ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two departmental case studies that seek to offer responses to some questions related to departments developed: the Department of Economics at Kingston University in the United Kingdom and the former School of Economics and Finance at Western Sydney University (WSU) in Australia. Both departments are to be considered pluralist rather than exclusively heterodox departments or dedicated departments of political economy. Pluralism has been primarily advanced via the initiatives of academic staff rather than as a result of student agitation. However, the support of students is important and their role in supporting pluralism is likely to increase. WSU and Kingston both illustrate how certain types of deregulation pose challenges to non-elite universities. If economies of scale are present and the marginal revenue of each new enrolment exceeds the marginal cost, and senior administrators see expansion as synonymous with success, then the temptation to expand enrolments is strong in both elite and non-elite universities.
