Michael Yates described his success in addressing Jim Craven's classes. A certain degree of his success probably had to do with the fact that Jim had already laid the groundwork. I wonder how well he would do after students had finished nearly a semester of neoclassical indoctrination. I'm not saying that he couldn't have broken through with some of the students, but the task would be much more difficult.
My own situation supports Ahmed's interpretation of the academic market for left economists. Here at Chico, my application had been passed over by the faculty. I guess it was sort of flippant. Students, at the time, had some input in personnel matters. Could you imagine that today? The students pushed for my recruitment, but the key factor was that the conservative chairman thought that I would be useful in recruiting students to the economics program. If I were to subtract 40 years from my age, I suspect I would have difficulty in getting a job today, just as many more capable graduates do. If I were to market myself as a conservative, I do not think I would have much difficulty. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
