ABSTRACT
The graduate school experience plays an important role in determining economic discourse; it certifies economists as professionals; it establishes economists' views of argumentation and guides them as to what is important to study and what is not. Knowledge of the economy and knowledge of economics literature do not make an economist successful, according to graduate students. Forty-three percent believed that knowledge of economics literature was unimportant, while only 10 percent felt that it was very important. The response indicates that Chicago students are most convinced of the relevance of neoclassical economics, and Harvard students least convinced. Apart from the Chicago students, the majority of graduate students question the possibility of separating positive and normative economics. Students come into graduate school wanting economics to be relevant, and they are taught theory and techniques that point out the complexity of the problems.
