/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Image	Credit:	(Franz	Kohler	CC	BY	SA	2.0)As	this	might	suggest,	for	Payson	the	behaviour	of	professors	of	economics	is	driven	by	the	perverse	incentivesfor	publication	as	well	as	the	self-reinforcing	value	system	behind	the	recognition	of	important	work	and	its	role	inthe	hiring	and	promotion	practices	of	the	major	economics	departments	in	the	USA.	This	leads	to	an	extendedexamination	of	the	use	and	abuse	of	citation	counts/data,	both	for	journals	and	for	academic	authors,	which	heregards	as	a	quasi-technical	crutch	behind	which	judgments	are	hidden	in	hiring	committees;	indeed,	as	he	notes,given	such	committees	often	include	editors	of	and	reviewers	for	‘top’	economics	journals,	they	are	effectivelyforcing	their	particular	prejudices	onto	the	next	generations	of	scholars.Likely	much	more	evident	in	the	USA,	but	hardly	absent	elsewhere,	is	how	the	normative	commitments	ofeconomists	in	relation	to	markets	have	led	to	one	insidious	prejudice	in	particular:	a	fondness	for	demonising	anddownplaying	any	positive	role	for	the	state	in	economic	growth	and	development.	Here,	he	seems	to	be	arguing(although	it	is	not	quite	made	explicit)	that	the	demand	that	economics	should	not	be	corrupted	by	politics	is,	infact,	violated	by	the	manner	in	which	professors’	own	political	assumptions	are	rendered	as	technical	results	ofanalysis.Payson	also	criticises	the	claim	made	by	experimental	economists	that	they	are	really	conducting	a	science	ofeconomics:	he	argues	that	the	subjects	of	the	experiments	are	engaged	in	a	set	of	practices	so	abstracted	fromthe	real	world	to	render	any	results	extremely	doubtful,	not	least	of	all	as	the	experiments	themselves	seem	toincentivise	specific	forms	of	response	(in	other	words,	there	is	a	lack	of	social	reflexivity).	Finally,	Payson	moveson	to	actual	bad	behaviour;	here,	while	he	might	be	right	about	the	specific	motivations	driving	ethical	lapses	ineconomics,	much	of	what	he	criticises	seems	to	me	to	represent	and	reveal	a	much	wider	set	of	problems	thanare	just	to	be	found	in	economics	departments.	Sadly,	there	are	always	too	many	violations	of	professional	ethics,although	Payson	would	likely	argue	it	is	worse	in	economics.Overall,	this	is	a	highly	personal	book,	which	is	in	no	way	meant	as	a	criticism:	indeed,	the	entire	text	might	beread	as	an	implied	criticism	of	the	passive-voiced,	(pretended)	‘science’	of	economics.	Payson	builds	on	anddevelops	a	range	of	disparate	criticism,	some	of	which	I	was	aware	of;	some	of	it	not	so	much.	His	valuable	workis	bringing	this	all	together	before	focusing	on	the	actual	agents	(the	professors)	who	(re)produce	these	problemsfor	the	profession	of	economics.	At	times,	the	book	does	nonetheless	lapse	into	a	scattergun	of	criticism,	flittingfrom	one	topic	to	another,	sometimes	without	an	obvious	central	argumentative	dynamic	or	considered	direction.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads by StevenPaysonPage 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-11-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/11/05/book-review-how-economics-professors-can-stop-failing-us-the-discipline-at-a-crossroads-by-steven-payson/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/In	the	end,	then,	this	book	may	be	best	read	in	bits,	utilising	the	index	to	pick	those	things	that	most	annoy	youabout	your	local	economics	department	so	as	to	arm	yourself	with	Payson’s	withering	criticisms.	That	the	book	isfocused	almost	entirely	on	North	American	professors	should	not	be	taken	as	indication	that	all	is	well	on	this	sideof	the	Atlantic.	If,	like	me,	you	work	in	a	university	with	a	large	(and	strident)	economics	department,	but	are	not	ofthat	department,	you	will	find	much	here	to	make	you	smile	and	frown	in	recognition.	It	is	clear	that	it	is	time	tochange	economics,	and	Payson	is	yet	one	more	voice	that	(hopefully)	will	make	such	change	inevitable.This	review	originally	appeared	at	the	LSE	Review	of	Books.Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	http://bit.ly/2hACv0g——————————————–About	the	reviewerChristopher	May	–	Lancaster	UniversityChristopher	May	is	Professor	of	Political	Economy	at	Lancaster	University,	UK.	His	most	recent	book	is	GlobalCorporations	in	Global	Governance	(Routledge	2015)	and	he	is	currently	editing	The	Edward	Elgar	ResearchHandbook	on	The	Rule	of	Law	(2017).	He	has	published	widely	on	the	interaction	between	law	and	politicaleconomy,	and	wrote	the	first	independently	authored	study	of	the	World	Intellectual	Property	Organisation.	Readmore	by	Christopher	May.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads by StevenPaysonPage 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-11-05Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/11/05/book-review-how-economics-professors-can-stop-failing-us-the-discipline-at-a-crossroads-by-steven-payson/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

Book review: how economics professors can stop failing us: the discipline at a crossroads by Steven Payson

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