Assessing Heterodox Economics in a European Context ­ A Workshop - Call for paper

Assessing Heterodox Economics in a European Context ­ A Workshop
You are invited to submit a paper for a Workshop on Assessing Economic Research in a European Context: the future of Heterodox economics and its research in a non-pluralist mainstream environment
26-27 June 2009, University of Bremen, Germany

Because they are an essential component of national and European Commission policy guidelines for allocating research funds, assessing the quality of research, ranking journals and departments, and benchmarking subject matter of disciplines dominates higher education in Europe. For the case of economics, neoclassical economists have
used the assessment processes to dismiss heterodox economists and classify their research as 'weak' economics. As a result, they have manipulated the policy guidelines to deny heterodox economists access to research funds. As long as national and European Commission policy guidelines are used to allocate research funds to further develop research capabilities of economists and their departments, it is incumbent upon heterodox economists to propose alternative research
assessment methodologies, alternative approaches for evaluating the scholarly contributions of journals and departments, and broader less discriminatory criteria for evaluating funding proposals. However, with the exception of the special issue of On the Horizon: Publishing, Refereeing, Ranking, and the Future of Heterodox Economics (2008), heterodox economists have not been sensitive enough towards
these issues—with the result that, with some exceptions, their views have not been heard by national funding councils or by the European Commission. This Workshop is a first step to rectifying this situation.
If you want to present a paper that addresses any of the Workshop themes or on a theme that is relevant to the Workshop, please contact one of the Workshop organizers below. The deadline for paper proposals is 31 March 2009. Please send an abstract (one page) to Fred Lee (leefs@umkc.edu). Decisions will be made by 15 April March 2009. Accepted papers should be sent in by 1 June 2009 so that they
can be distributed to the participants in the Workshop.
Website: www.iino.de/elsner