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It\u27s Just Like Magic: The Economics of Harry Potter
No full textDo the laws of economics apply in the magical world of Harry Potter? Even though J.K Rowling placed her characters in a world of magic, wizards remain subject to the implications of scarcity. As a result, the series is abundant with examples of basic economic principles. Given the popularity of the series, its use in the classroom is likely to inspire students to adopt the economic way of thinking for life. We demonstrate the pedagogical potential of the series by providing illustrations of trade-offs and opportunity costs, marginal thinking, the power of incentives, and the benefits of trade and commerce
Teaching Public Choice at the Master\u27s Level
No full textThis article summarizes the pedagogical approaches I have taken in teaching public choice in a course that enrolls advanced business school undergraduates (majors in economics, mainly) as well as master\u27s students in economics and political science. It starts with a brief overview of the field and then describes the course\u27s content. I reproduce a recent syllabus and two representative homework assignments. Some learning modules are suggested and ways of evaluating students\u27 mastery of public choice principles are discussed
French Fried Potatoes as Lecturecraft: A Lesson on Product Homogeneity in Competition from Five Guys®
No full textThis study provides an interesting vignette for using the Five Guys® French fry for discussing an aspect of market structure - that of product homogeneity - in the economics principles classroom. In our view, this vignette is not only both clear and concise, it also allows for the use of humor in what is perhaps an otherwise dry lecture/discussion
Dollars per Pound or Pounds per Dollar? Using the Kumon Method to Increase Student Understanding of Topics in International Finance
No full textIn this work I use the Kumon method in International Finance to help students become proficient on basic course topics. This lets them achieve a stronger foundation and allows them to focus on more complex course topics without struggling with the basics. Students improve their skills on the basic course topics using the Kumon-type worksheets. The majority agreed that the worksheets helped their overall understanding of International Finance
Teaching Corporate Finance using a Stock Trading Simulation: Student Expectations, Engagement, Performance, and Satisfaction
No full textThis paper presents a stock trading simulation designed to be implemented in a Corporate Finance class. We survey students regarding their expectations for the class, engagement and motivation, and assessment of the game. We match the survey responses with student performance in the trading game and performance in the class overall. The survey results show that the stock trading game has a positive effect on student engagement. Furthermore, the participation in the stock trading game leads to a higher level of interest in future finance classes and careers in finance
The Interaction of Gender and Incentives in Active Learning: An Experimental Investigation
No full textThe economics and finance education literature includes a growing collection of active learning exercises that are an increasingly important part of the educator\u27s toolkit. At the core of many exercises are incentives that either encourage competition or foster cooperation. Significant research in the educational psychology literature demonstrates that female students are more receptive to a collaborative learning environment. This paper presents results from an experiment investigating the learning implications of cooperative and competitive active learning exercises in the economics classroom. Findings suggest a gendered performance response to incentives in classroom activities and encourage further study on the topic
The Culture and Performance of the International Graduate Student in the Finance Classroom
No full textWe examine the success of international finance graduate students using various academic metrics and starting salaries as proxies for success. Developing a unique data set, we measure outcomes for a coterie of students from across the globe, considering such prosaic factors as age, gender, marital status, and undergraduate major. We employ Hofstede\u27s cultural dimensions to frame results, suggesting dimensions of cultural values influence outcomes. We find graduate GPAs most powerfully anticipated by undergraduate GP As, likelihood of thesis completion predicted by GP A and Hofstede dimensions - Power Distance and Individualism. We find women, higher GPAs and GMATs earn higher salaries after graduation
A Primer on Teaching Capital Structure Theory: An Intuitive Approach
No full textAn adequate understanding of the concept of the optimal capital structure choice of a company requires an intuitive understanding of that concept. The aim of this paper is to provide such an intuitive explanation. It discusses two methods of arriving at the optimal capital structure of a company. The first one is based on the effect of capital structure on the company\u27s share price, and the second one is based on the effect of capital structure on the weighted average cost of capital. The paper notes that the two methods arrive at the same optimal capital structure for the company
Recent Trends and New Evidence in Economics and Finance Education
No full textThe teaching of pre-college economics has been widely researched for over 45 years with studies focused upon teacher training and improving students’ understanding. This paper reviews that research base, and reports the results of a new national survey, as well as a summary of several recent developments in the field of economic education. Young people can learn economics best when taught by knowledgeable teachers using well developed curriculum materials. But, to accommodate expanding state requirements, pertinacious state bureaucracies must increase teacher training and curriculum standards
Minimizing Resource Costs under a Gold Standard: From Warehouse Deposits to Deposit Banking
No full textOne of the criticisms of the gold coin standard is it entails more resource costs than other systems. Why after all should people have to carry around bags of gold for each transaction and pay to have so much of it stored in vaults? In this piece I will discuss the options of one famous lover of gold, Scrooge McDuck, and discuss how the storage cost criticisms of gold money are unwarranted. A system can easily evolve from one where people held coins to one where they loan their commodity via bankers and earn interest thereby eliminating the large need to store or handle the actual commodity