The Making of an Economist, Redux [Hardcover]

David Colander (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691125856 | ISBN-13: 978-0691125855 | Publication Date: March 19, 2007

Economists seem to be everywhere in the media these days. But what exactly do today's economists do? What and how are they taught? Updating David Colander and Arjo Klamer's classic The Making of an Economist, this book shows what is happening in elite U.S. economics Ph.D. programs. By examining these programs, Colander gives a view of cutting-edge economics--and a glimpse at its likely future. And by comparing economics education today to the findings of the original book, the new book shows how much--and in what ways--the field has changed over the past two decades. The original book led to a reexamination of graduate education by the profession, and has been essential reading for prospective graduate students. Like its predecessor, The Making of an Economist, Redux is likely to provoke discussion within economics and beyond.

The book includes new interviews with students at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, and Columbia. In these conversations, the students--the next generation of elite economists--colorfully and frankly describe what they think of their field and what graduate economics education is really like. The book concludes with reflections by Colander, Klamer, and Robert Solow.

This inside look at the making of economists will interest anyone who wants to better understand the economics profession. An indispensible tool for anyone thinking about graduate education in economics, this edition is complete with colorful interviews and predictions about the future of cutting-edge economics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This work is an essential read for undergraduates considering graduate work in economics; it is also valuable reading for anyone interested in learning about what is being taught, and how it is being taught, at the top-ranked institutions in the field. -- M.L. White, Choice

Will economics departments and bodies such as our own Royal Economic Society step up to the challenge Colander sets them with this book, and reshape the graduate curriculum? I hope so, or we will find ourselves with even fewer graduate students in economics than we have now. -- Diane Coyle, Times Higher Education Supplement

[T]his book is . . . a must-read especially for . . . those who are contemplating going into graduate training in economics . . . and for all those who have influence on the content and design of graduate programmes in economics. For all others this can still be a book for the coffee-table, since my own experience has shown that it does function quite well as a conversation starter. -- Rene L. P. Mahieu, Erasmus Journal For Philosophy and Economics

From the Inside Flap

"The Making of an Economist, Redux is self-recommending. David Colander's work on the profession of economics is by far the best we have. A significant follow-up to his book of twenty years ago, it will become the standard account of what economics graduate school is like."--Tyler Cowen, George Mason University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (March 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691125856
• ISBN-13: 978-0691125855
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #556,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read This Book Before You Do Your Econ Ph.D., January 19, 2008

By 

Robert Szarka (Norwich, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Making of an Economist, Redux (Hardcover)

Roughly half the material here is available in related journal articles, but the transcripts of interviews with students aren't. That makes this book invaluable for prospective graduate students in economics who want to get a clearer picture of what they're getting into.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An overview of elite graduate training in economics, September 15, 2007

By 

therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Making of an Economist, Redux (Hardcover)

The Making of an Economist, Redux, provides an update to the surveys of Colander and Kramer's initial The Making of an Economist. It critiques the Phd programs at Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Chicago, Yale, Princeton and Columbia - schools widely considered the elite in Economics training.

The book serves multiple target audiences. Like volume 1, it can quickly turn into required reading. Another (perhaps less receptive?) audience is the providers of graduate economics education. The third audience (including the author) are lay readers interested in economics the field, and what goes into producing economists.

The books succeeds in providing a qualitative analysis of the macro trends of graduate education, and provides alternative views for the dysfunctions in the process. (Very few students or educators seem to agree that what's taught is right. Then again, this critical thinking could be a sign that the process is working. The mediocre always seem to have the most school spirit.)

This shouldn't be mandatory reading for anyone outside the graduation education process in economics, but it does provide insight into what creates a professional economist.