What would a decolonised study of economics look like?

Abstract

The World Decolonization Forum was held in Istanbul in May. It projected that despite the withdrawal of colonial powers, the task of decolonising education remains. This is significant, as Indian intellectual Pankaj Mishra argues that the most consequential event of the 20th century was not the world wars, the Cold war, or the collapse of communism, but rather decolonisation.

The authors of Decolonizing Economics, which was published last year, argue that the issue is long overdue in economics. Their approach is to challenge Eurocentric foundations of economic theory. Economists, de Muijnck and Tieleman argue that economics textbooks often sideline topics of racism, colonialism, exploitation, and unequal life chances. They call for decolonising economics by including minority and global South voices that address these topics.

I include such critical perspectives in my microeconomics and macroeconomics classes and elective courses like Economics of Religion and Economics for Everyone. I elaborate how I decolonise economics in my classes as follows.