In theory, Intermediate Macroeconomics is the course that bridges the elementary concepts learned in the introductory economics courses and the more specialized knowledge that upper-level electives provide. In practice, however, the course is expected to do far too many things; for example, patching the coverage gaps from said introductory courses or loading far too many concepts under the hypothesis that this class is the last offering in macroeconomics that a student will take in their undergraduate program. I argue that we are teaching Intermediate Macroeconomics the wrong way. To make it right, we should rethink the goals of the course, both looking at its role as a stepping stone and arguing that many of the recent advances in macroeconomic theory and policy are ripe for inclusion in a course of this nature.
For decades the Solow model has been a workhorse in intermediate macroeconomics classrooms and textbooks. The explanatory power, analytic simplicity, and intuitive graphical exposition combine to make the model an indispensable part of the undergraduate macroeconomics canon. There is much less consensus on what, if anything, should be covered beyond the Solow model. Given that sustained economic growth has only occurred over the last two centuries, I argue that the Solow model should be part of a more comprehensive class module on economic growth. The module would begin with the logic of the Malthusian trap, move to the Solow model, and conclude with a model of endogenous technology growth. Some class time can also be devoted to the institutional, cultural, and geographic reasons that plausibly keep some countries in the Malthusian trap. Taken together, this module provides students with a comprehensive, yet accessible, view of macroeconomic history.
Intermediate macroeconomics is a core course in the undergraduate economics curriculum that offers a unique set of challenges for the instructor. This article introduces a symposium on the course that outlines these challenges and suggests ways to address some of them. The symposium begins with results from a national survey of intermediate macro instructors at U.S. institutions that documents current course structures, content, and instructor perspectives. Three additional papers propose specific approaches to issues that intermediate macro instructors typically face: whether to align the course more closely with the research frontier, how to teach contemporary Federal Reserve monetary policy implementation, and how to expand the coverage of growth theory beyond the standard Solow Model. By documenting current practice and offering specific approaches to course design, the symposium contributes to ongoing discussions about the purpose, scope, and future direction of intermediate macro in undergraduate economics programs.
Institutions of higher education are under pressure to keep costs under control. This paper tests determinants of gross tuition and net cost of attendance using a panel data set of 1,864 institutions from 2009 to 2022. Results show a strong positive relationship between institutions’ administrative overhead and tuition. Instructional expenditures have a much weaker relationship with tuition, suggesting that tuition increases are not being fueled by spending on faculty salaries. Interestedly, public, but not private, institutions’ spending on research is strongly related to higher tuition, which suggests varying returns to research expenditures. There are mixed results for grants and loans. In terms of institutional decisions, the results encourage college administrations to be careful about adding more non-teaching employees to the ranks of administration. This is found to be particularly relevant for increased costs in the areas of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.
Intermediate macroeconomics (intermediate macro) is a core requirement in the undergraduate economics major, serving as a terminal macro course for many students while preparing others for advanced electives and, in some cases, graduate study. Yet systematic evidence on how intermediate macro is taught across U.S. institutions remains limited, an issue that is particularly acute given the diversity of theoretical approaches and the gap between undergraduate coverage and the research frontier. This paper reports results from a national survey of instructors who have recently taught intermediate macro at U.S. institutions awarding bachelor’s degrees in economics. The survey instrument was designed to capture multiple facets of course design, curricular context, and instructor characteristics and perceptions. Instructors report high autonomy over content, strong support for integrating real-world examples and data, and high satisfaction teaching the course.
Focused on teaching methods in introductory economics courses (i.e., principles and survey courses), this article presents initial findings from the seventh National Quinquennial Survey on Teaching and Assessment Methods in Undergraduate Economics. The results indicate some changes in the demographic profile of the typical instructor teaching economics principles, while continuing to show the dominance of traditional lectures as the primary instructional method. From being very frequently used between 1995 and 2020, traditional lectures were reported as usually or always used in 2025. Moreover, new findings reveal that traditional lectures are not only frequently used but also intensively utilized in undergraduate introductory economics courses. While digital tools, instructor(s) with student(s) discussions, and resources such as FRED are increasingly incorporated in the economics classroom, other teaching practices remain unchanged and underutilized. These findings highlight both continuity and emerging shifts in economics pedagogy.
In recent years, superhero films have accounted for nearly 18% of US theater revenue. This study analyzes data on superhero films released between 1978 and 2025, employing ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares to identify factors influencing domestic box office success. The analysis includes models for the full sample and subsets divided by the 2012 release of The Avengers . Results from the full sample indicate that increased budgets, wider exposure, and favorable reviews from critics and audiences are positively correlated with real domestic revenues. For films released after The Avengers , there is strong evidence that audiences prefer those set within interconnected cinematic universes. Our models include variables identifying films within the DC Extended Universe, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men cinematic universe, and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, with results highlighting the importance of these interconnected film universes in driving financial performance in the contemporary superhero genre.
We analyze recent citation data to identify leading contributors and rising scholars in the field of economics education. Using a curated list of journals endorsed by the American Economic Association’s Committee on Economic Education, we construct a focused i10 index based on citations received between 2020 and 2024. This metric emphasizes sustained influence across multiple papers and avoids distortions caused by singly highly cited articles. Our results include rankings of top-cited scholars overall, high performers by i10 index, impactful early- and mid-career scholars, and leading researchers outside of North America. Additionally, we also identify the ten most cited articles during our sample period to highlight topics resonating with current researchers. In doing so, we document the breadth of contemporary economics pedagogy research and recognize the evolving institutional professional roles of those contributing to its growth.
This study describes a research training program held at Princeton University in the summers of 1987 and 1988 that focused on econometric estimation of qualitative response models for conducting research on economics education in high schools. The 45 participants were primarily early-career professors, some with prior research interests in economic education and others new to the field. The program helped participants identify research questions, gave them data to analyze, and provided instruction from well-known economists, econometricians, and experts in economic education research. Support throughout the program and afterward positively influenced the academic careers of many participants and produced a substantial number of research articles published in academic journals. The program was a successful model for research training in economic education.
Economic theory on the subject of barriers to entry focuses almost exclusively on firms seeking to preserve market power and economic profits. In this paper, we propose that, under certain circumstances, firms may instead choose to reduce barriers to entry as a profit-maximizing mechanism. We model this behavior and show that, under certain conditions, profit can increase for some existing firms as the number of firms in the industry increases. We provide evidence of this behavior from three distinct industries: personal computers, non-petroleum cars and professional American football.
The technical efficiency of 140 freeholds and 114 tenant farms on the Rensselaerwyck manorial estate in New York (USA) in 1850 is assessed using mathematical programming Data Envelopment Analysis. Freeholds are roughly 5% more efficient, a small difference likely owing to the fixed rent perpetual leases of the tenants. When both types are projected onto their respective production possibility frontiers, the pure tenancy penalty shrinks to about one percent. Farm wealth is remarkably equally distributed under both organizational forms, which contradicts the view that initial land inequality (manorial estates) is self-perpetuating.
Intermediate microeconomics occupies a key position in the undergraduate economics curriculum. It is considered the hardest ‘core’ course: mathematically rigorous, abstract in content, and frequently a turning point in students’ decisions to persist in the major. Yet, as the discipline grapples with declining enrolments, increasing emphasis on quantitative methods and persistent underrepresentation of women and minorities, the pedagogical and curricular design of intermediate microeconomics is ripe for scrutiny. This overview paper summarizes three papers describing those issues and proposing both pedagogical and curricular reforms.
Three papers presented at the 2005 AEA Annual Meetings session on “A Fresh Look at the Future of the Intermediate Microeconomics Course” examined the current state of the course at a range of institutions (Hoyt, Marshall, O’Sullivan and Patel (2025)), proposed content changes to increase relevance for students (Halliday and Mamunuru (2025)), and detailed methods for supporting students’ sense of belonging and growth mindset (Jacobson and Viceisza (2025)). I discuss these papers through the lens of student agency: rather than treat the teacher as “producer” and the student as “consumer,” I propose that we think of the course as an incomplete contract in which the teacher is the “principal” and students are “agents.” From this perspective, relevance, belonging, and growth mindset become ways to encourage student effort and boost learning productivity.
The global dispersion of equity valuations has witnessed a marked increase in recent years. We compare the roles of political freedom and economic freedom in these valuation patterns. Using cyclically adjusted price to earnings (CAPE) data from twenty-three countries over 2006–2023, we show the variability in valuation is better explained by political freedom than by economic freedom indicators. More democratic countries with high growth rates enjoy higher CAPEs. On its own, the degree of democratization explains about 13% of global CAPE variation, whereas the levels of economic freedom and property rights explain less than 1%.
