Soumaya Keynes (“Economists are trying to be less male, pale and stale”, Opinion, January 12) reports on the increasing, yet still inadequate, position of women in the economics profession.
It is important that women have more opportunities within the field. However, it is wrong to assume that increasing demographic diversity will make economics better. There is no necessary connection between gender — or other forms of demographic diversity — and increased diversity of ideas.
What economics needs, especially at the top universities, is more diversity of approaches — methodological, philosophical and more openness to unconventional ideas.
To achieve this it will take more than hiring for demographic diversity and the conformity of ideas.
Mario J Rizzo
Professor of Economics,
New York University, New York, NY, US
