Orr’s disagreements with Buchanan were not ideological but practical. Because Buchanan’s program was based on his theories, not on research as academic economists defined the term, Orr was rightly concerned that its graduates would not be marketable for faculty positions because they lacked the mathematical skills and technical training that most economics departments valued. Orr respected Buchanan’s work, yet argued on behalf of a balance of approaches when it came to hiring new faculty. But Buchanan refused to allow any dilution of his enterprise.
