Category Archives: Teaching Economics

New Yorker writer John Cassidy argues in a recent article that free market-oriented Chicago school thinking was largely responsible for the financial crisis, and that, for this reason, interventionist-oriented Keynesian thinking has rightly replaced Chicago, which had previously “greatly influenced … Continue reading →

People ask how I think introductory economics teaching should change as a result of the financial crisis. It’s an important question. At the upcoming American Economic Association Annual Meetings, my colleague Bob Hall, next AEA President and Program Director, has … Continue reading →

The just-released Spanish translation of my book, Getting Off Track, is titled Sin Rumbo, which translates back to English as “without direction” or “aimlessly.” Although the Spanish title has a somewhat different connotation than the English, it is actually an … Continue reading →

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I teach Economics 1 with an “audience response system” similar to the ones you see on TV game shows. Think of the “Lifeline” on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Each student in the lecture has a little hand-held transmitter. … Continue reading →

Want to see an amazing illustration of how the game theory model of duopoly works? Watch this video from the British TV show Golden Balls. In the classic case of duopoly, two firms (call them Sarah and Steve) produce and … Continue reading →

The awarding of the Nobel Prize in economics is always a teachable moment. This year’s award is no exception. It recognizes research on “economic governance” and goes to Elinor Ostrom for her work on “the commons” and to Oliver Williamson … Continue reading →

This cover design of Fuori Strada: Como lo Stato ha causato, prolungato e aggravato la crisi finanziaria, the just released Italian edition of Getting Off Track, says it all, and the economic policy lessons are the same in any language: … Continue reading →

Want to understand what really goes on behind the scenes of the supply and demand model? Read this wonderful clear essay by Russell Roberts. It explains how prices provide information, coordinate, and motivate decisions with many more details than in … Continue reading →

The “free market” lectures–we had them last week at Stanford–are my favorites in Economics One. I wear this Adam Smith tie, give a short summary of Smith’s writings, read his story of the woolen coat from the pages of his … Continue reading →