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Reforming the education of economists in Europe: Breaking the tyranny of the top five

Henrekson, Magnus ; Jonung, Lars LU and Lundahl, Mats (2025)
Abstract
Many European countries have adopted the American model of doctoral training and academic evaluation. While this model suits America’s vast, mobile labour market, in Europe it has created perverse incentives and distorted research priorities. This column argues that Europe needs a more pluralistic, socially grounded, and inclusive system for the training of economists. It proposes a two-track approach for PhD training and evaluation that balances both frontier research and applied economics and policy. Europe should also consider broader evaluation and promotion criteria, more diversified PhD programmes, invest in policy-oriented research institutes, and promote the social relevance of the discipline.
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publication status
published
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publisher
voxeu.org
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
47e1ece4-c5d3-4647-bc77-9227b4188628
alternative location
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/reforming-education-economists-europe-breaking-tyranny-top-five
date added to LUP
2025-09-30 13:32:40
date last changed
2025-09-30 13:32:40
@misc{47e1ece4-c5d3-4647-bc77-9227b4188628,
  abstract     = {{Many European countries have adopted the American model of doctoral training and academic evaluation. While this model suits America’s vast, mobile labour market, in Europe it has created perverse incentives and distorted research priorities. This column argues that Europe needs a more pluralistic, socially grounded, and inclusive system for the training of economists. It proposes a two-track approach for PhD training and evaluation that balances both frontier research and applied economics and policy. Europe should also consider broader evaluation and promotion criteria, more diversified PhD programmes, invest in policy-oriented research institutes, and promote the social relevance of the discipline.}},
  author       = {{Henrekson, Magnus and Jonung, Lars and Lundahl, Mats}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  publisher    = {{voxeu.org}},
  title        = {{Reforming the education of economists in Europe: Breaking the tyranny of the top five}},
  url          = {{https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/reforming-education-economists-europe-breaking-tyranny-top-five}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}