IS THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS A CRISIS OF ACADEMIC ECONOMICS AND ECONOMICS EDUCATION? A RESEARCH ON THE PERCEPTIONS OF TURKISH ECONOMISTS

The global financial crisis has triggered considerable debate concerning economics as an academic discipline and the education of economists. This paper explores the relationship between the global financial crisis, mainstream economics and the future of economics education in the Turkish context. Using a questionnaire administered to academicians teaching economics in Turkish universities, we aim to determine their perceptions of the relationship between mainstream economics and the current crisis by using factor analysis. We determined that the academicians were of the opinion that mainstream economics played an important role in the occurrence of the crisis. Our study reveals that, it is necessary to develop more realistic models to be used in economics and to establish a more productive relationship with other social sciences such as history, sociology and politics. This development requires a framework for economics education with a more pluralistic orientation that allows for different theoretical frameworks.