Teaching

Public vs Economists’ Opinions

Ronald Shereni Policy, Principles of Economics, Teaching 0 Comment

We all know that economists and the public differ in their views, but a recent study by Northwestern economist Paola Sapienza and Chicago economist Luigi Zongales (Economic Experts vs. Average Americans) quantifies those distinctions, providing a good entry into policy discussions.  It concludes that a panel of top economists and public opinions differ about 37 percent of the time. They provide a table with additional comments, which can make a great resource. I plan to incorporate it into class by asking students to characterize the differences, and to see if (1) they agree with the public or the economists, and (2) if they can explain the reasons why.  There is a summary article in the Economist Magazine, www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2013/01/economists, but I would suggest exploring the Chicago website (http://www.igmchicago.org/igm-economic-experts-panel) for the original material.  For those using my Principles text book (which is now out in the 9th edition) It would be useful to use at the beginning of a Principles of Economics class or as a reference to Chapter 23,  “Microeconomic Policy, Economic Reasoning, and Beyond.”

First Published : January 17, 2013

Economists Aren’t Cool, and Shouldn’t Try To Be

Ronald Shereni Teaching 0 Comment

What is in the water at Harvard? It seems that Harvard economics is at it again even after their disastrous 2006 attempt at a recruiting video remains a standing joke within the profession. (It has since been removed from the web, but you can see spoofs of it on YouTube and read about it in “Remedial Recruiting–At Harvard” in Inside Higher-Ed) A group of Harvard professors seems out to outdo Harvard’s previous attempt. Their new attempt (sent to me by another economist) was reported by Business Insider and can be found at CRINGE: Greg Mankiw and the Harvard Economics Department Do “Call Me Maybe.”   If the video is still up when you read this, it is worth a look. (It even includes John Campbell who, after his role in the last video, promised to run from the camera like Borat should any camera come close again.)

Harvard doesn’t ask me for a lot of advice, but I will offer some anyway—stick with economics; forget the videos. Let’s face it, even at their coolest, economists aren’t cool, nor should they try to be. Just the theory, facts, and empirical evidence, please.

So, why do economists rank so low on the coolness factor? One reason is that the job selection process weeds out coolness. In a time-honored tradition, job candidates for teaching jobs are asked boring questions about their dissertations and are judged on a boredom scale.  For research economists and those who will primarily teach graduate students, such interviews make sense—researchers and grad teachers are supposed to be boring. Asking only such questions doesn’t make sense, however, for the largest segment of the market–undergraduate teachers. So in the next January’s program (the job market will be at the ASSA meetings in San Diego in early January), I took out an ad, suggesting that those interviewing ask some additional questions that show what the candidate knows about the economy and about issues relevant to their teaching. Here’s the ad:

Bored to death at yet another interview?

Are you hiring people who are going to teach Principles of Economics? Instead of just asking “Tell us about your dissertation,” ask questions that relate to teaching. Questions like . . .

  • How would you explain to a class why current economic policy isn’t pulling the economy out of the doldrums?
  • How would you integrate Card and Krueger’s findings into a principle’s level discussion of the minimum wage debate?
  • How is QE3 different from operation twist?
  • What did Keynes mean when he wrote to Hayek, “morally and philosophically I find myself in agreement with virtually the whole of [The Road to Serfdom] and not only in agreement with it, but in deeply moved agreement.”
  • What is likely to happen with the euro, and what policies would you suggest to deal with the European financial problems?
  • Do you favor using a Marshallian or a Walrasian approach to teaching micro?
  • How would you explain to students Michael Sandel’s views on the limits of markets as explained in What Money Can’t Buy?
  • How would you integrate Thaler and Sunstein’s concept of nudges into the micro principles course?
  • How does Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments change the interpretation of the Wealth of Nations?
  • If the money supply has expanded so much recently, why hasn’t there been any inflation?
  • How should Coase’s Theorem be integrated into the standard policy model?
  • Should we teach the multiplier model, the AS/AD model, or both?
  • Can markets fail if there are no externalities?
  • What is your view of Reinhart and Rogoff’s argument of the limits of government debt?

Being a good economics teacher involves much more than just being a good researcher or knowing the models. A good teacher questions what he or she is learning, reads outside the classroom, and relates the abstract models she or he learns to the real world. Too often the initial interview doesn’t select for these qualities in a candidate. It should. Make the interview more interesting—along with the standard questions, ask a few “outside the box” questions.

I admit, these are not “cool” questions, but at least they are relevant to teaching, and economists who can answer such questions are likely to be good teachers. What students want from their teachers is someone who both knows the material in the textbook backward and forwards, and can relate it to current events. They care less whether their teachers are cool or can lip sinc “Call Me Maybe.”

First Published : December 8, 2012