Laying off or not? the Influence of framing and economics education
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2010
Sprache
English
TORE-URI
Volume
9
Issue
1
Start Page
44
End Page
55
Citation
International review of economics education 9 (1): 44-45 (2010)
Publisher DOI
Publisher
The Economics Network
Ariel Rubinstein’s (2006) sceptical comment on the study of economics hits a nerve
with many economists who worry that what they teach and the way in which they
teach may indoctrinate students. Rubinstein conducted a survey in which students
had to decide whether to lay off workers, and thus meet a company’s goal of
making high profits, or to fire less, which results in lower profits. In his survey, it
turned out that economists put, on average, a much higher weight on the
company’s profit than non-economists. Rubinstein’s conjecture is that economics students’‘views on economic issues are influenced by the way we teach, perhaps without them even realizing it’.This is a serious accusation and our immediate response to his article was astonishment. Is the way we teach really flawed? There are some big clouds of doubt that make us reluctant to follow Rubinstein’s
recommendation to consider changing our teaching methods.
with many economists who worry that what they teach and the way in which they
teach may indoctrinate students. Rubinstein conducted a survey in which students
had to decide whether to lay off workers, and thus meet a company’s goal of
making high profits, or to fire less, which results in lower profits. In his survey, it
turned out that economists put, on average, a much higher weight on the
company’s profit than non-economists. Rubinstein’s conjecture is that economics students’‘views on economic issues are influenced by the way we teach, perhaps without them even realizing it’.This is a serious accusation and our immediate response to his article was astonishment. Is the way we teach really flawed? There are some big clouds of doubt that make us reluctant to follow Rubinstein’s
recommendation to consider changing our teaching methods.
DDC Class
620: Ingenieurwissenschaften