A note on ‘The coherence and relevance of CORE Econ’s new benchmark model’

This note offers a critique of the recent article by Bowles and Carlin (2023) in the Symposium on the CORE Econ Project published in this journal. It suggests that the CORE program has lost a clear focus on the purpose of introductory economics as an academic subject and the purpose of a functioning economy. Instead, the CORE’s approach gets lost in technicalities and novelties best tailored for students choosing to major in economics. For the average college student taking a course in the subject as a curriculum requirement, a simpler approach is required and beginning students need to get the basics down before venturing into the kind of research mode that CORE Econ is more suited to supporting.