Economics faculty expect that students have an integrated understanding of economic theory upon graduation and that they grasp and appreciate how all elements of markets naturally move to equilibrium. Through assessment activities, the authors discovered that their students were not developing that knowledge, so they turned to learning theory to…

Adam Smith's moral philosophy can be used to introduce economics students to the important idea of transactions costs. The author provides a brief background in this article to Smith's moral philosophy and connects it to the costs of transacting in a way that fits easily into the standard principles of microeconomics classroom. By doing…

The authors present suggestions by graduate students from a range of economics departments for improving the first-year core sequence in economics. The students identified a number of elements that should be added to the core: more training in building microeconomic models, a discussion of the methodological foundations of model-building, more…

The authors describe the theoretical preparation provided to students in advance of a limited-duration experiential learning experience in Washington DC in a Master's level course for students in Business or Public Administration. The students consider theoretical perspectives from economics, political science, and public administration with…

In 1989, microeconomics and macroeconomics examinations debuted on the Advanced Placement (AP) scene. At that time, many professors of economics were skeptical that college freshmen had the skills and maturity to understand the concepts in principles of economics courses. They thought teaching these concepts to high school students was even more…

Explores consensus among economists on specific propositions on the basis of a fall 2000 survey of American Economic Association members. Finds consensus generally within the profession, although the degree of consensus varies among propositions that are international, macroeconomic, and microeconomic in nature. States the profession displays…

States that short-run production theory and U-shaped cost curves do not conform to industrial reality. Explores in detail the reality of manufacturing stating that fixed proportions seem more suited to describing short-run manufacturing processes. Addresses fixed proportions in short-run production and short-run cost functions. Includes…

Presents a brief classroom demonstration illustrating Bertrand price undercutting by outlining the experiment, discussing the game theory solution and experiences, and presenting related literatures. States that students remember the lesson because of the significant amounts of money each could have earned. (JEH)

States that often constant returns to scale are also much more and that many important results depend on the very special properties of this class of production function. Offers a unified set of simple proofs, employing only familiar diagrams and high school geometry, for most of the crucial analytical properties of constant returns production.…

Discusses four reasons why economic forecasting courses are important: (1) forecasting skills are in demand by businesses; (2) forecasters are in demand; (3) forecasting courses have positive externalities; (4) and forecasting provides a real-world context. Describes what should be taught in an economic forecasting course. (CMK)

Explores the importance of second-order conditions in the cost-minimization problem confronting the monopsonistic employer of factor inputs. Describes an alternative approach to the presence of pecuniary effects that does not depend on the assumption that firms are monopsonistic in factor markets. (CMK)

Presents a Web site that utilizes the Learning-by-Objective (LBO) model that integrates Internet tools for knowledge transmission, communication, and assessment of learning. Explains that the LBO model has been used in creating micro and macroeconomic course Web sites with WebCT software. (CMK)

Describes an online, securities market, research tool, called Borsa, to engage students in the exploration of asset pricing in microeconomics courses. Defines Borsa as related database files served on the Internet using a dedicated IP address. Discusses practical considerations in running the market. Offers questions that arise from using the…

Interprets economic education broadly as any activity in which students think about economic reasoning and consider how people behave in an economical manner. Observes that, using this definition, economic education is widely practiced in Japanese elementary schools. Looks at the national Course of Study to illustrate the argument. (DSK)

Outlines a model for teaching economics that incorporates introductory economics concepts into an interdisciplinary class that includes three disciplines focused on a central theme. Covers the principles of microeconomics and the fundamentals of environmental economics. Links these topics to those covered in the ecology and philosophy sections of…