An endogenous equilibrium game on traffic congestion externalities

Traffic congestion and road tolls are familiar economic concepts for most undergraduates; however, students often have difficulty explaining exactly how theoretical principles like externalities and social welfare are related to their real-world experiences, such as driving. The authors present a classroom exercise to demonstrate how congestion externalities are generated, the effects on private and social welfare, and how appropriately priced tolls can address congestion externalities. Students are asked to evaluate outcomes in five different driving scenarios, with and without congestion or tolls. The authors offer discussion questions to make the activity engaging and informative. They report the results of their efforts to administer the exercise. This 75-minute exercise is appropriate for introductory or intermediate microeconomics, political economy, or environmental economics classes of various sizes.     

EVIDENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMICS AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

This research provides empirical support for the hypothesis that learning economics increases a student's critical thinking skills. Using the short form of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA-S) as our measure of critical thinking skills, we find that students who gain a high level of economic understanding in their introductory economics class, as measured by the Test of Understanding College Economics (TUCE), have statistically significant gains in their WGCTA-S scores. Students who spend more time taking classes and are more fully engaged in the university experience also have greater gains in critical thinking. These results lend support to the idea that introductory economics courses can work in concert with other university level courses, especially within the context of a full-time curriculum, to enhance critical thinking skills. ( JEL A22)     

The economics of education and policy: Ideas for a principles course

There are many aspects of the “economics of education” that would make excellent examples for introductory economics students. The author presents two topics that are central to the economics of education and to human capital theory: the economic benefit (or “returns”) to schooling and educational attainment as an investment. There are two key concepts the author hopes students get from this discussion. The first is that there are both private and social benefits of schooling whence we derive the rationale for government intervention. The second is that educational attainment is an investment decision with both costs and benefits, and some risk.     

A ‘Big Think’ Approach to Government Debt: Promoting Significant Learning in Introductory Macroeconomics

Drawing on Dee Fink's theory of significant learning, the authors present a ‘big think’ learning module to supplement fiscal policy discussions in introductory macroeconomics courses. Students are asked to consider a salient, contentious question that can be addressed in meaningful ways based on principles-level concepts and models, namely: ‘In your judgment, does the recent steep rise in the US debt-to-GDP ratio pose a serious threat to the US economy? Why or why not?’ To enhance students' willingness and ability to engage this big think question, the module provides open-ended preparatory exercises amenable to courses taught from heterodox or mainstream perspectives. Unlike standard textbook treatments which inadvertently thwart exploratory thinking and provide little support for analyzing case-specific burdens and benefits of government borrowing, the big think unit motivates students to think logically and creatively about the debt–GDP relationship in the current US context.     

知识治理模式、组织学习方式及平衡策略对组织创造力的影响

组织创造力是组织创新的基础,是组织保持并提升竞争优势的关键因素。从知识治理视角,构建一个中介效应模型,提出并验证知识治理模式及其交互作用通过组织学习方式对组织创造力的影响,检验创新型文化对影响路径的调节作用。研究发现,正式知识治理和非正式知识治理都能显著提升组织创造力,但二者的交互作用对组织创造力的影响并不显著;探索式学习、利用式学习及平衡式学习对组织创造力具有显著正向作用;不同的组织学习方式在正式知识治理与组织创造力之间、非正式知识治理与组织创造力之间的关系中起部分中介作用;创新型文化仅在知识治理与组织学习之间起调节作用,对组织学习与组织创造力之间的关系调节作用不显著。     

因时而变：时间压力视角下反馈寻求时机对创造力的影响机制研究

反馈寻求与创造力关系已被证实会受到策略、反馈源、效价等因素影响，但忽视了寻求时机对创造力的作用。随着企业竞争格局加剧，员工将反馈信息转化为创造力的时效性显得尤为重要。由于反馈寻求时机的构念界定与特点描述并不明晰，关于其对创造力的作用机制尚未得出明确结论。为此，首先通过质性分析探索反馈寻求时机的内涵、特点，并进行量表重构；其次，根据解释水平以及双元学习等理论，从时间视角出发，探索时间压力下即时与延时寻求反馈对个体创造力的作用机制。分析结果表明：即时和延时寻求反馈均显著正向影响个体创造力；双元学习中介于即时/延时寻求反馈与个体创造力，即时与延时寻求反馈分别通过利用式、探索式学习促进个体创造力提升；时间压力正向调节即时寻求反馈与利用式学习关系，负向调节延时寻求反馈与探索式学习关系。     

Simulating Price-Taking

In this article, the author presents a price-takers’ market simulation geared toward principles-level students. This simulation demonstrates that price-taking behavior is a natural result of the conditions that create perfect competition. In trials, there is a significant degree of price convergence in just three or four rounds. Students find this simulation to be a fun, educational experience that adds value to their understanding of competitive markets.     

Pretesting students to improve teaching and learning

The focus of this paper is on developing ways to evaluate teaching performance on a regular basis as a means of improving teaching effectiveness and increasing student learning in the classroom. In particular, this paper shows how an instructor-developed pretest, when given at the start of an introductory economics course as part of a pre- and post-test strategy, can be used as a diagnostic and developmental tool for instructors to assess and improve teaching effectiveness. Evidence of students' deficiencies in basic economic and math or graphing skills has led to making changes in content and delivery to increase students' chances of success in the economics course. In addition, pre- and post-test results can be used to determine which economic concepts are being taught effectively and which areas need improvement.     

Index of economic freedom: Unrealized pedagogical opportunities

Although the Index of Economic Freedom appears in many economic textbooks, their coverage of the index misses opportunities to teach statistical and policy-related concepts important for the principles course. The standard textbook presentation passes up an opportunity to examine the statistical issues of weighting in composite index numbers and correlation versus causation. In addition, textbook presentations fail to examine the assumptions made in the indexes about key economic concepts. These include inflation rate targets, appropriate government spending levels, tax rates, labor standards, financial regulation, monetary policy, property rights, government regulation, and even the meaning of economic freedom. This study explores how examining economic freedom index assumptions can help students understand key economic policy debates.     

Teaching (un)sustainability? University sustainability commitments and student experiences of introductory economics

The three largest public universities in British Columbia, Canada have signed the Talloires Declaration, committing themselves to promoting sustainability and creating expectations that they will integrate sustainability across the curriculum in order to improve students' environmental literacy and stewardship. About 40% of North American university students take a mainstream introductory economics course; few of these students take economics at more advanced levels. As such, introductory economics courses are an important vehicle for students to learn economic theory; they have the potential to contribute to the knowledge that students can mobilize to foster sustainability. Interviews were held with 54 students who had recently completed an introductory level mainstream economics course at one of the three universities. Students reported that introductory economics courses place little emphasis on the environment and sustainability, they recalled course content with normative connotations that are problematic from a sustainability perspective and they described how discussion of the limitations of mainstream theory was set aside. Student reports of the insights introductory economics offers into environmental problems imply that these courses are failing to substantively increase students' understanding of sustainability and linkages between the environment and the economy. Findings suggest that current introductory economics curriculum undermines the universities' sustainability commitments.     

A Discrete-Time Hazard Analysis of the Role of Gender in Persistence in the Economics Major

So much has been done in terms of measuring the impact of economics courses on student knowledge and understanding of facts, concepts and principles, and so little research has dealt with the possible effects on student political attitudes, that this study by Scott and Rothman should be of great interest to economics instructors. The authors address themselves to George Stigler's assertion that “the education of an economist makes the person who receives it more conservative.” They report on the use of their own “Social Opinion Questionnaire” and how it was employed to investigate “the different effects, if any, introductory economics and introductory psychology have on opinions related to economic issues.”     

‘Economics with Training Wheels’: Using Blogs in Teaching and Assessing Introductory Economics

Blogs provide a dynamic interactive medium for online discussion, consistent with communal constructivist pedagogy. The author of this article describes and evaluates a blog assignment used in the teaching and assessment of a small (40–60 students) introductory economics course. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected across four semesters, students’ participation in the blog assignment is found to be associated with student ability, gender, and student perceptions of the blog. Importantly, students with past economics experience do not appear to crowd out novice economics students. Student performance is positively associated with the quality of their blog participation after controlling for student ability, suggesting that a focus on quality of student engagement could further improve learning outcomes. Students generally report overall positive experiences with the blog assignment.     

Learning to Argue with Intermediate Macro Theory: A Semester-Long Team Writing Project

The authors describe their experience with integrating a semester-long economic analysis project into an intermediate macroeconomic theory course. Students work in teams of “economic advisors” to write a series of nested reports that analyze the current state of the economy, and propose and evaluate policies for a decision-maker. The project simulates real-world policy consulting with an emphasis on applying economic theory and models. The authors describe the project setup and how to tailor its theme to current events, explain methods for keeping it manageable in larger classes, discuss student learning outcomes, and document course evaluation results. Besides improving the learning experience, this project prepares economics students to contribute their own views to policy debates and buttress them with tight macroeconomic reasoning.     

多任务处理对员工创造力的双刃剑效应：成就导向与认知评估的作用

基于压力认知评估理论，探讨多任务处理对员工创造力影响的作用机制和边界条件。对341份配对问卷数据进行分析，结果表明成就导向调节多任务处理与认知评估间关系，即在高水平成就导向的影响下，多任务处理对挑战性评估的正向影响会增强，而多任务处理对威胁性评估的正向影响会削弱；挑战性评估正向影响员工创造力，而威胁性评估负向影响员工创造力；多任务处理与成就导向的交互作用通过挑战性评估和威胁性评估的中介作用对员工创造力产生不同影响。     

服务外包中组织双元学习对供应商创新能力的影响——治理机制的调节作用

通过提升自身创新能力应对市场竞争，已成为多数服务外包供应商的重要战略选择。基于社会网络理论和组织学习理论，运用174对发包企业与供应商企业的有效配对调查数据，探究组织双元学习对供应商创新能力的影响，检验契约治理机制和关系治理机制的调节作用。结果发现：①探索式学习与利用式学习均对供应商创新能力具有积极影响；②关系治理机制在组织双元学习与供应商创新能力关系中起正向调节作用；③契约治理机制在组织双元学习与供应商创新能力关系中呈负向调节效应。研究结论有助于厘清组织双元学习影响供应商创新能力的内在机理，对我国服务外包企业有效运用不同组织学习方式提升自主创新能力具有一定借鉴意义。     

Knowledge interaction towards inclusive learning: Promoting systems of innovation and competence building

This paper draws on recent conceptual approaches to economic growth, in which the accumulation of knowledge is the fundamental driving force behind growth. This fact is reflected in the trend in developed economies towards an increasing investment in advanced technology, R&D, education, and culture. Concepts such as learning ability, creativity, and sustained flexibility gain greater importance as guiding principles for the conduct of individuals, institutions, nations, and regions. It is thus legitimate to question the traditional way of viewing the role that contemporary institutions play in the process of economic development and to argue for the need to promote systems of innovation and competence building based on learning and knowledge networks. This broad concept has motivated the work behind the present work, which reviews the strongest themes of the 4th International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation (ICTPI), which was held in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, in August of 2000. Under the broad designation of “learning and knowledge networks,” the conference brought together a range of experts to discuss technology, policy, and management in a context much influenced by a dynamics of change and a necessary balance between the creation and diffusion of knowledge. While the idea of inclusive development developed in previous conferences entails a process of shared prosperity across the globe following local specific conditions, it is crucial to understand the dynamics of the process of knowledge accumulation, which drives a learning society. Thus, this special issue includes a set of extended contributions to the Curitiba conference that are largely grounded on empirical experiences of different regional and national contexts. The aim of this introductory paper is to set the stage for these contributions, with an original contribution on possible views for the learning society.     

个体创造力的跨层次影响因素:个体目标取向与团队自省

个体创造力是团队成功乃至组织获得竞争优势的源泉,从多个层次综合考察个体创造力的影响因素具有重要意义。基于目标取向理论与个体—情境互动理论,将团队自省纳入个体目标取向对个体创造力影响的研究中。通过对72个研发团队(含364个团队成员)样本的调查分析,得出实证研究结果:个体学习目标取向和绩效证明目标取向都对个体创造力具有显著的正向影响,且团队自省可以显著调节(增强)其对个体创造力的影响作用;个体绩效回避取向对个体创造力具有显著的负向影响,且团队自省可以显著调节(减弱)个体绩效回避取向对个体创造力的影响作用。     

Learning to do: Facilitating practice in a large introductory macroeconomics class

Contemporary pedagogy encourages instructors to move away from memorization to teaching the ability to “do economics.” In such an environment, students are taught to apply knowledge of economic measurement, the economic model, and economic policy to analyze current events and policies. In this article, the authors build on existing literature describing independent activities by sharing a set of class exercises and assignments that comprise an entire course. The course discussed in this article is a large enrollment introductory course and presents a novel approach to active learning, adapted to this often-challenging context. The course emphasizes engaging students by encouraging them to practice using macroeconomic tools.     

The Preparation and Professionalization of Economics Instructors in Two-Year Colleges

With the rapid growth of two-year colleges and the probability that an increasing proportion of students will get their introductory economics in these institutions comes a natural concern over the quality of instruction found therein. Lewis reviews three surveys dealing with the preparation of junior college teachers of economics, offers explanations for the dearth of well-trained economists in the two-year colleges, and suggests ways of meeting the special needs of junior college teachers. He calls for both pre-service and in-service training programs designed to upgrade the teaching of economics in the two-year colleges.