David Colander

Bio: David Colander is an academic researcher from Middlebury College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Applied economics & Economics education. The author has an hindex of 40, co-authored 280 publications receiving 7435 citations.

The making of an economist

Abstract: The opinions and advice of economists matter not just to politicians, corporations and business people, but to all of us. This study of graduate education in economics aims to show how economists are trained and what values and techniques are instilled during this training. Blending analysis and anecdote, the authors offer conclusions about which qualities and skills are encouraged and which are discouraged as students progress to the PhD, the badge of certification for the discipline. The book rests on extensive survey data and original interviewing of students, who reflect on their experiences in their own words. It is intended for economists, economists-to-be and anyone who reads, works with or just needs to understand economists.

The changing face of mainstream economics

Abstract: This article argues that economics is currently undergoing a fundamental shift in its method, away from neoclassical economics and into something new. Although that something new has not been fully developed, it is beginning to take form and is centered on dynamics, recursive methods and complexity theory. The foundation of this change is coming from economists who are doing cutting edge work and influencing mainstream economics. These economists are defining and laying the theoretical groundwork for the fundamental shift that is occurring in the economics profession.

The financial crisis and the systemic failure of the economics profession

Abstract: Economists not only failed to anticipate the financial crisis; they may have contributed to it—with risk and derivatives models that, through spurious precision and untested theoretical assumptions, encouraged policy makers and market participants to see more stability and risk sharing than was actually present. Moreover, once the crisis occurred, it was met with incomprehension by most economists because of models that, on the one hand, downplay the possibility that economic actors may exhibit highly interactive behavior; and, on the other, assume that any homogeneity will involve economic actors sharing the economist’s own putatively correct model of the economy, so that error can stem only from an exogenous shock. The financial crisis presents both an ethical and an intellectual challenge to economics, and an opportunity to reform its study by grounding it more solidly in reality.

The death of neoclassical economics

Abstract: David Colander has been writing about economic methodology for over 30 years, but he goes out of his way to emphasize that he does not see himself as a methodologist. His pragmatic methodology is applicable to what economists are doing and attempts to answer questions that all economists face as they go about their work. The articles collected in this volume are divided, with the first part providing a framework underlying Colander’s methodology and introducing Colander’s methodology for economic policy within that framework. Part two presents Colander’s view on the methodology for microeconomics, while part three looks at Colander’s methodology for macroeconomics. The book closes with discussions of broader issues.

The death of neoclassical economics

Abstract: The term “neoclassical economics” was born in 1900; in this paper I am proposing economist-assisted terminasia; by the powers vested in me as president of the History of Economics Society, I hereby declare the term neoclassical economics dead. Let me be clear about what I am sentencing to death—it is not the content of neoclassical economics. As I will discuss below, it is difficult to determine what that content is, and even if I wanted to kill the content, I have no role in determining content. The role of historians of thought is to record, not determine, content. What I am declaring dead is the term.

Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: For good reasons, economists have had a long-standing preference for studying peoples' revealed preferences; that is, looking at individuals' actual choices and decisions rather than their stated intentions or subjective reports of likes and dislikes. Yet people often make choices that bear a mixed relationship to their own happiness. A large literature from behavioral economics and psychology finds that people often make inconsistent choices, fail to learn from experience, exhibit reluctance to trade, base their own satisfaction on how their situation compares with the satisfaction of others and depart from the standard model of the rational economic agent in other ways. If people display bounded rationality when it comes to maximizing utility, then their choices do not necessarily reflect their "true" preferences, and an exclusive reliance on choices to infer what people desire loses some of its appeal. Direct reports of subjective well-being may have a useful role in the measure

The argumentative turn in policy analysis and planning

Abstract: Part 1 The argumentative turn: policy institutions and practices: Policy discourse and the politics of Washington think tanks, Frank Fischer Discourse coalitions and the institutionalization of practice - the case of acid rain in Great Britain, Maarten Hajer Political judgement and the policy cycle - the case of ethnicity arguments in the Netherlands, Robert Hoppe Counsel and consensus - norms of argumentation in health policy, Bruce Jennings. Part 2 Analytical concepts - frames, tropes, and narratives: Survey research as rhetorical trope - electric power planning arguments in Chicago, J.A. Throgmorton Frame reflective policy discourse, Martin Rein and Donald Schon Reading policy narratives - beginning, middle, and end, Thomas J. Kaplan Learning from practice stories - the priority of practical judgement, John Forester. Part 3 Theoretical perspectives: Policy anlysis and planning - from science to argumentation, John Dryzek Planning through debate - the communicative turn in planning theory, Patsy Healey Policy reforms as arguments, William Dunn Two worlds of policy discourse - consensual versus adversarial proposal selection, Duncan MacRae.

The Political Economy of the Resource Curse

Abstract: How does a state's natural resource wealth influence its economic development? For the past fifty years, versions of this question have been explored by both economists and political scientists. New research suggests that resource wealth tends to harm economic growth, yet there is little agreement on why this occurs. This article reviews a wide range of recent attempts in both economics and political science to explain the “resource curse.” It suggests that much has been learned about the economic problems of resource exporters but less is known about their political problems. The disparity between strong findings on economic matters and weak findings on political ones partly reflects the failure of political scientists to carefully test their own theories.

Individual-based modeling and ecology

Abstract: Individual-based modeling is a new, exciting discipline that allows ecologists to explore, using computer simulations, how properties of populations and ecosystems might evolve from the characteristics and behaviors of individual organisms. Individual-based Modeling and Ecology, written by Volker Grimm and Steven F. Railsback, gives an excellent introduction and overview of this field. It should be read by everyone interested in individual-based modeling, and especially by anyone contemplating developing, or being involved with a group developing, an individualbased model.