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REVISTA DE ECONOMÍA
INSTITUCIONAL No. 11, SECOND SEMESTER 2004
Report of the Commission on
Graduate Education in Economics 
Comisión de Estudios de Posgrado en Economía [pdf] [html]
[Key words: graduate education in economics, Commission
on Graduate Education in Economics, admission to graduate
school, the core curriculum, fields courses; JEL: A23, A20]
This article shows the report presented by the Commission
on Graduate Education in Economics in 1991 to the American
Economic Association, it focuses on the extent to which
graduate education in economic may have become too isolated
from real economic problems. The report analyzes the first
year core program and then fields, and it questions about
the excessive emphasis given to mathematical technique
versus economic substance. Thereafter the paper describes
some perceived deficiencies of coursework as a whole: a lack
of creativity on the part of students, and a lack of
communication skills. Next, it examines the long process of
selecting a dissertation, and shows advantages and
disadvantages of mix of graduate schools. Finally, concludes
with recommendations to solve the problems described.
Teaching the Principles of
Economics: A Proposal for a Multi-paradigmatic Approach
Janet T. Knoedler y Daniel A. Underwood [pdf] [html]
[Key words: teaching of Economics, principles of
economics, general education, multi-paradigmatic approach;
JEL: A22, A23, B52]
Professors Knoedler and Underwood discuss the concern
over the decline in the number of economic majors as well as
overall the enrolments in economics. For many “mainstream” economic educators this problem obey to the fact that
academic economics tend to grant lower grades on average to
students, or to the relaxation that business programs have
in their entry requirements. The authors attribute the
problem to the abstraction and the exclusion that teaching
Principles of Economics has. They propose a restatement of
this course using a multi-paradigmatic approach that takes
into account the ideas of economic thinkers outside the
mainstream. Thus, students will overcome their
dissatisfaction and they will have a more realistic view of
the economy, which will help them to develop and exercise
their critical thinking skills.
The Dichotomy
Microeconomics-macroeconomics is not Pertinent
Jorge Iván González [pdf] [html]
[Key words: dichotomy micro-macro, microfoundation,
Walras, Edgeworth, Keynes; JEL: A29, B21, B22]
Professor González criticizes the separation of the
microeconomic and the macroeconomics, he considers this
inadequate not only from the theoretical point of view, but
also from a pedagogical perspective. The first part of the
article shows how economic theory has been built without
differentiating micro from macro. For he the great authors
do not separate them. The next part of the article shows the
intrinsic fragilities of micro and it questions the
pertinence of the microfoundation of macro; if micro is weak,
then it cannot support the macro. The article ends by
mentioning some important areas in contemporary economic
discussion that could be studied without making such
distinction.
Higher Education in
Colombia and the Political Transaction Costs Theory
Omar D. Peña N. [pdf] [html]
[Key words: political transaction costs, public policies,
higher education, organizational behaviour,
interorganizational cooperation; JEL: I28, D63, D78, L14]
This essay argues how the structure of higher education
in Colombia is a reflection of a dependent organizational
political contract with tenuous advances on independence.
Therefore, its implementation requires higher cost in terms
of political transaction compared with a contract of
interdependent nature. This leads to an unequal distribution
of quality and an unequal coverage, because it will favour
mature institutions of higher education located in Bogotá,
Medellín, Cali and Bucaramanga, over emergent institutions.
Professor Peña justify normatively a new contract, and
propose a policy with emphasis in connectivity, its
formulation and implementation would reduce the costs of
political transaction and the inequity without too much
sacrifice in the efficiency.
Gerardo Molina and the
Provident State
Gonzalo Cataño [pdf] [html]
[Key words: Gerardo Molina, provident State; JEL: B29,
A10, H19, H89]
In this essay, Gonzalo Cataño examines the ideas on the
State defended by the notable thinker and Colombian
socialist leader: Gerardo Molina. The article presents a
brief biography, followed by a study of his ideas concerning
the functions of the State. Although a critical tone
predominates all way through the article, it must be
remembered that the limitations of an intelligent analyst of
the public subjects are always more instructive than the
correct considerations of a trivial expositor of the policy.
The paper defines Provident State - also known as Welfare
State or Supportive State- as a State that guarantees
minimum standards of income, health, food, housing,
education and labor, as political rights, not charity.
Historical Previous of
Colombian Foreign Debt. From The Pax Britannica to Pax
American
Mauricio Avella Gómez [pdf] [html]
[Key Words: foreign debt, capital flows, foreign
investment, Pax Britannica, Pax Americana; JEL: E22, F21,
F34, N20]
This second paper from Mauricio Avella describes the
complete cycle of capital exports originating in the United
States in the 1920's: the conversion of United States into a
creditor nation; the role of New York as the dominant
financial center; and the distribution of United States
investments, particularly in South America. Moreover, it
examines the availability of these exports to Colombia, and
the consequences from collapsing of external credit granted
by the United States. Finally, it reviews the balance of the
main international creditors when the export cycle of
American capital closed in the 1920's.
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