The hegemony of neoclassical economics education: Exploring the incorporation of ecological economics into undergraduate economics curricula in the Czech Republic

Sammanfattning

Economics education continues to reproduce an economics paradigm divorced from the material reality of climate change and environmental degradation. This thesis investigated the inclusion of ecological economics as an alternative paradigm in the Czech undergraduate economics curricula by employing a mixed methods approach. The content analysis revealed that the chosen programmes do not integrate ecological economics. Environmental topics are included, but mostly (in 85% of cases) only in elective courses. The analysis of interviews revealed that the main barriers for ecological economics include the hegemony of neoclassical economics, economic growth, neoliberal ideology, and the view of economics as a positive value-free science. Moreover, the hegemony has been deeply institutionalised through mechanisms of institutional isomorphism, leading to a homogenisation of the curricula. The expansion of ecological economics is also hindered by epistemological discrepancies within the discipline itself. The future visions for ecological economics in the Czech Republic mostly favour bottom-up approaches.