Economics 101: More college classes bring moral debates to the surface

For the past five years, economists Wendy Carlin and Sam Bowles got professors from around the world to ask thousands of first-year economics students one basic question on their first day of class. What is the most pressing problem economists should be addressing?

Among responses such as globalization, digitalization, and unemployment, two concerns dwarf the rest in the most recent data: inequality and climate change. 

But there is a growing sense that the standard economics curriculum, especially as taught in introductory courses, is not adequately preparing students to address these issues. 

Frustration began to mount following the financial crisis of 2008 in response to a curriculum deemed oversimplified and blind to history, power, and notions of fairness. As concerns about income distribution and the environment have intensified since, and in response to students’ demands, a small but growing