This paper reports on the preliminary findings of a study initiated two years ago, at the initiative of the P.I.D.E. to review the problems of teaching and research in economics and related subjects (ERS)1 during the last two decades. The need for such a study has been felt for some time not only because of the common perception of declining standards in higher education generally and, economics, in particular, but also from the perceived competition economics has faced from other disciplines, especially business studies and computer science as a passport to the job market.