Fun with Economics: Simulating Theory to Stimulate Learning

Economic principles are key elements of the public administration curriculum. However, many students do not expect to like economics.They often believe it is unconnected to real issues of concern to them, and they find its standard apparatus difficult and overly abstract. Using simulation techniques that activate learning fits with some learning theory and can help make economic principles seem more realistic and intuitive.This paper describes four active learning exercises the authors have used successfully in MPA classes. We hope this paper may result in widespread sharing of such techniques so that the teaching and learning of economics in public administration programs may become more fun and effective. Introduction In an effort to prepare reflective practitioners, teachers of public administration and affairs (PA) stress the importance of theory, sometimes to the dismay of students who want skills and tools they believe will be more "practical" in the workplace (Weschler, 1997).To academicians, theories make it possible to derive meaning from experience (Kaplan, 1964), making theory eminently useful to the thoughtful practice of public administration. Economics is among the theoretically grounded, abstract disciplines that PA students must master because, in the industrialized nations, it is no longer possible to separate politics and administration from the economy. These countries' systems have become political economies, with constant interaction between the governmental and the economic. Further, in an era when privatization and deregulation are popular, practitioners need a solid understanding of what markets can and cannot be expected to do. In keeping with this reality, the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) guidelines for professional master's degree programs state that preparing students for professional leadership in public service shall include "Economic. . .institutions and processes" (NASPAA 1992, 3). Other NASPAA guidelines include "Policy and program formulation, implementation and evaluation," which themselves often require an understanding of economics.Thus, the teaching of economics concepts and principles is firmly ensconced in the PA curriculum. Unfortunately, many students do not like economics.They find it excessively abstract and often have difficulty connecting its principles to their reality. Literature indicates that, particularly in more abstract disciplines such as economics, mathematics, or statistics, student learning often stops short of a real understanding of the subject and focuses instead on the memorization of rules or principles, which often are not retained over the long term J-PAE 8 (2002):2:131-139 Journal of Public Affairs Education 131 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.111 on Tue, 09 Aug 2016 06:11:48 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Fun with Economics: Simulating Theory to Stimulate Learning (Hallett, 2000). Studies requiring the application of economic knowledge to real-life problems have found that students with formal training in economics do not outperform students from other disciplines (Boshuizen, 1995). Clearly, the thoughtful practice of public administration requires that students be able to apply their knowledge and put theory to use. How can teachers help to build this capability? Advances in cognitive psychology suggest that real learning occurs when students build information into associative networks that allow knowledge to be retrieved and applied (Bruning, Schraw, and Ronning, 1995).Therefore, it behooves teachers of economic principles and concepts to seek teaching techniques that activate student learning. For students to move from the memorization to the application of knowledge, they need to develop a context, a means for making theory "real" and for recognizing the potential for its application.This paper discusses several simulations of economic concepts that are designed to give students an "ah-ha!" experience that not only enhances student learning but also makes economics more fun. Simulations such as those discussed here are one element of an active learning approach, and there is a growing body of research indicating that "students do learn more and better by becoming actively involved" (Angelo, 1993, 5). The simulation exercises discussed here (Candy Auctions, the Initial Endowment exercise, and Save the Grand Canyon!) engage the students in discovering three building blocks of economic theory. These exercises can also be extended to illustrate less basic concepts. • Auctioning off candy engages student attention and can bring out intuitive understanding of demand curves and social surplus. • Students sometimes have difficulty grasping both the intuition of Pareto optimality and its equity implications. The Initial Endowment exercise, which gives each student a different initial endowment of candy and then allows trades, stimulates understanding of this concept. • One of the most difficult concepts in social welfare economics is that social demand for nonrivalrous goods is summed vertically rather than horizontally. Save the Grand Canyon! involves the students in a simulation that clarifies this difficult point. This paper provides clear descriptions of these exercises so that other PA teachers may use them either directly in their own classrooms or as inspiration for creating their own exercises to increase student engagement and learning.