Teaching Economics in the Southern
African Periphery:
Review of a SADCC-Inspired Workshop
On DecanWI     9-11 1982 the Department of Economics and the National Insti-
tute of Research (NIR) at university of Potswana rosted a WJrkshop on
teaching and research in Ecooomics, organised in a:mjW1ction with the
Depar1:Jrent of Economics, Universi ty of ZiJnbab...eand fW1dedJ:::y SWedish
International    Developnent Aid arrl the Ford FOW1dation. Taking part were
representatives    of the Economics depar1:Jrents of the W1iversities of
Potswana, Oar es Salaam, .LesothJ, Malawi, M:>zambique(Eduardo M:>ndlane),
SWaziland, 7.ambiaand Z~           plus delegates fran NIR and the Potswana
Agricultural Cbllege.      The University of Angola was W1able to send a rep-
resentative    rut conveyed its greetings.
Only the second meeting of its kind on the continent (the first was at
Oar es Salaam in 1969) the WJrksrop was inspired J:::y the spirit of SADCC:to
develop a new level of cooperation arrong the COW1tries in the Southern
African periphery; "SALCeoffers a challenge to the academic conm..mity" as
one speaker put it.
At its own level    the wrksrop   reflected    J::oth the ropes and the problEmS
facing SALCe.
The overriding concern was the "infrastructural"           one of the lack of adequate
locally-based teaching material and of the poor transfer of economic infor-
mation arrong SALCemanber coW1tries other than through the occasional
textJ::ook written and published abroad. Muchof the energy of the WJrkshop
was de\Oted to ways and means of integrating          local nnd regional research
into teaching, I::oth to enhance the relevance of the teaching, and to pro-
vide material for local and regional textJ::ooks. A teaching materials ex-
change netWJrk was agreed up::m to facilitate         transfer of govemrrent statis-
tical material, private research reFOrts and SAOCC           reFOrts regionally;    it
was further agreed that each department \\Ould as a priority           prepare propo-
sals for ruilding student field research into the teaching curriculum.
Numerous proFOsals for cooperative research were put forward, many of them
flowing from the full session de\Oted to the present state of SAOCC. They
included: construction of a SADCC-wideinput-oJ.tput table to provide a basis
for planning manufacturing industry; investigation           of alternative   means of
international    payments arrong SAOCC   countries,     given the prevailing severe
foreign exchange srortages of several manber COW1tries; a SALCe-wide
study of the banking sector; an examination of strategies            in dealing with
the IMFand of whether a regional approach is feasible.
Along with these cx:mronconcerns arerged differences           in the orientation,
FOlitical environment and wrk of the departments - a diversity which enrich-
ed discussion and contains the FOssibili ty of IPaking future cooperation rrore
fruitful.     For exarrple, in the case of degree structure rrost departments
were Offering general, ron-specialised        first degrees; rut in Tanzania econo-
mics students are streamed into either eaonomic planning, agriculture              and
rural develq(rent or industrial     developnent fran an early stage.          In
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M::>zambique  the department's ~rk is heavily geared towards training mana-
gerial ~rkers     to relieve the critical    srortage.    In I::x:>th
                                                                   r-tlzambiqueand
Tanzania nuch departmental effort is p.lt into placing students with suitable
finns during vacatiOns (and one day per ~            during term in M::>zambi"que)
\oohichprovides the basis for the students' applied research projects - a
practice which several other departments are J'X)W keen to emllate.
The content and IlEtrod of teaching econanic theory was inevitably a major
 focus. The I::x:>dyof }Jeo classical  theory, so long the staple of Western
econanics courses, carre under heavy fire for its irrelevance to problens
of poverty, for its narcissistic      preoccupation with its own elegance
rather than the real ~rld and for tlle'!:"eactionary nature of its central \\el-
 fare principle,   Pareto optirnali ty, too often used as a pseudo-scientific
excuse for evading the question of equitable distril:ution.           Besides the
\\ell-known inapplicabili ty of so nuch of received macro-theory to small
peripheral ccuntries,     the Neo-classical theory of the firm as presented
in western texts was also cri ticised for having di verced itself fran reali-
ty in its preoccupation with marginal optimization;         rather than being an
 instruction   in row finns are actually managed and perform in different
 industries it was be<nning a branch of Utopian econanic philosophy.
From Malawi CallE the proposal for an "indigenous econanic theory" for
Africa.     In qeneral there was a feeling that students know far too little
amut alternative     paradigms, particularly    Marxian theory. Several curri-
cula have already been aIlEnded to correct this l:rj introducing political
eoonomycourses.
In the discussion on IlEtrods of teaching treories a fruitful debate arose
between thJse wishing to see students test alternative          theories rigorously
against the facts and thJse arguing that while this may be applicable to
specific hypctheses it cannot test Neo-classical and Marxian theory satis-
factorily since these oonsist in large part of political          philosophy:
Marxian theory can be taught from a Neo-classical view and Neo-classical
theory from a Marxist standpoint.       In a real sense this is a debate over
the limits of econanic science.       At a rrore down-to-earth level, all were
agreed that since the primary goal of our teaching is to enable students to
understand the present and potential yprkings of their economythe teaming
IlEthJd must be grounded in local and regional research material on each as-
pect of econanic theory.
A valuable departure fran the agendas of previoos yprkshops on Econanics
teaching was the inclusion of a session on teaching of economics-related
subjects in sctools.      Attention focussed on the DevelOJ;rnentStudies aJUr-
ses which had EffiP.rged  with the growth of the Brigades rrovanent in Botswana
 (providing education plus training in manual skills in production untis,
for primary school leavers unable to get places in secondary schOOls) and
VJeresubsequently incorporated in the secondary school curriculum.            COncern
was expressed that despite policy pronouncenents on the subject too little
was actually being done in IlOst countries of the region to provide relevant
education and training for unemploye::lprimary school leavers.
In the closing session the delegates were raninded that the carrying out
of the agreed plans for exchange of teaming materials, for staff and
student exchange, for coordination of post-graduate prograrmes and for
oooperative research efforts will depend on each departrrent allocating
resources specifically     for these PJrposes.     At another level, the sam:'! oon-
dition will awly for the success of SAOCC         itself.   A follov.-up meeting will
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1::e held on 9 S~         1983 at the SOUthern African Social Science COnferen-
ce at v.tlich departments  will report on their progress.
MIrnAEL HUBBARD
Department of EcoOCllli.csI Uni versi ty of Botswana
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