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SURPRISE SIDE ECONOMICS Ideas for Introductory Economics Lectures

SURPRISE SIDE ECONOMICS Ideas for Introductory Economics Lectures. Marcelo Clerici-Arias and John B. Taylor Stanford University Prepared for Presentation at the American Economic Association Annual Meetings Boston, Massachusetts January 9, 2000. Standing on the shoulders of giants.

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SURPRISE SIDE ECONOMICS Ideas for Introductory Economics Lectures

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  1. SURPRISE SIDE ECONOMICS Ideas for Introductory Economics Lectures Marcelo Clerici-Arias and John B. Taylor Stanford University Prepared for Presentation at the American Economic Association Annual Meetings Boston, Massachusetts January 9, 2000

  2. Standing on the shoulders of giants • If Adam Smith can inspire us as economists he can also inspire us as teachers of economics. • Here’s what an inspired Woodrow Wilson said of Smith: • “He constantly refreshed and rewarded his hearers...by bringing them to those clear streams of practical wisdom and happy illustration which everywhere irrigate his expositions.”

  3. What is surprise side economics? • Lecture ideas to make economics • Less abstract • More intuitive • More relevant • More memorable • Combines entertainment with education • Element of surprise gives advantage to “live” lecture • Multimedia: animated slides, audio, video, on-line • Active learning component • Small group “work-outs” in class • Live experiments: participate or watch live demo • Not for everybody!

  4. Ideas for teaching:No single way is best for allOLDNEW

  5. 03_08A PRICE Supply curve 300 280 260 240 New intersection 220 Equilibrium price rises 200 New 180 demand curve 160 Equilibrium quantity rises 140 Demand curve 0 5 10 15 20 QUANTITY

  6. I bet you wonder how I knewabout your plans to make me bluewith some other guy you knew before.Between the two of us guysyou know I love you more.It took me by surprise(drive me crazy),when I found out yesterday.Don’t you know that ...

  7. Could you sketch the supply and demand diagram by hand?

  8. 08_05 Dollars AT C QUANTITY

  9. 08_05 Dollars AL QUANTITY

  10. 08_05 Dollars BE QUANTITY

  11. 0 Dollars ATC BE AL QUANTITY

  12. Economies of Scale 10 workers together = 48,000 pins or 4,800 pins in a day a worker alone: 20 or 1 pin in a day 1/240th or 1/4800th as much

  13. IT’S MACROPut on your Big Picture Glasses

  14. We will answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them:You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns.You shall not crucify mankind upon across of gold.

  15. WELCOME TOA school for central bankers.Dedicated to teaching the science and art of monetary policy.

  16. A case where macroeconomic principles were given low weight in the economic policy decisions

  17. To get a gut-feeling for the idea of comparative advantage, let’s imagine 2 people with 2 skills: lawyereconomist

  18. I learn more online 15% I learn the same online versus in lecture 42% I learn more by attending the lecture in person 44% Survey QuestionDo you learn more going to a live lecture or watching online?

  19. Active learning in large lectures • Classroom experiments • Small group work

  20. Classroom experimentsin large lectures • Partial class participation • Example: double oral auction • Some students participate as buyers and sellers on stage • Rest of the class observes how the market works • Total class participation • Example: free rider experiment

  21. Free rider experiment • Students invest fixed number of tokens in private account and/or public account • Public account yields a higher interest rate, but the dividends are shared with everyone • Six rounds • No communication • Results posted after each round • Break for communication between rounds 3 and 4 • Cash prize for one randomly selected person

  22. Free rider experimentFall 1999-2000

  23. Free rider experiment and learning • Students quickly recognize similar phenomena in different settings • Strong impression in the minds of the students • “I believed in humanity… until today!”

  24. Small group workin large lectures • Important characteristics: • “SGW mode” • verbal and audiovisual clues • example: Economic Jedi • very small groups: pairs (with neighbor) • very focused: one small problem or subset of a problem, not a big discussion • very short: 90 seconds to 3 minutes • share findings with the whole class

  25. Economic Jedi:The mystery of increasing poultry consumption (1) • Why has consumption of chicken and turkey increased so dramatically over the last several decades? • Small groups: • Draw initial equilibrium in poultry market • In the same graph, show what could have happened to explain the increase in the consumption of poultry

  26. Economic Jedi:The mystery of increasing poultry consumption (2) • Alternatives: • increase in demand: consumers are more health conscious and have switched from red meat to poultry. • increase in supply: cheaper ways of raising chicken and turkey and getting them to the market • How would you check which hypothesis is true?

  27. Economic Jedi:The mystery of increasing poultry consumption (3) • Between 1950 and 1990 the real price of poultry decreased from $2 to $0.80 per pound. • Changes in supply were more important. • Mystery solved!

  28. Assessment • Results • More small group work and discussions improved performance • Peer review and the additional reading did not improve performance

  29. END

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