An economic education program at Ashland College designed to improve the economic literacy of preservice teachers is described. The hypothesis behind the current program is that the level of economic literacy of both the preservice teachers and their students may be substantially improved by a unified and total approach to the transmission of…

Basic economic concepts appropriate for the second grade are elaborated in this guide which is intended to be used for enrichment of an existing social studies program. Numerous supporting ideas are used to develop an understanding of the following fundamental concepts: 1) people in a community need goods and services; 2) someone must produce the…

In 1967, the State Education Department published "Consumer Education--Materials for an Elective Course." This material has since been introduced into more than 500 of the New York State high schools. As a result of the interest in Consumer Education in the State and Nation, the Department has begun the preparation of a series of…

This curriculum guide is based on the notion that consumers can no longer afford to buy goods without thinking of the consequences. The unit presents students with criteria for making wise consumer choices. Twenty-six lessons offer data for examination and encourage students to calculate the consequences of various courses of action. Lessons look…

Briefly defines and provides some background on Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk's "marginal pairs" theory of pricing. Asserts that Bohm-Bawerk's theory is a good introduction to the Austrian school of economics and illustrates the differences between this approach and neoclassical economic theory. Includes several graphs and tables of data. (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)

Uses a graphical analysis to determine the importance of quantity for consumer welfare and to examine the manner in which private and social welfare diverge in a monopoly. Criticizes the opinion that technology adoption by a monopoly always assumes a uniformly downward shift in the marginal cost curve. (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)

Over 175 economics education projects submitted to the 1979-1980 National Awards Program for Teaching Economics are abstracted. The aim of this annual competition is to discover outstanding classroom teaching practices while encouraging teachers to include and improve economics instruction in the classroom. Citations are contained in separate…

Abstracts of innovative and imaginative economics units are provided in this annotated listing of economic education projects submitted to the 1980-81 National Awards Program for Teaching Economics. Over 200 abstracts are contained in separate sections covering materials for primary grades, intermediate grades, junior high schools, senior high…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) encountered problems when developing a comprehensive assessment of consumer skills of 17-year-olds in 1978. When NAEP conducted a nationwide assessment of basic life skills of 17-year-olds in 1977, there was considerable interest in the consumer skills portion. Therefore, it was decided to…

A unit to acquaint secondary school students with the basics of life insurance is presented. The document contains student materials and a teacher's guide. Objectives are to evaluate the four basic types of life insurance (term, whole life, limited payment life, and endowment), compare prices of policies, recognize the difference between…

This unit provides high school students with criteria for deciding to buy a new or used car and selecting a reputable dealer. It is divided into three sections. In the first section students analyze uses and identify car sizes, options, and appearances that are important. The second section describes advantages and disadvantages of new and used…

This resource book is intended for a one-semester model course for high school economics for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students. The seven units in the book are linked to content ordinarily found in microeconomic and macroeconomic courses. Each unit contains 5 to 11 lessons, an author's note to the teacher, an author's letter to the students,…