Article arguing that undergraduate curricula should incorporate new approaches to economics including game-theory and other advances in economic analysis
creator
Ferguson, William D. (Class of 1975) (Faculty/Staff)
Title
Curriculum for the Twenty-first Century: Recent Advances in Economic Theory and Undergraduate Economics
supporting host
Grinnell College. Economics
Index Date
2011
Date Issued
06-Jan-2011
Date (Other)
06-Jan-2011
Publisher
Grinnell College
Genre
Essays
Digital Origin
born digital
Extent
21 pages
Media Type
application/pdf
description
Undergraduate economics lags behind cutting-edge economic theory. The author briefly reviews six related advances that profoundly extend and deepen economic analysis: game-theoretic modeling, collective-action problems, information economics and contracting, social preference theory, conceptualizing rationality, and institutional theory. He offers suggestions for incorporating these into the undergraduate classes at various levels. He argues that game-theoretic representation of collective action problems offers a unifying framework, on par with supply and demand, for political economy. Blending in the other developments deepens our micro-level understanding of internal and external contract enforcement, with implications on nonclearing markets, power, and distribution. At the macro level, these concepts illuminate the role of institutions in economic development and long-term growth. Undergraduate curricula should incorporate these new approaches.
citation
Ferguson, William D. "Curriculum for the Twenty-first Century: Recent Advances in Economic Theory and Undergraduate Economics," Journal of Economic Education 42(1), January, 2011, 31-50. DOI: 10.1080/00220485.2011.536488 ~ citation/reference
Language
English
Topic
Study and teaching (Higher)
Topic
Economics
Keyword
Undergraduate curriculum
Keyword
Contemporary economic theory
Classification
HB
Related Item
Faculty Scholarship
Related Item
Curricular Materials
Related Item
Scholarship at Grinnell
Related Item
Digital Grinnell
Identifier (hdl)
http://hdl.handle.net/11084/11659
Identifier (local)
grinnell:11656
Access Condition
Copyright to this work is held by the author(s), in accordance with United States copyright law (USC 17). Readers of this work have certain rights as defined by the law, including but not limited to fair use (17 USC 107 et seq.).
