Economists seem to be everywhere in the media these days. But what exactly do today’s economists do? What and how are they taught? Updating David Colander and Arjo Klamer’s classic The Making of an Economist, this book shows what is happening in elite U.S. economics Ph.D. programs. By examining these programs, Colander gives a view of cutting-edge economics — and a glimpse at its likely future. And by comparing economics education today to the findings of the original book, the new book shows how much — and in what ways — the field has changed over the past two decades. The original book led to a reexamination of graduate education by the profession, and has been essential reading for prospective graduate students. Like its predecessor, The Making of an Economist, Redux is likely to provoke discussion within economics and beyond.

The book includes new interviews with students at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, and Columbia. In these conversations, the students — the next generation of elite economists — colorfully and frankly describe what they think of their field and what graduate economics education is really like. The book concludes with reflections by Colander, Klamer, and Robert Solow.