Graduate Students: Go Mainstream
Those searching for a Ph.D. that will allow them to pursue an academic career in Austrian economics should read Michael Rozeff''s article on LewRockwell.com. Although the topic of the article is "Stimulus as Seen through Becker's Chicago Lens," Dr. Rozeff provides in passing an instructive description of his own graduate education at the University of Rochester's School of Management which stimulated and encouraged his interest in Austrian economics.
Although the program he describes existed forty years ago, it broadly illustrates the type of mainstream graduate program that is amenable and even welcoming to Austrians. Despite the fact that the program was part of a business school, its focus was economics. There was a distinguished faculty that included Martin J. Bailey and Don Gordon, a former colleague of and important influence on Douglass North.
As Rozeff notes, the faculty was open-minded and questioned each other's work continuously. Furthermore, "The excellence of this faculty lay, not so much in propounding a particular point of view as such, but in providing an immersion into intellectual challenge. . . . Students were treated as equals in the sense that they could raise objections and command a hearing as much as a faculty member could."
In one course, Rozeff recalls, Martin Bailey had students write their own constitutions to rectify flaws in the U. S. Constitution, a project which eventually was published as a book. Most importantly, his teachers "emphasized qualitative, not quantitative economics. Mathematical economics was not part of the curriculum. Price theory was. Economic reasoning was. Inquiry emphasized theory, thought, ideas, and interpretation above empiricism. . . . They did not neglect economic history. Sooner or later, the inquiry fell on Wicksell, Böhm-Bawerk, Knight, Hayek, and others. One easily discovered the Austrians."
There are a number of lessons to be learned from Rozeff's discussion for those who are currently considering pursuing a Ph.D. as a means to an academic career in which they can teach and do research in Austrian economic theory or political economy.
1. You do not need to enroll in a traditional Ph.D. program in a department of economics. Economists hold prominent positions on the faculties of business schools, schools of public policy and of international relations, and departments of agricultural and natural resource economics. The number of disciplines, sub disciplines and specialties within these schools and departments are proliferating and now include entrepreneurship, strategy, contracts and institutions, business ethics etc. all of which are amenable to a broadly Austrian approach.
2. Many of these programs, while rigorous, are not overly quantitative and stress mainstream verbal-logical price theory and applications. The Austro-Mengerian, or causal-realist, approach to price theory was once the mainstream theory, and there still exists some kinship between qualitative Chicago and Marshallian price theory and Mengerian price theory. In fact, one of the main goals of Murray Rothbard in writing Man Economy and State was to recover and advance 1950s mainstream price theory which had been hijacked by the positivists and mathematical modelers.
3. Becoming an economist requires rigorous training and critical thinking, and institutional ranking is crucial in job placement. As things stand today in the U.S. one is probably best served in both regards by enrolling in a high quality mainstram Ph.D. program in one of the alternative disciplines such as management, public policy or even in mainstream economics, which feature superior and accomplished faculty who are at the top of their specialties. Enrolling in a heterodox economics program just because there is an "Austrian economist" or a few libertarians or anarchists on the faculty, while a possible alternative, may not be an optimal strategy in terms of intellectual development or career prospects.
Comments (9)
David Spellman
It is useful to learn from the experiences of those who have failed as well as those who succeed. Only considering the path of mavericks who make it to the top gives a false impression of the prospects for success going against the grain.
Speaking from the experience, there are quite a number of people (myself included) who did not toe the line in graduate school and consequently did not finish their Ph.D. degrees. Occasionally there are times and places where honest intellectual activities thrive, but usually you need to pay lip service to the party line until you get your degree.
Even then, to get tenure you will have to make concessions to avoid making waves depending upon what level of prestige and acceptance you desire. If you sell your soul, you might get the Nobel prize or become chairman of the Fed. If you tell the truth, you may be a popular junior college instructor.
You will have to decide at some point what you want in life. It would be good to figure out what you want and make the right choices early rather than stumble into trouble or out of favor. Mises and Rothbard are admirable for their unwavering quest for truth, but they never become as popular as some sellers of snake oil. I would encourage everyone to pursue truth and virtue, but I would also warn them to be wise and cautious.
Published: February 13, 2009 4:20 PM
newson
excellent comment, david spellman.
rozeff's article is a very good, even if one is more interested in the stimulus package than the academic discussion.
Published: February 13, 2009 5:41 PM
Bruce Koerber
Or better yet, go mainstream entrepreneurship! That may or may not take you into academia.
February 13, 2009
Definitions of Micro and Macro Economics In The Divine Economy Theory.
One definition of macroeconomics that then emerges from the divine economy theory is as follows: it is a study of those factors and conditions that lead to the long run advancement of the standard of living for everyone on the planet.
One definition of microeconomics that then emerges from the divine economy theory is as follows: it is a study of how individuals discover and react to information in the market as part of their division of labor to produce and to earn income, so as to meet their personal desires for goods and services.
Published: February 13, 2009 5:54 PM
Inquisitor
What about Finance? Is it a good idea to do a PHD in this area? Or is it swamped by positivists like econ?
Published: February 13, 2009 8:52 PM
Pete
If one's goal is to become a professional economist, one ought to do what ever strikes them. Personally, I found a lot of my undergrad work somewhat unsatisfying due to the non-Austrian focus. Even the money and banking course, taught by an Austrian, used a decidedly non-Austrian text. To me it was akin to laboring through a few years learning about the wonders of blood letting when you are supposed to be pre-med.
Where one ought go to school, or where one ought teach is hardly universal and is based on what your goal is. Do you want to be an economist to pay the rent? (How many years does all that schooling take you to pay off?) Do you want to pursue learning? (Let us hope you have a trust fund.)
I think these are deeply personal choices. Myself, I could think of nothing more painful than a mainstream grad program, as I don't suffer fools gladly. Some could certainly handle it and might enjoy it. Sadly, being smart or right is not rewarded in the world of academic economics. If you oft find yourself being both, it might be better to do something else.
Published: February 13, 2009 8:55 PM
Brian
Which programs are less quantitative? I love economics and I'm seriously considering pursuing a phD, but having to take advanced calculus classes doesn't interest me at all. Especially considering the fact that it's a complete waste of time from the Austrian perspective...
Published: February 13, 2009 11:05 PM
Robert
Brian,
http://mises.org/classroom/gradschool.pdf
This is an open letter Dr. Block wrote I think you will find it helpful.
Published: February 14, 2009 3:01 AM
Josh Scott
I am a "marketing" doctoral student, and I think that this is the most-underrated option available to future grad students interested in libertarian research. As for great potential in Austrian Econ research in my field, this is to be determined. I am currently doing some research that draws heavily from the social psych literature and behavioral economics research (think: "Mind of the Market" by Michael Shermer). The field of marketing has a diverse bunch of sub-disciplines, and some of these should afford a creative person the opportunity to find ties to Austrian Econ.
If you are interested in going to a business school, you’ll definitely need to put thought into which discipline is for you. Quite often, econ professors refer to the “business school” without specifying a researcher’s discipline (i.e. management, marketing, finance, information systems, accounting). If you consider going into marketing (or even management), I have a few ideas and you can email me if you are interested. Incidentally, I would like to hear from anyone who would want to partner on some papers that investigate the intersection of marketing/consumer research with libertarianism/Austrian Economics.
jbscott@uark.edu
Published: February 14, 2009 2:20 PM
Former Student
I too attended the U of R's business school, now called the Simon School. Graduated in the MBA program in 1996. At that time, it still had a pretty strong free-market view (for a university, anyway). The professors were mostly Chicago-school types (many actually from Chicago). Critical thinking was still very much emphasized. We had many lessons where the whole point was to take a mainstream article or study and figure out what was wrong with it. Mathematics have become more pervasive vs. when Rozeff was there. But still, overall a very good experience. While I did not discover the Austrians there, my experience certainly provided me an intellectual framework that made me very receptive to the Austrian message when I did discover it a few years after graduation.
Published: February 16, 2009 4:22 PM