Recommends reviewing the 1958 debate between P. A. Samuelson and J. R. Minasian over the controversy involving tax-financed television versus pay-TV. This exercise is a lively way to introduce students to the issue of exclusionary devices for public goods. Includes graphical analysis and excerpts from the original debates. (MJP)

Reconsiders Uriel Spiegel's analysis of the Giffen phenomenon, a utility function that yields an inferior good with an upward-sloping demand curve. Extends this to include similar utility functions that yield inferiority. Discusses the earlier work of related theorists including Liebhafsky, Vandermeulen, and Wold and Jureen. (MJP)

Reexamines Spiegel's analysis of the Giffen phenomenon, a utility function that yields an inferior good with an upward-sloping demand curve and incorporates Christian Weber's criticism into the model. Disagrees with Weber on some points but agrees that as income decreases the likelihood of the Giffen product decreases. (MJP)

Describes an economics class experiment where students ranked the quality of baked pies according to limited information. The limited sets of information included brand name and packaging only, price only, advertising only, word-of-mouth, and taste test. Discusses signals of quality and consumer decisions. (MJP)

Describes an undergraduate economics course experiment designed to teach the concepts of comparative advantage and opportunity costs. Students have a limited number of labor hours and can chose to produce either wheat or steel. As the project progresses, the students trade commodities in an attempt to maximize use of their labor hours. (MJP)

Presents a relatively simple costs/benefits analysis problem perfectly suited for an introductory economics course. Reveals that neither the health insurer (which bears only the hospitalization costs of acute care) nor the patient (who incurs lost earnings and psychological costs) has an adequate incentive to pay for preventive care. (MJP)

Presents an annotated bibliography intended to inform nonspecialists of microeconomic research in poor countries. Six areas of research are discussed: household economics, health/nutrition and income, poverty measurement and analysis, agrarian technological change and labor markets. The section on labor markets also discusses saving, credit, and…

Presents a simple diagrammatic technique for conveying the idea of Ricardian equivalence or policy neutrality in the provision of public goods. Includes several diagrams illustrating basic positions regarding the relationship between voluntary public contributions and taxation. Provides a brief explanation of the illustrated concepts. (MJP)