The New Economics Tests for the College and Pre-college Levels: A Comment

The authors examine the recently revised Test of Understanding of College Economics (TUCE) available from the Joint Council on Economic Education. The article examines its reliability, validity, norms, and item statistics with attention to limitations.     

Textbooks and the Teaching of Economic Principles

In this article, Dr. Meinkoth discusses the desirability of requiring a uniform textbook for the Principles course. She reports on an experiment in which five faculty members used the same textbook in the first semester but adopted books of their own choice in the second semester. The Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE) was then administered to the students, along with a questionnaire to determine their attitudes toward the books and towards economics. The results raise serious questions about the standard practice of requiring uniform textbooks.     

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)     

Learning Through Advocacy: An Experimental Evaluation of an Adversary Instructional Model

Dr. Kourilsky describes the use of her Adversary Instructional Model and reports on an experiment in which the Model was used in high school economics classes. Control and experimental groups were tested with the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, the Dietz Test of Economic Understanding and a specially designed Attitude Rigidity Inventory or “opinion ballot.” Some of the results are surprising, but the superior performance of the experimental group on the Watson-Glaser test strongly suggests that the Adversary Instructional Model is a valuable instructional device.     

A Model for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Economic Education in Primary Grades

Understandably, many economists have grave doubts about the possibility of teaching basic economic concepts to primary level children. Davison and Kilgore report on the development and use of their Primary Test of Economic Understanding. Some 500 second-grade pupils and 24 teachers were involved in their experiment. A control group made up of children who received regular social studies instruction was compared with experimental groups using primary level economics materials. Differences in the pupils' general academic ability, socioeconomic environment and teacher preparation were taken into account. The authors found that children in early elementary grades can learn certain basic economic concepts.     

An Evaluation of Award-Winning Elementary Teaching Materials from the Kazanjian Program

In an unusual study, Professor Nappi attempts to measure the effectiveness of teacher-made materials in increasing the economic knowledge of elementary school pupils. In addition, he asks whether special training for teachers using the materials results in greater pupil learning as well. Finally, he seeks to determine the extent to which the teacher's understanding of economics (as measured by the Test of Economic Understanding published by Science Research Associates) brings about a change in pupil knowledge. Experimental and control groups were established for purposes of this study, and the pupil change scores were adjusted for differences in mental ability. It was found that, ceteris paribus, the materials, the special training for teachers, and teacher knowledge of economics all resulted in “comparative advantages” for experimental group pupils.     

An Exploratory Study of the Economic Understanding of Elementary School Teachers

Professor McKenzie administered the SRA Test of Economic Understanding to 144 elementary teachers in southwest Virginia and compared their performance with that of several other groups. It is concluded that elementary teachers whose formal economics training is comparable to that of high school teachers are equally knowledgable. His results raise further questions about the effectiveness of two semesters of economics as compared with one, at least as far as long-run impact is concerned. The so-called “Stigler hypothesis” was also tested, McKenzie concluding that Stigler was probably “overly pessimistic about the lasting effects of the college economics course.” Several suggestions for improving the teaching of economics at the elementary level are included.     

Online Teaching Resources: A New Journal Section

Most economics departments use end-of-term student evaluations of teaching, but the relationship between instructors' assessments of their own teaching and their students' assessments is unknown. The background survey for the nationally normed Test of Understanding in College Economics asked students and instructors to evaluate the instructor on five identical items. Using these data, the authors found that for instructors who speak English as their native language, speaking ability and enthusiasm are closely linked to self-ratings of teaching effectiveness. Students also value these traits but care more about instructors' preparation for class. Grading rigor is more important to students of instructors who speak English as a second language.     

备考江苏省计算机等级考试（二级VFP）策略

以Visual FoxPro（VFP）程序设计为例，具体分析了江苏省计算机等级考试的特点和题型，在此基础上，阐述了考生备考的复习方略，考试技巧，以期对广大考生有所帮助。     

基于VAR模型实证分析云南省教育投入与经济增长的关系

采用向量自回归模型（VAR）,通过协整检验、格兰杰因果检验、脉冲响应函数对云南省教育投入与经济增长的关系进行实证分析,结果表明云南省教育投入与经济增长之间存在着互为因果的长期均衡关系,教育投入对经济增长的贡献率为24．3％。     

我国银行体系流动性过剩原因的实证检验

近年来“流动性过剩”已成为我国的一个热点问题。本文从宏观角度出发,选取银行存贷差等可以反映流动性过剩的指标,以2000年1月-2007年10月的相关数据为基础,采用协整分析、格兰杰因果关系检验等方法得出以下结论：流动性过剩同外汇占款、货币发行量、股票市场以及贸易结构存在协整关系,外汇占款、M2、股价可以视为导致存贷差不断扩大即流动性过剩的原因,但目前贸易结构并不是导致我国流动性过剩的直接原因。     

A DHMO (Dental HMO) value checker and understanding drivers of dentists' behavior

Although the majority of employees enrolled in dental HMOs (DHMOs) are pleased with the services they provide, some plan sponsors have experienced difficulties with them. Understanding the balance of risks and incentives DHMO participation presents to dentists may help plan sponsors avoid pitfalls and obtain better value from these plans. This article includes a "value checker" to be used in assessing a DHMO.     

Why culture in economics?

This article responds to the points raised by Deirdre McCloskey, Emily Chamlee-Wright, Rob Garnett and Solomon Stein in the symposium on my book Understanding the Culture of Markets (Routledge 2013).     

中国股票市场发展与经济增长的实证研究

本文运用Johansen协整检验、格兰杰因果检验等计量经济学方法,通过分析我国近年来宏观数据及股市规模、流动性和波动性的季度数据,对中国股票市场发展与经济增长的关系进行了计量学检验。得出的结论是：总体上,中国股票市场和经济增长之间存在长期的均衡关系,经济增长对股市的发展具有一定促进作用,但股票市场对经济增长的作用十分有限。     

The Test of Economic Literacy: Development and Results

In this study, the authors report on the revision of the Test of Economic Literacy for the fourth edition. The Test of Economic Literacy is a nationally-normed and standardized measure of the economic understanding of U.S. high school students. The economic content of the test is based on the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, which is used to establish the content validity for the test. The revision process is described and evidence on the test reliability and construct validity is presented from the test score analysis. The Test of Economic Literacy has a long and successful history of use by educators and researchers interested in economic education in high schools. The new edition should provide an improved instrument to continue that testing and research work.     

FDI对国内投资与经济增长的冲击效应分析——基于VAR模型的分析

20世纪80年代以来,外商直接投资已成为发展中国家获得外部资源的主要渠道,已成为中国经济发展的一个重要经济增长点。文章通过协整检验发现,FDI流入分别对经济增长与国内投资产生正向、负向作用,除中部地区外,这一趋势还将在今后一段时间持续。接着,通过邹检验发现,在外商直接投资的外部冲击下,中国及东、中、西部的国内投资及经济增长分别在1992年,1989年,1990年,1998年发生结构性变化。再次,通过Granger因果检验与脉冲响应函数分析发现：中国及各地区国内投资在外商直接投资的投资下呈现较为一致的变化态势,但中国各地区经济增长在外商直接投资的冲击下呈现各异的变化特征。     

REAL INTEREST RATE PARITY AND FOURIER QUANTILE UNIT ROOT TEST

Real interest rate differentials usually exhibit two properties; structural breaks and asymmetric dynamics. In this paper, we use various types of Quantile Unit Root Test (QURT) which accounts for both properties. Unlike previous research, we reject the unit root in the real interest rate differentials in 18 out of 21 OECD countries as well as in 4 out of 5 BRICS countries using QURT with sharp and smooth breaks.     

碳密度与投资率的因果关系——对中国1980～2009年数据的实证研究

为应对国际金融危机的冲击,国务院4万亿元巨额投资计划出台,碳密度的反弹也随之见诸报端。在这样的背景下,文章运用格兰杰因果检验对我国1980～2009年投资率和碳密度的数据进行分析。检验结果表明,投资率和碳密度之间存在单向因果关系,投资率是碳密度的格兰杰原因。最后从我国的投资现状出发,提出展望与建议。     

Explaining the Recent Decline in Domestic Violence

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the incidence of domestic violence decreased during the 1990s. Understanding the causes of this decline could offer important insight into designing effective policies to continue this trend. This article uses the Area-Identified National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the same data used to generate the DOJ's national estimates, merged with county-level variables, to examine the determinants of women reporting abuse. The results indicate that there are three important factors that likely contribute to the decline: (1) the increased provision of legal services for victims of intimate partner abuse, (2) improvements in women's economic status, and (3) demographic trends, most notably the aging of the population.     

Beyond Materialism: A Coevolutionary Reinterpretation of the Environmental Crisis

Materialism, both as a vision of the good life and as a cosmological basis underlying epistemology and modern science, drives humanity's environmental crisis. The dominant thrust of the environmental movement has been simply to shift to a longer slower materialism. Understanding how materialism creates our environmental problems and limits our vision of the good life is a necessary step toward creating a different future. Understanding development as a process of coevolution between knowledge, technology, social organization, values, and nature provides an alternative cosmological and epistemological framing which both gives us perspective on materialism and suggests an alternative vision for the future.