Pluralist economics curricula: do they work; and how would we know?

This paper aims to illuminate the debate on pluralist economics curricula by examining ways in which such curricula are evaluated. The paper argues for pluralism as a general approach and as pedagogy. It argues that there is a plurality of pluralist curricula. It further argues that pluralist curricula have multiple goals, implying multiple criteria for their success. The paper then examines the potential for experimental methods to evaluate pluralist curricula. It is argued that for general and specific reasons, experimental methods are unlikely to be illuminating. Rather, the paper argues for a mixed approach, entailing different types of data, different metrics of success, and a variety of data collection and analysis methods. It is claimed finally that the existing (albeit scant) evidence on pluralist curricula already employs many of the principles of pluralist evaluation.