Journal of Economic Education最新文献

{"title":"Oligopoly-An In-Class Economic Game","authors":"J. P. Meister","doi":"10.1080/00220489909596095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909596095","url":null,"abstract":"In teaching principles of economics, I have found that a number of otherwise high-quality textbooks do not cover oligopoly theory in a modern, yet accessible way. For instance, the workhorse model for some chapters on oligopoly is the kinked demand curve, even though it is not really a focal point of any higherlevel presentation of oligopoly theory. Partially to deal with this problem,I decided to let students have an opportunity to learn about oligopoly in a hands-on manner. I have them participate in an in-class simulation based on a quantitycompetition oligopoly game (see Carlton and Perloff 1994 for a detailed discussion of quantity-competition oligopoly) in which firms’products are perfect substitutes.1 (For other oligopoly games, see Joseph 1965, and Hemenway, Moore, and Whitney 1987.) I typically start this game after introducing the topic of oligopoly in class and showing students some basic game theory. I divide students into industries of five firms (I discuss later how I handle different sizes of industries), and each person is the manager of one firm.2 To give students incentive to maximize profit, each player earns extra credit on the basis of individual, average profit over the course of the game. The game has several rounds. Students learn that the attempt to have the greatest market share can be damaging to profits. Students perform calculations to see if, during the course of the game, they are producing anywhere near a one-period, profit-maximizing level of output. This can help them determine if they are producing too much or too little. Students have reported that such cal-","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"51 6 1","pages":"383-391"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84159462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Viner-Wong Envelope Theorem.","authors":"E. Silberberg","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595941","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595941","url":null,"abstract":"The envelope theorem, now the fundamental tool in modem duality analysis, had its beginnings in Jacob Viner's classic 1931 article on shortand long-run cost curves. It seemed wrong to Viner that at any given point along the long-run cost curve, the long-run average cost curve should have the same slope as the short-run curve, where capital was being held constant. This is still a puzzle to many people, along with the various other envelope theorem results (see, for example, the discussion of a related issue by Sexton, Graves, and Lee 1993). Viner instructed his draftsman, Wong, to draw the long-run curve through the minimum points of the short-run average cost curves. Curiously, Samuelson's resolution of the puzzle in Foundations (1947) dealt only with a simple unconstrained maximum problem, maximize y = f(xl2 ... .. n, a), where the xi's are the decision variables and a is a vector of parameters. Its relation to the original Viner-Wong diagram seems a bit remote at first, and, curiously, a discussion of the envelope theorem in the explicit Viner-Wong context seems missing from the literature.' This is unfortunate because it is possible to communicate the essence of this result (and more general results) with a simple cost diagram that goes back to the roots of cost theory.","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"37 1","pages":"75-79"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74642397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"William E. Becker and Michael Watts, eds., Teaching Economics to Undergraduates: Alternatives to Chalk and Talk. Cheltenham, U. K.: Edward Elgar, 1999. 274 pp","authors":"C. Swan","doi":"10.1080/00220489909596100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909596100","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"35 1","pages":"427-428"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74249869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lumpy Demand and the Diagrammatics of Aggregation","authors":"S. Shmanske, D. Packey","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595940","url":null,"abstract":"Economists are used to sketching demand curves that do not reach the vertical axis. What happens to the demand curve at low quantities is often ignored, which is understandable if the relevant cases for analysis all have prices that intersect the demand curve at quantities measurably far from zero. Nevertheless, in textbook treatments of the summation of individual demand curves (horizontal for rival goods or vertical for nonrival goodst), the individual curves are pictured as nicely intersecting the vertical axis. The point of intersection is sometimes referred to as the choke price. In textbook treatments of aggregation, the demand curve is continuous, but not continuously differentiable, through the choke price. A hidden implication of this is that the inverse demand curve, which, abstracting from income effects, is the marginal valuation schedule, is represented by the same diagram. Adding the demand curves horizontally or the marginal valuation curves vertically poses no particular problem. In distinction to the usual treatment, we were motivated by the real possibility that small amounts of a good are worthless to the consumer. For example, a pint of gasoline would not allow one to operate an automobile in a useful way, but several tankfuls could be a valuable input toward vacation travel. Wheels for one's automobile are generally worthless until you have at least four; 20 feet of fencing may be worthless if your property line is 30 feet; a bridge spanning 40","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"57 11 1","pages":"64-74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86790449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Paper River: A Demonstration of Externalities and Coase' s Theorem","authors":"G. Hoyt, Patricia Ryan, R. Houston","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595951","url":null,"abstract":"It is necessary to know whether the dama ging business is lia ble or not for damage caused since without the esta blishment of this initial delimitation of rights there can be no market transactions to transfer and recombine them. But the ultimate result (which maximises the value of production) is independent of the le gal position if the pricing system is assumed to work without cost. R. H. Coase The Paper River is a cl a s s room simu l ation designed to examine a negat ive ex t e rnality ge n e rated by a pro d u c t ive process that elicits a Coasian solution. Pre v i o u s ex p e riments designed by Hazlett (1995), N u gent (1993, 1 9 9 7 ) , and Berg s t rom and Miller (1997, 179‐99) focus on how pollution emission rights can be effi c i e n t l y a l l o c ated by the market through pro p e rty rights. Although these ex p e riments touch on pro p e rty rights in demonstrating how emission rights are a more efficient means of reducing pollution than gove rnment imposed limits, t h ey do not add ress Coase’s Th e o rem dire c t ly. Classroom ex p e riments that demonstrate Coase’s T h e o re m i n clude those by Delemeester and Neral (1995, 115‐19) and Stodder (1996). In these activ i t i e s , students imagine they are either the cr e ator or recipient of a h y p othetical ex t e rn a l i t y. Although this ap p ro a ch is useful for conveying Coase’s T h e ore m , it does not give students the opportunity to g e n e rate and ex p e rience the ex t e rnality dire c t ly. In the Paper Rive r, students cre ate and ex p e rience an ex t e rnality fi rs t hand and then concep t u a l i ze a correction pro c e d u re that is consistent with Coase’s Th e o rem. The unique nat u re of this simu l ation allows students to be invo l ve d d i re c t l y in the ex t e rn a l i t y . In add i t i o n , it simu l ates an actual env i ronmental pro bl e m , wh i ch will enable students to identify more easily other examples of e x t e rnalities that affect our society, s u ch as endange red species, d e s t ruction of the ra i nfo re s t s , and pre s e rvation of nat u ral hab i t at s .","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"36 1","pages":"141-147"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77246396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Experiment with Official and Parallel Foreign Exchange Markets in a Developing Country.","authors":"D. Hazlett, Jeela Ganje","doi":"10.1080/00220489909596096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909596096","url":null,"abstract":"This classroom experiment shows under what conditions the parallel market rate approximates the free-market value of the domestic currency. In addition, the experiment demonstrates how the existence of an official exchange rate may suppress international trade and promote corruption. Students take the roles of foreign exchange traders in a developing country. Their government desires a higher value for its currency than the market-clearing exchange rate. However, the government does not have foreign currency reserves to sell in order to maintain this value. Instead, it establishes an official foreign exchange market in which it trades some currency at the overvalued rate. In the official market, the quantity demanded of foreign currency exceeds the quantity supplied, so a parallel foreign exchange market with a floating rate handles the excess demand. Kiguel and O'Connell (1995) describe such dual exchange rate systems as common in developing countries. Typically, a developing country establishes an official market with an over-valued exchange rate to avoid the inflationary effects of a depreciation. Sometimes the government formally establishes a parallel foreign exchange market as well. For instance, developing countries often establish an official exchange rate for commercial transactions and a floating rate for financial transactions. In other cases, the parallel markets arise spontaneously, with varying degrees of tolerance from the government; these markets are called a gray market. If the government penalizes trade in the parallel market, it is called a black market. We used this experiment in a monetary theory course to introduce the role of supply and demand in foreign exchange markets and in a principles of economics course as part of a unit on the effects of government price controls. We also used an earlier version of the experiment in intermediate macroeconomics to introduce the various forms of foreign exchange regimes and in an openeconomy macroeconomics course to illustrate the economic effects of an overvalued currency in a developing country. Instructors could also use it for the financial section of an international economics course or in a course in development economics.","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"392-401"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79893192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Net News—Old Wine in a New Bottle?","authors":"George Bredon","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595935","url":null,"abstract":"Economics instructors who use the news sparingly in their classrooms may find that news available on the Internet overcomes some problems that have limited the use of news.1 In a recent survey, teachers of undergraduate economics reported a mean usage of 22 percent (with a median of 22 percent) for the popular press as a source of assigned materials in introductory courses. This usage did not vary markedly for upper division or econometrics courses. The survey results for theory courses suggest more evangelical use-median usage was only 6 percent but a mean of 28 percent suggests the mean had been inflated by some intense users (Becker 1997; Becker and Watts 1996). For introductory courses, this evidence is corroborated by the type of textbook chosen by most instructors. Although McConnell and Brue (1996, xxi) argue that \"capitalism in Russia, interest rate hikes, GATT, NAFTA, pollution rights, the balanced budget amendment\" are illustrative of \"a remarkable time for teaching and learning economics,\" their widely adopted textbook uses excerpts from current news sources in only a minor way. The authors discuss contemporary issues but most of the \"Last Word\" inserts illustrate specific economic principles or themes, and 35 of 40 are written by the authors. The reader is likely to encounter a humorous article, a biographical sketch, or some other noncurrent topic. Ancillary books and the Web site for the textbook are also noticeably devoid of news analysis. Presumably, instructors who use news would choose a textbook such as Parkin (1996) that uses news excerpts extensively because \"a major goal of the principles course is to help students build critical thinking skills and use economic principles to interpret daily news events (and their coverage in the media).\"2 Those who use newsclips are usually quick to extol their virtues, but little, if anything, has been written to explain why nonusers shun them. The explanation probably hinges on perceptions of their educational value, the time and effort needed to select suitable examples, and the costs of producing them. In this article, I address these issues and the use of the Internet for the selection and production of newsclips.","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"28-32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79322899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technology and the Teaching of Economics to Undergraduates","authors":"A. Katz, W. Becker","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595979","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"194-199"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82995228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian. Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 1999. x + 352 pp","authors":"W. Becker","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595956","url":null,"abstract":"(1999). Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian. Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 1999. x + 352 pp. The Journal of Economic Education: Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 189-190.","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"1 1","pages":"189-190"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90502004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Econometrics Lectures in a Computer Classroom","authors":"Michael P. Murray","doi":"10.1080/00220489909595996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00220489909595996","url":null,"abstract":"Increasingly, economics professors are provided access to computer classrooms. Teaching in such classrooms is both exciting and daunting: exciting because the new technologies promise the possibility of better teaching; daunting because the technology and its promise pose new challenges and create new pitfalls for teachers of economics. I eagerly champion using computer classrooms to teach econometrics better, but I also warn that these classrooms are not a panacea. Teaching in a computer classroom is very costly in faculty time and institutional dollars; only marked improvements in students' learning can justify such expense. In this article, I describe how the computer classroom has transformed my teaching of econometrics. I share caveats I have learned teaching econometrics for 10 semesters in a computer classroom, caveats that would apply to any course taught in such a classroom. How such classrooms might comparably transform the teaching of other economics courses is the fundamental question I leave with readers.","PeriodicalId":51564,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Education","volume":"31 1","pages":"308-321"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81539937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}