This assignment is to encourage you to look at an
important contemporary issue from the perspective of both orthodox and
heterodox economics. We have chosen the topics for the following reasons
• Topic one (on reparations) looks at how economics deals with decisions
over time
• Topic two (on migration) looks at how economics deals with spatial
relationships
• Topic three (on inequality) looks at how economics deals with relations
between sectors
• Topic four (on subsidies) looks at how economics deals with the relationship
between the public and the private sector
• Topic five (on growth) looks at how economics deals with the relationship
between humanity and nature.
Once you have chosen your topic, the first stage is to think carefully about
how an orthodox (neo-classical) economist would approach this topic.
Consider the assumptions and approaches to modelling that we will look at in
the early weeks of the module and then try to apply them to the topic in question, also drawing on your experience in previous modules on your course. The
following weeks on heterodox economics should help you with the second part
of the question but will also be of use for the first part. Remember that one
important way of understanding the approach taken by orthodox economists to
key questions is to look at how that approach has been criticised and to think
about the strengths and weaknesses of those criticisms. Once you have
thought through the approach that orthodox economists have taken to these
issues you can then move on to consider a heterodox critique of that approach.
Remember that there are a wide variety of possible critiques of this kind and
we are only asking you to use one heterodox standpoint in this assignment (for
example to provide a feminist critique of orthodox analysis or an ecological
critique but not both). There is no set rule for dividing up the two parts of the
assignment but we would suggest a guideline of 2,000-2,500 words for part 1
and 1,500-2,000 for part 2, making sure that you keep within the limit of 4,000
words in total.
