Economic experiments in a classroom improve learning and attitudes toward economics: A case study at a community college of the City University of New York

ABSTRAC

The author investigates the learning efficiency of economic experiments, an innovative instructional tool that re-creates the outside world within the classroom. This tool enables the instructor to create an economic environment whereby students experience how their decisions and interactions create the market forces predicted by the economic theory. The findings show (a) improvement in students’ attitudes toward the subject, (b) perceived improvement in understanding the material, and (c) increase in assessments’ scores.

Keywords:

• Economics
• economic experiments
• behavioral economics
• experimental economics
• instructional tool