AEA “We are working on that”

The American Economic Association recently held their annual conference in Denver. David Warsh reports that members were working on a variety of thorny issues, like what caused the economic crisis, how to prevent future crises, and even what to name the current crisis. No solutions are yet available. On a promising note, he reports that there appeared to be some interest in reviving the study of the history of economic thought. Over the last 30 years, as math has come to dominate graduate economic education, the study of the history of economic thought has systematically been removed from the curriculum. Is this renewed interest in the history of economic thought a promising new trend or a mere blip in the data?