Expected Proficiencies for Undergraduate Economics Majors

The case for adopting a proficiencies approach to instruction and learning in the economics major is reiterated. This approach focuses on what graduating majors should be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire in the major, that is, their ability to demonstrate their learning in practical ways. The author's list of five proficiencies, advanced in the mid-1980s, is reviewed and revised; one additional proficiency is added and several others are refined. The author discusses the emphasis given to these proficiencies with top economics undergraduates at two major research universities, the author's experience with incorporating these proficiencies into his instruction, and the challenge of assessing the ability of economics majors to demonstrate these proficiencies.     

西方经济学本科教学改革探讨

西方经济学是经济管理类本科专业的基础性必修课程,其教学效果的好坏直接影响学生对其他相关课程的掌握程度。然而当前一些本科院校西方经济学课程的教学效果并不理想。如何对该课程进行科学革新,更好地发挥其基础性地位,进而帮助学生更好地掌握专业知识,是本课程教学改革的主要目标。     

Teaching Methods in U.S. Undergraduate Economics Courses

In 1995 and 2000, the authors surveyed academic economists in the United States to establish how economics is taught in four types of undergraduate courses. The authors report overall findings from the 2000 survey and compare these results with the aggregate findings for respondents from all types of colleges and universities in the 1995 survey. The basic finding is that, despite some indications of increased emphasis and interest in teaching over this period, the teaching methods in these courses have changed very little over the past five years and are still dominated by “chalk and talk” classroom presentations.     

Field Experiments in a Course on Behavioral Economics: Nudging Students Around Campus

In experiential education, the student learns through experience by observing a concept or phenomenon and applying this knowledge in a real-world context. A research project conducted by undergraduate students at a U.S. private liberal arts college is described in this article. The project provided opportunity for students to think about their decision-making processes, compare them to existing literature, and apply this knowledge in examining their own hypotheses through primary data collection on campus. While the research design's simplicity ensured that the project could be completed in time for a final grade and sacrificed lecture material in favor of feedback opportunities, this behavioral field experiment was a rewarding experience because of students’ enthusiasm and their ability to defend and think critically of their own ideas.     

Undergraduate Coursework in Economics: A Survey Perspective

Survey results from a large sample of economics departments describe offerings for principles courses, coursework requirements for economics majors, and program augmentations such as capstone courses, senior seminars, and honors programs. Findings are reported for all institutions, and institutions are subdivided into six different categories based on public or private control and the highest economics degree offered. The coursework required for the economics major typically consists of ten courses, five in a required core and five electives. The most conspicuous curriculum change over the past 30 years is the rise of econometrics as a required course, now mandatory at about half of major programs. The authors estimate that about 40 percent of students who matriculate as first-year undergraduates take at least one economics course before they leave.     

Using Field Experiments to Change the Template of How We Teach Economics

In this article, the author explains why field experiments can improve what we teach and how we teach economics. Economists no longer operate as passive observers of economic phenomena. Instead, they participate actively in the research process by collecting data from field experiments to investigate the economics of everyday life. This change can be shown to students by presenting them with evidence from field experiments. Field experiments related to factor markets, behavioral economics, and discrimination are presented to explain how this approach works across different economic content. The three questions that are highlighted are the following: (1) Why do women get paid less than men in labor markets? (2) How can we use behavioral economics to motivate teachers? (3) What seven words can end third-degree price discrimination?     

基于能力拓展的财经类本科生《营销学》教学改革研究

从拓展学生专业能力的角度而言,财经类本科生《市场营销学》教学改革首先要重视对学生的以“态度”、“细节”和“习惯”为基础的学习规划能力的培养。在此基础上,《营销学》教学内容要适应服务型经济对市场营销人才的要求;教学模式要突出互动性;应从现实可能性出发,切实加强《营销学》教学的实践环节;必须建立和完善本科生《营销学》学习成绩评价系统。     

Trends in Undergraduate Economics Degrees, 1991 to 2001

The author reviews and recommends Alan S. Blinder's Hard Heads, Soft Hearts: Tough-Minded Economics for a Just Society.     

Trends in Undergraduate Economics Degrees, 1991–2013

The 2007–10 growth spurt (18 percent over three years) in U.S. undergraduate economics degrees stalled out in 2011. Degrees awarded have been relatively constant over the past three years.     

Gordon Tullock and Richard McKenzie. The New World of Economics.

The authors extend the literature on the efficacy of high school economics instruction in two directions. First, they assess how much economic knowledge that California students acquired in their compulsory high school course is retained on their entering college. Second, using as a control group some college students from the state of Washington, where there is no mandate for high school economics instruction, the authors evaluate the impact of California's high school economics mandate on students’ economic literacy when they enter college. The testing instrument is the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL).     

Reforming Undergraduate Instruction in Russia,Belarus, and Ukraine

The authors deal with the restructuring of undergraduate economics instruction at Moscow State University (MSU) since 1989. They examine how closely the reforms at MSU are mirrored by changes at Belarus State University in Minsk and at Kiev State University. They also consider, and often offer an “insider's” perspective on, several issues related to curriculum reform that go beyond what can be determined from published curriculum guides. Specifically, they consider such issues as the training and retraining of faculty members who teach courses in these departments, the use of translated Western textbooks versus locally developed textbooks, and problems that arise in departments where some faculty members teach Western economics but others continue to teach Soviet-style economics.     

经济学实验室研究方法论述

实验经济学作为一种研究方法正在加剧改变经济学的研究范式,正在为越来越多的经济学相关领域所借鉴,经济学已然成为一门实验性科学.然而,无论是研究方法还是研究内容.经济学实验与其它学科实验存在明显的不同.科学的经济学实验室控制是开展实验经济学研究的前提,是获得有效实验数据的基础.有鉴于此,本文重点从经济学实验室研究方法的角度,针对性地介绍如何设计实验,如何进行实验结果汇报以及在实验研究中应该注意的问题.     

An Econometrics Laboratory

The authors describe briefly nine experiments designed to illustrate different applied statistical problems or econometric techniques suitable for the first course in econometrics. Additional information and computer programs are available from the authors.