The making of an economic gadfly: David Colander and graduate economics education

Wendy A. Stock

The Journal of Economic Education, 2025, vol. 56, issue 3, 224-229

Abstract: The author of this article reviews David Colander’s research in graduate economics education, where his critique of overly theoretical, mathematical, and formal models and lack of focus on real-world problems made him an “economic gadfly.” He later concluded that although there had been a recent shift in graduate education toward empirical analysis and away from pure theory, later-entering graduate cohorts in economics included fewer students interested in policy (but not necessarily formal theory or mathematics) and more students with significant mathematical training and expectations about graduate economics education. In short, the students changed to fit economics graduate programs rather than graduate programs changing to fit broader student interests in real-world economic problems.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00220485.2025.2484259

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