A Note on Simulation Models in the Economics Classroom

This article describes an alternative to mechanistic simulation models. Students themselves construct the macroeconomic model in a way that is simple and that develops understanding of the theoretical relationships and facility with data use.     

A Rent-Seeking Experiment for the Classroom

Abstract: Recent research has demonstrated that active learning techniques improve student comprehension and retention of abstract economic ideas such as rent seeking. Instructors can reinforce the concept of rent seeking with a classroom game, particularly one involving real money. The authors improve upon a game first introduced by Goeree and Holt (1999) and later expanded upon by Bischoff and Hofmann (2002). The authors present a version of the game in which students participate in an all-pay auction, risking their own money, and discover first hand the potential inefficiencies of rent seeking. The authors suggest extensions of the rent-seeking game, including discussions of social welfare effects, equity, campaign finance reform, tax simplification, and congressional reforms designed to limit the influence of rent seeking in the economy.     

A Monopoly Classroom Experiment

The author uses a simple classroom experiment to develop the economic model of monopoly. As a pedagogical tool, the experiment introduces students to the nature of the monopoly problem and motivates them to think of the associated efficiency issues as a divergence between private benefits and social contributions. As a test of economic principles, the experiment highlights the role of information and fairness ideals in determining economic outcomes.     

A Television Experiment in College Economics

Although nearly two dozen studies have dealt with the use of TV in teaching economics in one way or another, much remains to be said on the subject. Danielsen and Stauffer provide some interesting new information on the effectiveness of television as compared with conventional techniques. Their experimental design, as well as their immediate findings, will be of interest to others employing television as a teaching device.     

A Dream Experiment in Development Economics

In this article, the authors discuss a unique project carried out by 13 teams of four students each in the undergraduate Development Economics class during the 2012 spring semester at a private liberal arts college. The goal of the “Dream Experiment” was to think of an idea that promotes development, employs concepts from development economics, uses a real-world situation from a developing country, and has implications for policy if the experiment goes ahead. The authors present details of the project's modus operandi, provide a case study as an example, and highlight lessons for economics pedagogy.     

从统计学的视角看实验经济学

实验经济学将实验的方法引入经济问题研究,是经济学方法论的一次重大变革,实验方法正逐渐成为经济学研究的一种重要工具。然而,由于实验经济学尚处于发展的初始阶段,对于经济实验的方法还很少有人进行深入的研究。文章指出,实验经济学虽然是一个全新的研究领域,但经济实验本质上是一种统计实验,应遵循统计实验研究的基本方法和基本规律。实验经济学可以借鉴统计学的研究方法,得到更大、更快的发展。     

Calculating the Candy Price Index: A Classroom Inflation Experiment

In this classroom experiment, students develop a price index based on candy-purchasing decisions made by members of their class. They use their index to practice calculating inflation rates and to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the consumer price index (CPI). Instructors can use the experiment as an introduction to the topic of inflation and how it is measured. The exercise also provides a concrete example of the sources of bias in the CPI, promoting discussion of the measures the Bureau of Labor Statistics has taken to reduce bias. The experiment, including follow-up discussion, fits into a 50-minute class period. The authors and other professors have used the exercise in introductory and intermediate macroeconomics courses, in classes of 10 to 135 students.     

Adverse Selection in Health Insurance Markets: A Classroom Experiment

Adverse selection as it relates to health care policy will be a key economic issue in many upcoming elections. In this article, the author lays out a 30-minute classroom experiment designed for students to experience the kind of elevated prices and market collapse that can result from adverse selection in health insurance markets. The students should come away from the experiment understanding why adverse selection leads to high prices on good quality insurance and why it forces healthy individuals into low quality plans. Additionally, the experiment helps students think about the market characteristics that make health insurance particularly vulnerable to problems of asymmetric information. Finally, the experiment connects the adverse selection problem with key features of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.     

Programmed Learning-Policy Analysis: An Experiment in Teaching Principles of Economics

Darnton reports on an experiment using programmed instruction in macroeconomics. He also explains how assignments to write “position papers” on economic policies are used. An analysis of the experiment deals with the time devoted to the course by students and instructor, student understanding of economics and student attitude toward this approach. The TUCE was used as the testing instrument, and Darnton asserts that the experimental group did better than the control group on complex application questions. The experimental approach proved to be popular with the students, and the author claims that it provided for a more efficient use of faculty resources.     

Your Place in Space: Classroom Experiment on Spatial Location Theory

The authors detail an urban economics experiment that is easily run in the classroom. The experiment has a flexible design that allows the instructor to explore how congestion, zoning, public transportation, and taxation levels determine the bid–rent function. Heterogeneous agents in the experiment compete for land use using a simple auction mechanism. Using the data that is collected, a bid–rent function is derived, and the experimental treatment is altered over the course of three sessions to uncover core concepts in urban economics. Moreover, this provides a tangible experience that can be used to help undergraduates relate to urban issues such as the steep rent gradient found around many larger colleges and universities.     

Wealth Distribution and Imperfect Factor Markets: A Classroom Experiment

The author presents a simple exercise to demonstrate how initial property distribution can affect final wealth patterns in developing areas of the world. The simulation is a variant of the Monopoly board game in which students role play different members of a market in which they each face different rules of credit access and salary patterns. The property distribution and new mortgage rules reflect the reality of many developing areas. The simulation can be completed in one full class period and has proven successful in making students more sensitive to wealth distribution issues. Students have suggested several variations of this simulation to make it applicable across more settings.     

Teaching Nash Equilibrium and Dominance: A Classroom Experiment on the Beauty Contest

Abstract: The authors' aim in this article was to show how the use of classroom experiments may be a good pedagogical tool to teach the Nash equilibrium (NE) concept. The basic game is a version of the beauty contest game (BCG), a simple guessing game in which repetition lets students react to other players' choices and converge iteratively to the equilibrium solution. The authors perform this experiment with undergraduate students with no previous training in game theory. After four rounds, they observe a clear decreasing tendency in the average submitted number in all groups. Thus, the findings show that by playing a repeated BCG, students quickly learn how to reach the NE solution.     

First-Year Study Success in Economics and Econometrics: The Role of Gender,Motivation, and Math Skills

In this study, the authors investigate the relationships among gender, math skills, motivation, and study success in economics and econometrics. They find that female students have stronger intrinsic motivation, yet lower study confidence than their male counterparts. They also find weak evidence for a gender gap over the entire first-year curriculum of economics or econometrics. In terms of size and significance, their estimates of gender effects rank below the effects of preparatory education and motivation.     

经济学的发展:马克思经济学与西方主流经济学范式耦合刍议

马克思经济学与西方主流经济学两大范式一经形成,再没有随时代变化而进行过整体理论范式的变迁,两大范式均受到了理论与现实的冲击.在两大经济理论体系对立的背后,其逻辑前提、基本假定、核心概念以及研究方法等基本构成要素均存在着相通之处,进而存在着范式耦合的可能.     

Bayes Factors with an Application to Experimental Economics

We describe Bayes factor, an explicit measure of the strength of the evidence, the extent to which the data increase or decrease the odds a given hypothesis or model is true. Issues and techniques for deriving a Bayes factor are outlined. We illustrate the technique with data from an ultimatum game experiment that looked for an experimenter observation effect. We show that the evidence increases the odds of an effect, but not by enough to convince someone with a skeptical prior.     

实验经济学:跨学科研究的新典范

学科问的交叉和融合已经成为当代科学研究的重要趋势之一，实验经济学正是这一趋势中的典型代表。从实验经济学的历史发展和主要研究成果出发，论述了实验经济学的跨学科特征和表现，并进一步分析了实验经济学存在的问题和发展趋势。