A study that was recently published in Ecological Economics shows that introductory courses in North American Universities continue to paint a picture where economic activities are not linked to the environment.

The article is based on interviews held with students attending the three largest public universities in Canada, all three having made sustainability commitments and offering degrees in economics as well as sustainability-oriented programmes.

In North America, 40% of university students take economics at the introductory level. This makes these courses an important vehicle for students to learn economic theory, as well as for increasing students' knowledge about sustainability and the linkages between economy and the environment.

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Textbook influence
The results from the interviews show that with a few exceptions, sustainability is not integrated in the course content: The vast majority of the interviewed students said that sustainability had never come up.

Instead the courses continue to reinforce simplistic assumptions that economic growth and increasing consumption will lead to improved wellbeing. These assumptions are not supported empirically, since wellbeing has stagnated in most rich countries for several decades now. They also endorse selfish behaviour that is problematic from a sustainability viewpoint.

Most of the students interviewed by Green stated that the courses were dominated by the textbooks. This of course means that the content of the textbooks will determine what the students will take away from the course.

In an earlier article, Green documented how economic textbooks have been found to try to downplay the environmental impact of economic activities. For instance, they sometimes include snide remarks concerning the Club of Rome's 1972 study Limits to Growth which was instrumental in awakening interest in sustainability.

Ducking out
More than 400 universities worldwide have made sustainability commitments to graduate students who are environmentally literate and ecologically responsible. This means that universities are expected, and committed, to provide their students with skills that are relevant to making ecologically responsible decisions in their lives.

At the same time, while a large proportion of university students attend introductory level economics, very few go on to specialize in the subject. The author argues that the focus of introductory courses in economics should therefore not be to prepare students for advanced studies in theoretical economics, but rather to improve their understanding of the economy.

"Considering both the sustainability commitments made by universities and the environmental issues humanity is facing, any curriculum teaching the basics of economics should include students getting insight into how economies interact with the overarching ecological contexts," says Green.

"However, rather than supporting the sustainability commitments of universities, my results indicate that introductory level courses in economics undermine them," he concludes.

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