Against Curricular Adjudication: A Response to Rochon and Rossi

James Horton ()

No 4, Reeves School of Business and Economics Working Papers from Methodist University, Charles M. Reeves School of Business and Economics

Abstract: Rochon and Rossi (2026) argue that neoclassical economics should no longer be taught to undergraduates. Their argument is based on the premise that neoclassical foundations are flawed and the empirical record is weak. I grant several of their empirical criticisms and reject the pedagogical conclusion they draw from them. A macroeconomic framework offers immense value to students when economists still disagree about it and when it offers explanations of important economic episodes that students can evaluate against historical evidence. It does not have to have been judged correct. Where those disagreements remain open, removing one side from the curriculum transfers adjudication from the student to the instructor. That same argument applies to heterodox frameworks when economists are still arguing over them. Rochon and Rossi's proposal also sits in tension with their call for a more empirical economics education, since empirical reasoning requires competing explanations against which evidence can be interpreted.

Keywords: Economics education; Curricular pluralism; Macroeconomics teaching; Economic methodology; Neoclassical economics; Heterodox economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 B41 B50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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