Describes a class where students learn microeconomics from the perspective of a new business owner. This approach requires reordering the typical sequence of material and introducing a market simulation exercise. Includes a sample business plan, course outline, and data tables. (MJP)

Maintains that, although U.S. currency today is pure fiat money and not backed by gold or any other precious metal, students frequently ask, "But what about the gold at Fort Knox?" Describes what is really located at Fort Knox, why it is there, its implications for public policy. (CFR)

Discusses linear demand functions and constant marginal costs related to a monopoly in a market economy. Illustrates the demand function by using a curve. Includes an appendix with two figures and accompanying mathematical formulae illustrating the concepts presented in the article. (CFR)

Discusses issues related to short-run marginal cost and long-run marginal cost in economic theory. Asserts that few economics textbooks deal with important aspects of this concept. Includes four figures illustrating the approach suggested by the authors. (CFR)

Contends that it is widely believed that cheap labor in poor countries attracts foreign investors. Asserts that historical evidence indicates that past patterns of direct foreign investment in poor countries are inconsistent with the cheap-labor argument. Includes two figures and one table. (CFR)

Reports on a three-week seminar taught by U.S. economists at Moscow State University (Russia) in June 1992. Discusses the history of the pre-1992 economics curriculum and the emerging curriculum in modern Russia. Includes three tables illustrating changing curriculum content in economics over the past two decades. (CFR)

Contends that the field of economic history is no longer a separate subfield of economics but an integral part of the entire discipline. Explains the concepts of monetary policy, labor force development, and economic growth in U.S. economic history. Concludes that the end of economic history is the beginning of better and richer economics. (CFR)

Discusses whether or not the economic concept of the long run is no longer feasible because of computer-assisted manufacturing and other technological advances. Concludes that the terms "long run" and "short run" still serve as logical constructs in formal economic analysis. (CFR)

Maintains that university economics classes focus on mainstream economics and neglect ethical values. Reports on a study of 511 university students and 645 households in Zurich, Switzerland, and Berlin, Germany. Finds that students' evaluation of fairness in economic transactions remains stable during the period of time they participate in…

Asserts that classroom discussions of the fairness of the competitive market economy often deteriorate into polemical arguments. Presents a classroom simulation that enables students, regardless of their initial opinions to experience a variety of factors that influence wealth distribution in a market economy. (CFR)

Asserts that there are many advantages to working in a controlled laboratory environment when teaching market structures in economics. Introduces the concept of competitive market experiments, makes a renewed case for their use in economics instruction, and proposes an expanded format for reporting experimental results. (CFR)

Contends that, in recent years, the growth of experimental economics as a field of research has led to increased interest in using games and experiments in the economics classroom. Summarizes 12 reports on using experimental economics in the classroom and concludes that the method encourages student interest and learning. (CFR)

Charts the changes in student opinions, regarding the fairness of pricing and profits, from beginning to end of a first-year college economics course. Students answered morally ambiguous questions involving product markets and prices. Student belief in the fairness of free market pricing increased dramatically. (MJP)

Compares and contrasts Joseph Schumpeter's 1942 classic of economic thought, "Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy," with Edward Bellamy's 1888 utopian novel, "Looking Backward." Both works criticize capitalism and arrive at socialist solutions. Bellamy's entertaining novel provides a useful benchmark for students analyzing…

Utilizes two-dimensional price and output graphs to demonstrate the way that the price-level elasticity of aggregate demand affects alternative monetary policy rules designed to cope with random aggregate supply shocks. Includes graphs illustrating price-level, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), nominal GDP, and nominal money supply targeting.…