Economics that meets the moment
We are the Association for Quality Economics; ensuring all economics education is consistent, future-focused, and capable of answering society’s biggest questions.
The economics discipline is in crisis.
As the world and its economies lurch from one economic shock to the next, most economics curricula remain stagnant, unable to address the big challenges we face, such as climate breakdown, falling living standards and rising inequality.
Too often, university economics feels disconnected from those realities, their courses disproportionately focused on complex mathematical theories and methods, while key questions on inequality and distribution go unanswered.
To make economics relevant to our time, able to tackle the big issues, and crucially to make the world a better place, we need to broaden the scope of the questions we ask and how we answer them.
Accreditation will allow us to move forwards together.
Accreditation is an important mechanism to broaden economics’ focus, method and approach to ensure it can provide answers to the world’s pressing questions. Accreditation’s power in this space is reflected in other professions’ use of accreditation to align curricula with public purpose and evolving practice.
The QAA benchmark standards provide a useful guideline and some space for convening, discussion and consensus building. However, there is currently no clear mechanism through which universities can signal to prospective students and employers that their economics courses are adhering to those standards. A UK accreditation framework would provide that signal, indicating to students and employers that their economics degree is relevant, welcoming, and future-facing.
“I joined AQE because it’s student-led, future-focused, and committed to reimagining economics education for a fairer, more sustainable world."
