Teaching Economics: The Experience in Calcutta University

Int. J. Pluralism and Economics Education, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2013 407 Teaching economics: the experience at the University of Calcutta Mahalaya Chatterjee Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Department of Economics, University of Calcutta, CU Alipore Campus, 1 Reformatory Street, A wing 6th floor, Kolkata 7000027, West Bengal, India E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Economics is one of the most prestigious departments of the 154 years old, University of Calcutta. Not only had the post-graduate department of the university but a number of its affiliated colleges boasted of legendary teachers and equally famous students over the years. However, for the last ten years or so, there is a decline in the number of students taking admission to the undergraduate honours course. In the era of globalisation and free-market economy, where the knowledge of economics is becoming more and more necessary, what can be the reason for such a decline? Searching for the answer was not very easy. A number of reasons were forwarded from different quarters and one of them was the syllabi, overloaded with mathematics. This paper takes a critical look into the reasons for the apathy of students to study the subject and the vision behind the complete makeover of the syllabi. Keywords: University of Calcutta; political economy; career choices; tools and techniques; application-orientation; project preparation; economics. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Chatterjee, M. (2013) ‘Teaching economics: the experience at the University of Calcutta’, Int. J. Pluralism and Economics Education, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp.407–417. Biographical notes: Mahalaya Chatterjee is in the Faculty of Post-Graduate Department of Economics in University of Calcutta. She is also the Director of Centre for Urban Economic Studies of the University as well as a member of the Undergraduate Board of Studies in Economics and Postgraduate Faculty Council of the same university. 1 Introduction Economics, the Queen of Social Science, can be called the confluence of many disciplines. It can be extremely philosophical in its discourse or it can be totally market-oriented, modifying itself to the need of its client. And its diverse nature is because of changes it has to cater in its journey from the later part of the 18th century, roughly coinciding with the maturing phase of Industrial Revolution and accumulation of capital in the western countries. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. 408 M. Chatterjee Adam Smith, the Father of Economics, was a professor of Moral Philosophy, from where he started his journey to develop the discipline of economics. Thus, the base of the subject is strongly rooted in philosophy. On the other hand, as the functioning of the economy depends on the system of governance and political ideas of the ruling class, this discipline also had its contribution in the initial development of the subject. So in its life span of two centuries and a quarter, economics not only described the nature and causes of wealth and its distribution but also the ethical issues behind them. Again, the political system of the country is much dependent on the historical process of development of the country, the understanding of the economy requires the learning of the historical process which has shaped the economy and utilised the natural and human resources. On the other hand, dependence on mathematics and statistics is also necessary for learning economics. Over the years, they have become absolutely essential tools for the discipline. The need for statistics is for understanding and interpreting numerical data and using them for understanding and analysing the economic system and the different processes going on within it. Application of mathematics started with the use of geometry and algebra for pictorial and functional representation of different concepts of economics. The use of calculus is related with the treatment of time – the transition of analysis from the static to the dynamic system. Thus, it is obvious that learning and practising economics needs not only acquaintance but a thorough understanding of a number of diverse subjects. Language and writing skills are equally important. This makes the teaching of economics a challenging task compared to an apparently difficult discipline like physics, which in a sense is of single dimension. In this context, this paper is an attempt to describe the complete overhauling of the undergraduate syllabus of University of Calcutta in 2010 with some references to corresponding changes in the postgraduate syllabus. This paper is organised as follows: after this introductory section, the Section 2 describes the scenario of learning and teaching in University of Calcutta. Section 3 is logical discussion on the new syllabus followed by a concluding section. 2 Demand and supply side of economics teaching University of Calcutta, a premier university, was established in 1857, the first university in British India. After being an affiliating university, it started post-graduate teaching at the turn of the century and the post-graduate department of economics started in 1914. From then, it can boast not only legendary teachers but also equally illustrious students. Economics was one of the most coveted subjects in the university. Students graduating have marked their presence not only in academics but every sphere of life – administration, banking, foreign service, management, the legal profession to name a few. But suddenly after a century, there is no demand for seats for studying the honours course in the subject. The total number of students admitted hardly reaches two digit levels and in the third year of the course, only one or two students are left. Given the global situation, there is no indication that a degree in economics has no value in job and other markets. Then what explains such a fall in demand? Teaching economics 409 Let us start with the fact that economics is the only subject in the science stream in the college level, which does not demand any prior knowledge in the subject. That is, when a student wants to study physics, chemistry, mathematics or bio-science, it is essential that he/she has studied it in the last (higher secondary) level. Rather better colleges generally test the knowledge of mathematics and English of the incumbents. So, there is no demand at the high school level to study the subject for pursuing it in the higher level may sound inconsistent, but we will discuss its implications later. From the late ‘70s, keeping up with US tradition, the undergraduate course in economics was tilted towards mathematics, not only within the discipline itself but also mathematics was almost a compulsory subsidiary subject. It was assumed without mathematics as a pass subject, one would not be able to tackle honours course in economics. So, a strong background and aptitude in mathematics was thought to be prime requirement of studying economics, not an inclination for the discipline itself. This also bared a student passing high school with a subject combination of history, economics and political science or any other combination without mathematics from studying economics honours. Now, let us find out, who opted for economics and why? To be very truthful, apart from a handful of students, who had economic-mathematics combination at the high school, it was the students of pure science, who crowded the classes of economics honours. As for a long time, the entry to professional courses like medicine and technology was too constricted, the students of the science stream, who did not get the chance to study these, they opted for economics, rather than going for a honours course in physics or chemistry. If one reason for such a choice was their foundation in mathematics, the other was the varied option of career that waited after the undergraduate stage. Those, who did not opt for higher education in economics, took it as a foundation to many other career options. Three very prestigious career choices in the postgraduate level, benefitted from a basic foundation of economics in the undergraduate level. The first was obviously management studies. Though the admission procedures for premier B-schools consisted of testing the knowledge of mathematics and English, having knowledge of economics was an added advantage for facing the personal interview or group discussion. The knowledge of economics also made the candidate well-versed in current affairs. So, many aspiring managers took economics as their choicest subject in their undergraduate level. The second group was the would-be administrators in the state, national or international level. For appearance in any competitive examination, in state and national level, acquaintance with economics was an added advantage. Over the years, many administrators came out this particular discipline. This is also true for the examinations for the jobs in different nationalised banks. The third group were aspirants in law, accountancy and peripheral jobs like company secretaries. Many students of economics, instead of going into higher studies in their own discipline, had shifted and excelled. Many of them admitted that the analytical thrust of the discipline along with awareness about the functioning of the economy, the relationship and interaction among different organisations and institutions helped them master their chosen profession. 410 M. Chatterjee Unfortunately, these reasons for choosing economics have recently dried up. The opening of engineering and technical education to the private sector, especially, in the last decade, a large number of science students get admitted to different streams of engineering. So, not many students of science background with aptitude and inclination towards mathematics remain to opt for economics. Others from humanities and social science background, who do not have mathematics as a subject in higher secondary course, are already barred from studying honours in economics. The other group, who has the subject but without any aptitude and inclination (reflected by a low number in HS examination), finds not only the honours course but all the three papers of mathematics too tough for them. Thus, the better students of both humanities and science, do not opt for the subject and only students in the lower rung of science background are forced to study the subject. The other group, for whom economics was the foundation course to other career options, is also shunning the subject. One reason is that for some courses like law and management students can go for integrated courses just after the higher secondary level. For others sitting for competitive examinations of different types, there are softer options than economics. For banking and other services, there are specialised, professional courses, which serve them better. So, from the demand side, one can say there is a noticeable change in the lower direction. On the supply side, in general, over the years, there is a visible tilt towards theoretical economics, mathematics and statistics. We have already said that, economics (honours) is probably one subject, for which no prior knowledge in the subject is required. So, a student would easily lose interest, if he is pushed into dry theoretical discussions along with heavy dose of calculus and econometrics. Secondly, the orientation of the syllabus and the teaching was too much bookish encouraging mugging without understanding the subject. The analytical thrust as well as down to earth nature of the subject remained totally unknown to the student. He had no chance to apply his knowledge to problems around him. Once, a major component of the syllabus was economic history, not only of India, but also of other advanced countries of the world. Gradually, they had to give way to include new issues and ideas like environment, gender, etc. and the emphasis was on theoretical models rather than understanding the process. Even, Indian economics curriculum also became a shopping list, to be ticked and mugged. On the whole, there was little in the course, which could arouse the interest a new entrant. So, not only there were few takers at the initial level, but the rate of drop-outs and failure were also high in the honours course, not to mention those who left unable to cope with the load of three papers of mathematics as a subsidiary subject. So, in the third (final) year of the course, in a middle-ranking college, there were either no students left or it was reduced to one or two students. On the whole, there was a total mismatch between the demand and supply – the students opting for the subject were unable to cope with demand of the syllabus. In this difficult state of affairs, the Undergraduate Board of studies (UGBOS) in economics at the University of Calcutta was entrusted by the higher authority to revise the syllabus. The UGBOS took it as a challenge and decided to overhaul the whole structure to make it more interesting, understandable and down to earth, with a clear shift towards application. In the next section, we will discuss the papers of the new syllabus with the logic behind it. Teaching economics Table 1 411 University of Calcutta: BA/BSc Economics Honours in Economics (structure) Year Paper sl. Paper name Note about the content 1st year IA Microeconomic principles 50 IB Macroeconomic principles Basic concepts and principles of microeconomics, macroeconomics, money and banking, international trade and public economics. Treatment should be non-mathematical but at the same time maintain analytical precision. IIA Statistics for economics Statistical tools with examples of their uses in economics 50 IIB Mathematics for economics Mathematical tools with examples of their uses in economics 50 2nd year 3rd year Marks 200 50 200 IIIA Microeconomics Content to be determined in relation to paper IA and IB 50 IIIB Macroeconomics Content to be determined in relation to paper IA and IB 50 IVA Development theory Basic concepts and theories and analytical issues in development economics 50 IVB Indian economy since independence Specific aspects of Indian economy since independence, e.g., the structure of economy and its change, demography and employment, agriculture, industry, planning, etc. 50 400 VA International economics Basic theories relating to trade in a liberalised world 50 VB Public economics Comprehensive idea about the presence, role and function of the government sector in the economy 50 VIA Comparative development experience Cross country experience with respect to various aspects of development. 50 VIB Contemporary economic issues: India and West Bengal Focus would be on economic reform and other specific topics for India and a component of 20 marks on the state (West Bengal) economy 50 VIIA Statistics and basic econometrics Up to 2-variable basic CLRM with applications 50 VIIB Applied economics (1) Application of mathematics for economics/(2)Application of economics for managerial problems 50 VIIIA Indian economic history Prior to Independence 50 VIIIB Project 50 412 3 M. Chatterjee New approach Traditionally, the Honours course in University of Calcutta is of 800 marks, consisting of eight papers, to be spread over three years. In the first two years, students have to appear for two hundred marks of honours papers and the remaining four hundred marks remain for the final year. The new approach has to be incorporated within this structure. And so the challenge was not only the new approach towards learning the subject but also introduce new subjects, include contemporary issues, reduce the load of theory and mathematics and to make the course more application-oriented. Table 1 explains the basic structure of the new course curriculum. Let us discuss how the problems we have talked about are tackled in this particular structure. As one can see, in the first year, there are four papers of 50 marks, these four together can be called the basic foundation of the course. The first two papers (IA and IB) deal with the principles of the subject – micro and macro perspectives respectively. These papers introducing the subject of economics to the student. This is a departure from the earlier situation, where the student started studying the subject as ‘theory’. Both these papers are at the basic conceptual level, so the student can understand without memorising. The other two papers are introduction to the basic tools of analysis – mathematics and statistics. It may be noted that the papers ‘mathematics for economics’ and ‘statistics for economics’. These are designed to teach the actual methods required for economic analysis. On one hand, it frees the students from the burden of going through three papers of mathematics as a subsidiary subject, on the other, he learns the tool and its application simultaneously – it is not the case that he learns about linear programming in mathematics class and starts thinking about its utility for a student majoring in economics. The same is true for statistics also. In the second year, the student is introduced to economic theory, to micro and macro in papers IIIA and IIIB, respectively. All the basic theories are included in these two papers. This may sound heavy, but as the student has already been introduced to these principles, it is expected that he can easily master the theoretical understanding. Of the other two papers, one is development economics – which focuses on the deficiencies of mainstream theoretical economics in dealing with specific problems of developing economies; and the other is on the Indian economy after independence until liberalisation. This paper is designed to highlight the major policy changes in the country in chronological order and its effects. In the third year, there are eight papers. The first two are concerned with the public domain of the domestic economy and the international sphere. As before, the student acquired the conceptual introduction in the introductory course; so, the theoretical understanding will be less cumbersome than the previous syllabus. The next two papers are concerned with different development experiences. Rather than study the economic history of sundry countries separately, the paper on ‘Comparative development experiences’ tries to bring together the experiences of a number of countries with varied economic philosophy on a particular sector. This paper concludes with an introduction to the present international economic order. The other paper is about the progress of Indian economy for the last 20 years and relevant issues and debates. This paper also introduces the economy of the state (West Bengal) in a preliminary level. Though in most other Indian states, there is a tradition of teaching condition and progress of the economy at the Teaching economics 413 regional and state-level, it was not the case in West Bengal. So, the specialities and peculiarities of the state economy and the major trends are highlighted in the paper. There is another paper on statistics and econometrics, focusing on advanced topics in statistics with econometrics at an introductory level. The emphasis is again on the application of the tool for economic analysis and not on statistics itself. The paper VIIIA is about the economic history of India in the pre-independence period focusing on the effect of the colonial policies on the indigenous economy and the transition of the country with major infrastructural changes (e.g., railways). There are two major departures from the earlier syllabus for this final year. The first is giving a choice to the student. We have already noted that present students are not very much inclined to mathematics. So, here she is given a choice to study or not to study higher level of mathematical economics. If she wants she can opt for a version of managerial economics – more application-oriented, which will prepare her for the job-market, rather than higher studies in economics. The second departure is the introduction of a project. Earlier, he was tested on an essay – which came down to rewriting a previously prepared writing in the examination hall. But here, for the first time the student will get a chance to do something on his own. He can choose on a topic from what he has studied and he can prepare a theoretical discourse or an empirical investigation with guidance from his teachers. He will be examined on the prepared project followed by a viva-voce. This will help him whether he opts for job market after his graduation or opts for higher studies. Now, in what way does this particular syllabus differ from the earlier one? Firstly, it has tried to account for the reasons behind the reduction in supply of the students, which were internal to the system. The Undergraduate Board of Studies could do nothing about the exodus of the students to private engineering colleges or any other professional course, but it could reduce the load of mathematics both as a subsidiary subject and within the syllabus of economics honours itself. The first year course is devoted to understanding the content of the subject and the tools necessary for analysis at the advanced level. The introduction to theory is in the second year, after the student understands the basics. The teachers are asked to start with examples of everyday life, so that a student can relate the happenings around him with the basic principles of economics. The paradigm shift in favour of conceptualisation and analysis is apparent in all the papers of the syllabus, including Indian economics. So more emphasis is given to studying the prescribed texts and specific pages of the texts for all papers in the published syllabus, so there is no confusion about what to read or how much to read. Consequently, the pattern of questions is also changed. Now, the examination paper is set with small analytical and problem-oriented questions rather than with long descriptive questions. The third change is the option of studying advanced courses in mathematical economics. Not all students will go for higher studies in the subject. So they will be made ready for the job market, with applications of economics to managerial problems. The other group will be equipped for more analytical tools of economics. Another significant change concerns development experiences including India. One may or may not agree with ‘India shining’, but one has to agree that in the last six decades, India’s effort to transform itself from a backward colonial economy, singularly dependent on agriculture, to the ‘back-office of the world’ is a story worthwhile studying. So the analytical emphasis on the reasons behind the policies, their effects, the due 414 M. Chatterjee importance to social sectors and environment and gender issues will equip students with the application of theories and also the ‘technique’ of policy-making – the job most economics students will enter. The treatment of development experiences of other countries in a comparative framework will also help students properly contextualise India in the globalised world. The final departure is the introduction of the project paper in the final year of the course. Creating something on hers own and defending it, will increase student confidence and prepare her for the job market – as in most of the cases, employers want innovative minds. Prior experience in ‘doing something on her own’ will place her in a better position in the interview board. Teaching from this syllabus started in the academic year 2010 to 2011. Feedback about the course from college teachers is favourable for both teaching and examination pattern; so it is expected that there will be no major problem for the two other parts. 4 Conclusions This paper investigates the recent problem faced by the University of Calcutta of dwindling students in the undergraduate honours course of economics in most of the colleges. The reasons were analysed and the syllabus was transformed to account for most of the academic reasons. The transformation of teaching of economics with emphasis of understanding and development of analytical ability was another aim. Last but not the least, was to maintain the continuity of this syllabus with the postgraduate syllabus of the university. This syllabus revision was done earlier in 2007. There were also important changes with introduction of computer application and group projects and specialised software for courses on operation research and econometrics. In 2009, the teaching and examination was changed to semester system, which led to the change in the course structure in the second year (third and fourth semester) with more choice for optional papers and combinations of them. Earlier the students were offered one special field and two optional fields whereas now, they can choose three optional fields from three types of courses (theory, technique and policy). So, this course is also designed to make the student more equipped to enter the job market, not to mention ease of entry in higher realms of academic world (the structure of the course is given in Appendix). It will be a matter of time to assess the effects of such changes. Appendix A Detailed course structure of MA/MSc (economics) Semester I Paper I Microeconomic theory (50 marks) Paper II Mathematical methods of economics (50 marks) Paper III Globalisation and development I (50 marks) Paper IV Computer applications (50 marks) Teaching economics Paper V Internal assessment I (50 marks) Semester II Paper VI Macroeconomic theory (50 marks) Paper VII Econometric methods (50 marks) Paper VIII Globalisation and development II (50 marks) Paper IX Indian economic issues and quantitative studies Paper IXA Indian economic issues (25 marks) Paper IXB Group project on Indian economy (25 marks) Paper X Internal assessment II (50 marks) Semester III Paper XI Frontiers of economic theory (50 marks) Paper XII Special field (Group A) (50 marks) Paper XIII Special field (Group B) (50 marks) Paper XIV Special field (Group C) (50 marks) Paper XV Internal assessment III (50 marks) Semester IV Paper XVI History of economic ideas (50 marks) Paper XVII Special field (Group A) (50 marks) Paper XVIII Special field (Group B) (50 marks) Paper XIX Special field (Group C) (50 marks) Paper XX Internal assessment IV (50 marks) Special fields Papers XII, XIII, XIV (Semester 3) and XVII and XVIII, XIX (Semester 4). 415 416 Table A1 Code M. Chatterjee Group A Course title AA Advanced macroeconomics AB Equilibrium and games AC International economics Course description I. Macroeconomic theory II. Techniques of modern macroeconomics I. Equilibrium theory II. Games and information I. Trade theory and policy under perfect competition II. Trade, imperfect competition and development Paper XII(AA) XVII(AA) XII(AB) XVII(AB) XII(AC) XVII(AC) AD Monetary economics I. Theory of monetary economics II. Theory of monetary policy AE Urban economics I. Urbanisation and urban development XII(AE) II. Urban growth and urban management XVII(AE) AF Public economics I. Theory of public economics II. Indian public economics XVII(AF) AG Economics of industry I. Industrial economics XII(AG) II. Industry in India Table A2 Course title BA Advanced econometric theory BC XVII(AD) XII(AF) XVII(AG) Group B Code BB XII(AD) Applied econometrics with computer applications Operations research Course description Paper I. Econometrics and data analysis II. Multivariate techniques in social science research XIII(BA) I. Applied econometrics I XIII(BB) II. Applied econometrics II XVIII(BB) I. Techniques of operations research i (deterministic models) XIII(BC) II. Techniques of operations research II (probabilistic models) XVIII(BC) Corporate finance XVIII(BA) BD Economics of finance I. XIII(BD) II. International finance BE Indian economic analysis I. Managing the domestic economy II. India in global economy BF Development management I. Human development approach XIII(BF) II. Development and opportunities XVIII(BF) BG Agricultural economics I. Agricultural economics XIII(BG) II. Agriculture in India XVIII(BD) XIII(BE) XVIII(BE) XVIII(BG) Teaching economics Table A3 Code CA CB CC CD CE 417 Group C Course title Labour economics Rural economics Urban planning Health economics Resource and environmental economics Course description Paper I. Labour economics XIV(CA) II. Labour in India XIX(CA) I. Rural economics XIV(CB) II. Rural development in practice XIX(CB) I. Urban planning: theories and experiences XIV(CC) II. Urban planning techniques XIX(CC) I. Health, development and related issues XIV(CD) II. Healthcare market and project XIX(CD) I. Resource and environmental economics I XIV(CE) II. Resource and environmental economics II XIX(CE) I. Capital and class XIV(CF) CF Economics of Marx II. Value, development and globalisation XIX(CF) CG Political economy of development I. A critique of the political economy of development XIV(CG) II. Development issues and policy with reference to India XIX(CG)