This paper aims to quantify the effectiveness of teaching economics with video exemplars, mainly the US TV show The Simpsons. We regress students' exam scores on their performance on Simpsons and non-Simpsons pop quizzes. After controlling for students' quality difference and exam content, our...

Barone's 1991 essay stimulated a debate in our economics department. Two department members at the time, Yngve Ramstad and Richard McIntyre, proposed to reorganise the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree to emphasise contending perspectives. When this proposal was rejected, Ramstad then...

University students often view economics as one of the most challenging subjects. In this paper, we explore whether the same attitude is shared by students at an offshore campus. The analysis is based on a survey of onshore and offshore students in an Australian university. The focus of the...

A novel approach to teaching concepts using game design in the graduate sustainability and engineering management programs is illustrated. These student-built games tied to demonstrate the course learning outcomes (CLOs) were tested in a classroom environment. This pilot study's impact on...

The current financial crisis has prompted a widespread critique of existing conventional economics and deep dissatisfaction with varying aspects regarding the economics profession including teaching techniques. Of course, these criticisms are not new (see Colander and Klamer, 1987; Krueger et al., 1991;...

Students are expected to think critically about economic processes but not about the way economists explain those processes. They are generally powerless to do the latter. This paper illustrates a causal mapping technique to enable students to translate narrative accounts of various economists'...

The finance major incorporates both theory and practice. Chinese students often question the relevance of mainstream theories as expounded in textbooks. Thus it is important for teachers to encourage and actively develop critical thinking. This article discusses my experiences in teaching...

The financial and economic crisis that has been devastating a number of countries in the world since its outbreak in 2007-2008 originates in the currently still dominant paradigm in both finance and economics. The contributions selected for this special issue explain collectively that the only...

Pluralist teaching encourages students to develop critical thinking skills to their fullest potential. This article presents guidelines for a globalisation course taught from a feminist pluralist perspective by the author during the fall of 2008. The article discusses course objectives,...

The discussion about how economics is taught in undergraduate courses is becoming more topical and professors have recently been accused of preaching free-market fundamentalism. In this paper, I review the coverage of the minimum wage in Principles of Economics textbooks to determine whether the...