Listener 7 November, 1981.
 

Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy;
 

With the examination season in full swing, there must be a few younger readers – plus their concerned parents and other relatives – who are contemplating a career in economics. No certification is needed to become a professional economist, but most economists have been through a programme of education and training, which can begin at secondary school.
 

Any general secondary school programme is a sound foundation for a career in economics, particularly if it includes history and mathematics. History faces the student with a set of “facts” and interpretations and, if it is taught well, with the problem of reconciling these into a coherent but by no means unique overview –  not uncommon task of the economist. It will also improve one’s writing skills.
 

The role of mathematics in economics is more problematic. Some academic economists require high mathematical attainment by their students, sometimes higher than they have attained themselves. I consider such an attitude misguided. Certainly mathematics can be a great help but it can also be a hindrance; the symbolism can obscure the social realities of economic processes.
 

It is not uncommon for the careless mathematical economist to make ludicrous mistakes when applying his studies to the real world, because the mathematics he is using has simplified the problem past the point of relevance. It is because mathematics is not an empirical science that an economist needs history.
 

Nonetheless, mathematics is an extraordinarily powerful tool. My advice to the aspiring economist is to do as much as he or she can” and to make sure it is understood- even at the price of going back and repeating the year. But when the mathematics gets to the point of pain, give it up, and’ if your economics tutor requires more mathematics than you have, then change your tutor.
 

I have not recommended doing economics at secondary school. If you want. to, and have the space within your programme, then of course take it. But all first-year university courses assume that the student starts fresh, and in the long run a language, a physical science, biology, geography, literature, music or whatever, may be more valuable.
 

There is no “best” university in New Zealand for economics. Each has its own distinctive style and areas of concern, which will suit some students and not others. If one university’s style does not suit you, then vote with your feet.
 

(For such vociferous proponents of freedom of choice and the market, our university economists have not been very active in offering distinctive course options to their students. However, at least one university is an exception, and I expect that over the next few years other local monopolies will disappear.)
 

There is no need to confine the university major course to economics. Some of our best economists majored in agricultural economics, while economic history and social statistics have also produced very good professional economists. Or you could graduate in some other subject and then transfer to special programmes in economics. Graduates from backgrounds as diverse as chemical engineering and history have taken these “knight’s move” courses, called after the
knight’s move of the chessboard up (to an honours degree) and across (to an economics  major).
 

As well as a major, most university programmes include minors, or courses in related subjects. Again, there is no best minor. Indeed, the profession needs a diversity of programme, so that it can contribute to areas like ecosystems, family life, the energy crisis, company profitability, health expenditure, forestry etc. Almost certainly the student’s course will include some statistics, though usually as an integral part of the economics programme.
 

After graduation it is vital to leave the university world for a couple of years for business or government. Without such practical experience, the economist is akin to the medic who has investigated only live rats and dead people. After that, you could go back to university or overseas to do a doctorate. Overseas experience of one sort or another is vital for a mature economist, so that he or she can escape the narrow view that whatever happens in the New Zealand economy or in the textbooks is the only possibility.
 

Opportunities for well qualified economists are likely to remain good, even if every adolescent reader of this column is persuaded to become one. Today the biggest employers Treasury, the Reserve Bank, research institutes and teaching institutions cannot get enough graduate entrants. Even if they could, any surplus would be rapidly absorbed by other government departments and by business.
 

And since a good economics education is also a good general education, at the very worst. the graduate economist would be no worse off than the student who took a general university degree with no vocational content.