US

Teaching Introductory Economics

How should economics be introduced to undergraduate students? Since the crisis and the Great Recession began more then a decade ago, many young people have complained that what is taught in intro courses seems to bear no relation to the pressing issues that they hoped the subject would help them to understand – poverty, inequality, globalization, environmental sustainability, financial instability, robots and the digital economy.

Within the profession, it is also being widely discussed whether principles classes bear sufficient resemblance to how economics is done at the frontier and by ‘real-world’ practitioners. In a forthcoming article in the Journal of Economic Literature, Samuel Bowles and Wendy Carlin, who led the development of the CORE curriculum, argue that it is time for a change in what students learn in Economics 101.

In an essay that is also due to appear in the JEL, Greg Mankiw, author of one of the dominant intro textbooks, reflects on how courses should evolve. And there has been media attention for radical plans to change how economics is taught at Harvard, where until recently Mankiw was in charge of the introductory course and, before him, the recently deceased Martin Feldstein.

We invited our US panel to express their views on this topic. We wanted to avoid focusing on specific textbooks but at the same time encourage the experts to look at actual introductory courses at their universities. So we asked them whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements, and, if so, how strongly and with what degree of confidence:

(a) The first required class for undergraduate economics majors at my university accurately reflects the way that economists think about a range of economics problems.

(b) The first required class for undergraduate economics majors at my university addresses the most pressing economic issues in the US.

How economists think

Of our 43 experts, 35 participated in this survey. On the first statement, 9% said that they had no opinion and 2% were uncertain. Along with the experts who did not participate in the survey, these responses may reflect the fact that many of them are not involved with the teaching of introductory economics at their universities. It may also indicate a reluctance to appear to be critical about what is being taught by departmental colleagues.

Of those that did express an opinion and weighted by each expert’s confidence in their response, 21% strongly agreed, 67% agreed and 11% disagreed. A handful contributed short comments that they are able to include when they participate in the survey.

Among those who agreed with the statement, Anil Kashyap commented: ‘Admittedly just skimmed the syllabus of the entry level class, but these things change slowly and supply and demand goes a long, long way.’ Christopher Udry at Northwestern said: ‘Re: the Intro Micro class I taught at Yale largely following Steve Berry’s notes. We tried with limited time to get at the core ideas.’

Daron Acemoglu at MIT disagreed, noting: ‘Principles courses at most universities are out of touch with the emphasis on empirical work and incentives/market imperfections.’

The most pressing issues

On the second statement, again 9% said that they had no opinion. Of those that did express an opinion and weighted by each expert’s confidence in their response, 60% agreed, 25% disagreed and 16% were uncertain (and none said that they either agreed or disagreed strongly).

Among those who agreed with the statement, Joe Altonji explained that at Yale, ‘The first course is microeconomics. A number of critical issues are covered in the second course – macroeconomics.’ Aaron Edlin noted that at Berkeley, ‘Environmental externalities, lackluster growth and even decreases in income for the bottom 75 percent, and inequalities are addressed.’ And Pete Klenow at Stanford pointed to John Taylor’s blog post written at the start of the current academic year, outlining his approach to teaching first-year students in the aftermath of the crisis.

Of those who disagreed, Anil Kashyap suggested a reason why pressing issues might not be addressed right away: ‘You need to walk before you can run, jumping to the most interesting questions is not really feasible; so this is not an indictment.’ Christopher Udry made a similar remark: ‘No, we were trying to lay the foundation for that. But we didn’t have time to do any justice to the issues.’

Of those who replied that they were uncertain, Larry Samuelson at Yale stated: ‘I believe that every introductory economics class has room for improvement in this respect.’ Oliver Hart at Harvard concluded: ‘There are new course head(s) and I imagine this will lead to modifications. The world keeps changing and so should some of the topics.’

All comments made by the experts are in the full survey results.

Romesh Vaitilingam
@econromesh
June 2019

 

Question A:

The first required class for undergraduate economics majors at my university accurately reflects the way that economists think about a range of economics problems.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Question B:

The first required class for undergraduate economics majors at my university addresses the most pressing economic issues in the US.

Responses weighted by each expert's confidence

Question A Participant Responses

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu
MIT
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
Principles courses at most universities are out of touch with the emphasis on empirical work and incentives/market imperfections
Alesina
Alberto Alesina
Harvard
Strongly Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Altonji
Joseph Altonji
Yale
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Auerbach
Alan Auerbach
Berkeley
Strongly Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Autor
David Autor
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Baicker
Katherine Baicker
University of Chicago Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Bertrand
Marianne Bertrand
Chicago
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Brunnermeier
Markus Brunnermeier
Princeton
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Chetty
Raj Chetty
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Chevalier
Judith Chevalier
Yale
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Cutler
David Cutler
Harvard
Strongly Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Deaton
Angus Deaton
Princeton
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Duffie
Darrell Duffie
Stanford
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Edlin
Aaron Edlin
Berkeley
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Eichengreen
Barry Eichengreen
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Einav
Liran Einav
Stanford
Strongly Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Fair
Ray Fair
Yale
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Finkelstein
Amy Finkelstein
MIT
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee
Chicago
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Greenstone
Michael Greenstone
University of Chicago
Disagree
7
Bio/Vote History
Hall
Robert Hall
Stanford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Hart
Oliver Hart
Harvard
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Holmström
Bengt Holmström
MIT
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Hoxby
Caroline Hoxby
Stanford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Hoynes
Hilary Hoynes
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Judd
Kenneth Judd
Stanford
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
I have no idea what they teach.
Kaplan
Steven Kaplan
Chicago Booth
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Kashyap
Anil Kashyap
Chicago Booth
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
admittedly just skimmed the syllabus of the entry level class, but these things change slowly and supply and demand goes a long, long way
Klenow
Pete Klenow
Stanford
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Levin
Jonathan Levin
Stanford
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Maskin
Eric Maskin
Harvard
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Nordhaus
William Nordhaus
Yale
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Obstfeld
Maurice Obstfeld
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
I do not teach the course.
Saez
Emmanuel Saez
Berkeley
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Samuelson
Larry Samuelson
Yale
Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Scheinkman
José Scheinkman
Columbia University
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Schmalensee
Richard Schmalensee
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Shapiro
Carl Shapiro
Berkeley Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Shimer
Robert Shimer
University of Chicago
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Obviously there is a range of thinking among economists.
Stock
James Stock
Harvard
Strongly Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Thaler
Richard Thaler
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
Don’t know.
Udry
Christopher Udry
Northwestern
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
re: the Intro Micro class I taught at Yale largely following Steve Berry's notes. We tried with limited time to get at the core ideas

Question B Participant Responses

Participant University Vote Confidence Bio/Vote History
Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu
MIT
Disagree
4
Bio/Vote History
Alesina
Alberto Alesina
Harvard
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Altonji
Joseph Altonji
Yale
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
The first course is microeconomics. A number of critical issues are covered in the second course---macroeconomics.
Auerbach
Alan Auerbach
Berkeley
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Autor
David Autor
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Baicker
Katherine Baicker
University of Chicago Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Bertrand
Marianne Bertrand
Chicago
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Brunnermeier
Markus Brunnermeier
Princeton
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Chetty
Raj Chetty
Harvard Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Chevalier
Judith Chevalier
Yale
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Cutler
David Cutler
Harvard
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Deaton
Angus Deaton
Princeton
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Duffie
Darrell Duffie
Stanford
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Edlin
Aaron Edlin
Berkeley
Agree
8
Bio/Vote History
Environmental externalities, lackluster growth and even decreases in income for the bottom 75 percent, and inequalities are addressed
Eichengreen
Barry Eichengreen
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Einav
Liran Einav
Stanford
Agree
10
Bio/Vote History
Fair
Ray Fair
Yale
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Finkelstein
Amy Finkelstein
MIT
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee
Chicago
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
Greenstone
Michael Greenstone
University of Chicago
Disagree
7
Bio/Vote History
Hall
Robert Hall
Stanford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Hart
Oliver Hart
Harvard
Uncertain
5
Bio/Vote History
There are new course head(s) and I imagine this will lead to modifications. The world keeps changing and so should some of the topics.
Holmström
Bengt Holmström
MIT
Uncertain
4
Bio/Vote History
Hoxby
Caroline Hoxby
Stanford Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Hoynes
Hilary Hoynes
Berkeley
Disagree
9
Bio/Vote History
Judd
Kenneth Judd
Stanford
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
I doubt it, but I have no idea what they teach.
Kaplan
Steven Kaplan
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
3
Bio/Vote History
Kashyap
Anil Kashyap
Chicago Booth
Disagree
5
Bio/Vote History
you need to walk before you can run, jumping to the most interesting questions is not really feasible. so this is not an indictment
Klenow
Pete Klenow
Stanford
Agree
7
Bio/Vote History
Levin
Jonathan Levin
Stanford
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
Maskin
Eric Maskin
Harvard
Agree
5
Bio/Vote History
Nordhaus
William Nordhaus
Yale
Agree
9
Bio/Vote History
Obstfeld
Maurice Obstfeld
Berkeley
Agree
4
Bio/Vote History
Saez
Emmanuel Saez
Berkeley
Uncertain
4
Bio/Vote History
Samuelson
Larry Samuelson
Yale
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
i believe that every introductory economics class has room for improvement in this respect.
Scheinkman
José Scheinkman
Columbia University
No Opinion
Bio/Vote History
Schmalensee
Richard Schmalensee
MIT Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Shapiro
Carl Shapiro
Berkeley Did Not Answer Bio/Vote History
Shimer
Robert Shimer
University of Chicago
Agree
3
Bio/Vote History
The classes emphasize tools but they touch on important issues.
Stock
James Stock
Harvard
Agree
6
Bio/Vote History
Thaler
Richard Thaler
Chicago Booth
Uncertain
1
Bio/Vote History
Udry
Christopher Udry
Northwestern
Disagree
8
Bio/Vote History
No, we were trying to lay the foundation for that. But we didn't have time to do any justice to the issues.