Teaching Economic Dynamism by Edmund S. Phelps - Project...

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EDUCATION
EDMUND S. PHELPS
Edmund S. Phelps, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Director of Columbia Universitys Center
on Capitalism and Society and Dean of the Newhuadu Business School.
One of the worlds leading experts on the sources of economic dynamism, he is the author of
many books, including
Rewarding Work and
Mass Flourishing.

SEP 2, 2014

Teaching Economic Dynamism

NEW YORK Business leaders oen argue that the widening education gap the
disparity between what young people learn and the skills that the job market demands
is a leading contributor to high unemployment and slow growth in many countries. For
their part, governments seem convinced that the best way to close the gap is to increase
the number of students pursuing degrees in the so-called STEM subjects (science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics). Are they right?
The short answer is no. Indeed, the two main arguments underpinning claims that
inadequate education is to blame for poor economic performance are weak, at best.
The first argument is that the lack of appropriately skilled workers is preventing
companies from investing in more advanced equipment. But that is not how economic
development usually works. Instead, firms begin to invest, and either workers respond
to the possibility of higher wages by acquiring (at their own cost) the required skills, or
firms provide their current and future employees with the relevant training.
The second argument is that it is increasingly dicult for the United States and other
advanced countries to match the gains that developing countries have achieved by
investing heavily in upgraded equipment, targeted higher education, and skills training.
But, again, this contradicts traditional trade dynamics, in which one countrys success
does not imply hardship for another.
In theory, of course, a simultaneous shi in several countries toward STEM-focused

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Teaching Economic Dynamism by Edmund S. Phelps - Project...

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secondary and higher education with large concomitant productivity gains could
diminish the competitiveness of an economy that made no such eort. But this scenario
is highly unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future.
In fact, the proliferation of highly specialized universities in Europe has failed to
buttress economic growth or employment. And the conversion of comprehensive
universities into specialized institutes for science and technology in the Soviet Union
and communist China did nothing to avert economic disaster in those economies.
(Chinas top universities now oer two-year programs that emulate the structure of
American liberal arts colleges.)
But the case for STEM education is even more fundamentally flawed, because it treats
an economy as an equation. According to this logic, job creation is a matter of slotting
humans into identifiable opportunities, and economic growth is a matter of increasing
the stock of human or physical capital, while exploiting scientific advances. This is a
dark view of modern economies, and a depressing blueprint for the future.
To lay the foundation for a future based on ideas and invention, businesses and
governments should consider how new products and methods emerged in some of
historys most innovative economies: the United Kingdom and the US as early as 1820,
and Germany and France later in the nineteenth century. In these economies,
innovation was powered not by global scientific progress, but by the populations
dynamism their desire, capacity, and latitude to create and willingness to allow the
financial sector to steer them away from unpromising pursuits.
The fact that innovative ideas have arisen largely from the dynamism of people belies
the conclusion that all economies require widespread STEM-focused education. Though
a larger STEM base can benefit some economies, most advanced countries already have
sucient capacity in these fields to apply foreign technologies and engineer their own.
What economies need instead is a boost in dynamism. The problem is that the
historically most innovative economies have lost much of their former dynamism,
despite retaining an edge in social media and some high-technology sectors. And others
for example, Spain and the Netherlands were never particularly dynamic. Meanwhile,
the emerging economies that are supposed to be filling the gap notably, China are
still falling short of the levels of innovation required to oset the declining benefits of
technology transfer.
In other words, economies today lack the spirit of innovation. Labor markets do not
need only more technical expertise; they require an increasing number of so skills, like
the ability to think imaginatively, develop creative solutions to complex challenges, and
adapt to changing circumstances and new constraints.

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Teaching Economic Dynamism by Edmund S. Phelps - Project...

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That is what young people need from education. Specifically, students must be exposed
to and learn to appreciate the modern values associated with individualism, which
emerged toward the end of the Renaissance and continued to gain traction through the
early twentieth century. Just as these values fueled dynamism in the past, they can
reinvigorate economies today.
A necessary first step is to restore the humanities in high school and university
curricula. Exposure to literature, philosophy, and history will inspire young people to
seek a life of richness one that includes making creative, innovative contributions to
society. Indeed, studying the canon will do more than provide young people with a set
of narrow skills; it will shape their perceptions, ambitions, and capabilities in new and
invigorating ways. In my book Mass Flourishing, I cite some key figures who articulate
and inspire modern values.
The humanities describe the ascent of the modern world. Countries worldwide can use
the humanities to develop or revive the economies that drove this ascent, while helping
individuals to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/edmund-s--phelps-argues-that-restoringhumanities-education-is-the-key-to-building-innovative-economies
1995-2014 Project Syndicate

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