Arrow’s (1951) Impossibility Theorem is the idea that, given several well-known assumptions, the social orderings of particular alternatives that are meant to reflect individuals’ preferences must match the preferences of an arbitrary individual (the dictator). A social-choice rule...

Each Thursday, the New York Times publishes a column called “Economic Scene†on page C2 of the Business Section. The authorship of the column rotates among four individuals: Alan Krueger, Virginia Postrel, Jeff Madrick, and the author. This essay is about how he came to be a columnist...

Many studies have identified factors that contribute to success in economics principles courses, but few have examined the causes and effects of student drops and failure. The author follows 239 students through their economic principles course and tracks the students in the year after the...

With this guide, the author aims to induce more economists to talk to people in the media as a means of expanding educational outreach. The guide provides discussions of “do’s†and “don’ts†and offers advice on which kinds of research are likely to interest...

The author presents an account of the 1993 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Ford Motor Company to assist students in developing facility with perfect complements production and cost functions and cost-raising strategies. The author seeks an answer to why the UAW...

The author reports on various aspects of teaching economics in an in- terdisciplinary, team-taught course, including reflections on a unique experiment in teaching economics to nonmajors. By the incorporation of selected topics of gender economics into the interdisciplinary course about the...

Cheating is a serious problem in many countries. The cheater gets higher marks than deserved, thus reducing the efficiency of a country’s educational system. In this study, the authors did not ask if and how often the student had cheated, but rather what the student’s opinion was...

A Mind Map is an outline in which the major categories radiate from a central image and lesser categories are portrayed as branches of larger branches. The author describes an in-class exercise in which small groups of students each create a Mind Map for a specific topic. This exercise is...

What is the effect of small-group learning on student learning outcomes in economic instruction? In spring 2002 and fall 2004, the author applied cooperative learning to one section of intermediate macroeconomics and taught another section using a traditional lecture format. He identified and...

The author has chosen three major topics in development economics for a discussion on how to teach the subject: the concepts and measurement of development, models of growth and development, and the international aspects of economic development. For the concepts of development, it is important...