From 2012 to 2019, the proportion of undergraduate economics degrees denoted as "Econometrics and Quantitative Economics" (STEM-eligible) conferred annually increased from 1 percent to 22 percent. The authors present results from a survey of the 73 institutions conferring at least one STEM-eligible economics degree in 2017 or 2018. They…

The authors analyze the various factors that highly recognized economists cite as reasons for pursuing a career in economics. They obtained data for 62 of the 67 Nobel Laureates in economics and included another 22 prominent economists who have made significant contributions in economic research. The authors' basic quest was to discover how these…

In this article, the authors explain the purpose and context for the 2009 International Symposium on Economic Education that was the source for articles on four nations with relatively developed systems for economic education: Australia, England, Japan, and Korea. The authors highlight several key comparisons from the four articles that appear in…

In the spring of 2001, Bates College Environmental Economics classes bought their first sulfur dioxide emissions allowance at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's annual auction, then conducted by the Chicago Board of Trade. In the spring of 2010, they bought their 22nd through 34th allowances. This article describes a three-part method for…

The authors examine two factors that may affect student achievement in economics principles courses: working for pay and the primary source of funds (employer tuition reimbursement, loans, scholarships, financial aid, self-financing, parental transfers, other) used to pay for college for a sample of students in economics principles classes at a…

Underrepresentation of women in economics is documented in many studies. Investigation of its sources at the undergraduate level is examined through students' decisions to persist in economics, either beyond an introductory course or in their major choices. The authors add to the literature by analyzing students' decisions to take their first…

Undergraduate students are often interested in applications of economic principles. Although popular television shows and movies are not real-world examples, drawing from these sources can motivate disinterested students and provide a pedagogical tool that enhances instruction. In this article, the authors discuss several basic introductory…

Student dissatisfaction with teaching of economics--particularly with macroeconomics--during the current financial crisis mirrors dissatisfaction that was expressed during the last big crisis, the Great Depression. Then and now, a good number of students have felt that their lectures bear little relation to the economic crisis raging outside the…

Many economics majors write a senior thesis. Although this experience can be the pinnacle of their education, publication is not the common standard for undergraduates. The authors describe four approaches that have allowed students to get their work published: (1) identify a topic, such as competitive balance in sports, and have students work on…

Since January 2000, the authors have experimented with an integrated community-based research-education-service model that combined (1) funded research into the local economic effects of the University of Vermont; (2) a sequence of four semester-long courses to conduct the research and to implement and evaluate key findings; and (3) a…

The author examines the determinants of success in introductory microeconomics, in the context of a Middle Eastern society but within an American educational setting. The data set is rich and covers over 3,500 students in one regional campus, allowing control for a wide range of student and class characteristics, one of which, nationality, is…

The author argues that, although the standard principles level treatment of fixed and sunk costs has problems, it is logically consistent as long as all fixed costs are assumed to be sunk costs. As long as the instructor makes that assumption clear to students, the costs of making the changes recently suggested by X. Henry Wang and Bill Z. Yang in…