A Fresh Look at the Future of the Intermediate Microeconomics Course:
Discussion
Chris Makler
ASSA 2025 Meetings
Lecturer,
Stanford University
Department of Economics
Chris Makler
Lecturer
Stanford University
Department of Economics
I
teach
Stanford
Economics
at
We
teach
students
economics.
about
Subject
Direct Object
Indirect Object
teachers
students
economics
Jacobson & Viceisza:
All Flowers, No Weeds
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
How can we as teachers enable all our students to succeed?
How can we best choose topics that are the most relevant for students?
Who teaches intermediate microeconomics, and what do they teach?
My discussion is grounded here.
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
Who teaches intermediate microeconomics, and what do they teach?
enjoy teaching intermediate micro
93%
complete autonomy
87%
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100%
First takeaway: we really love our jobs, and our jobs give us a lot of autonomy.
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
Who teaches intermediate microeconomics, and what do they teach?
graduate study
35%
labor market
72%
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10
20
30
40
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60
70
80
90
100%
Second takeaway: by and large, we're focused on preparing students
for the labor market, not for graduate study in economics.
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
Who teaches intermediate microeconomics, and what do they teach?
course seen as a barrier
87%
all students can improve with effort
94%
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10
20
30
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100%
Third takeaway: broad consensus that intermediate micro is seen as a barrier to
progressing in economics, but that all students can improve with effort and persistence.
student performance is shaped more by effort and persistence than ability
76%
teachers
students
economics
Jacobson & Viceisza:
All Flowers, No Weeds
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
How can we as teachers enable all our students to succeed?
How can we best choose topics that are the most relevant for students?
Who teaches intermediate microeconomics, and what do they teach?
My discussion is grounded here.
Jacobson & Viceisza: All Flowers, No Weeds
How can we as teachers enable all our students to succeed?
Pros: a ton of great ideas for practical ways to engage all students in the classroom.
Cons: So. Many. Ways.
language in the syllabus that explicitly addresses growth mindset and impostor syndrome
extensive office hours in multiple formats
write notes of encouragement, especially to female students
in-class games
videos to watch before class
group-based research paper
optional math assessments and practice
post and discuss a news article with a microeconomic idea
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
How can we best choose topics that are the most relevant for students?
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, 2021.
University of Strathclyde, UK, 2021
Pros: emphasis on the topics students are really interested in.
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
How can we best choose topics that are the most relevant for students?
Pros: emphasis on the topics students are really interested in.
Stanford University, April 2024
Cons: So. Many. Topics.
But this is actually great! We have a fantastic model for analyzing how we balance unlimited wants with scarce resources!
Having so many options seems like a big problem.
Model 1: We use our time to teach two types of students
How can I shift the LPF?
How do I make my "optimal choice"?
Implicit assumption: I am the producer of knowledge in my students.
Model 2: Students are producers of their own knowledge, and we are inputs in production.
Jacobson & Viceisza:
All Flowers, No Weeds
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
Students who feel you care about their success will be more motivated to exert effort.
Students will exert more effort if they see the relevance of the course materials to their own lives.
Hoyt, Marshall, O'Sullivan & Patel:
An Examination of the Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Course
all students can improve with effort
94%
Model 2: Students are producers of their own knowledge, and we are inputs in production.
In this model, the design of a course becomes an exercise in mechanism design; the relevant model is not scarcity and choice, but the principal-agent problem.
Given your objectives, your institution, and your students, how can you choose the right course content and modalities of learning to maximize social welfare?
Institutional context matters.
INTERMEDIATE MICRO
ECON COURSES
MATH COURSES
LIFE EXPERIENCES
FUTURE COURSES
CAREERS
LIFE
What is the context for your students?
How do they view your course?
The Dual Mandate of Intermediate Micro
MANDATE I
Teach content relevant to students' lives.
MANDATE II
Set students up for continued success.
We are not a field course!
Summary
Jacobson & Viceisza:
All Flowers, No Weeds
Halliday & Mamunuru:
Updating our Approach to Intermediate Microeconomics
Lots of great, super specific ideas about how to help all your students thrive in intermediate micro through curriculum design, pedagogical supports, and content selection.
Lots of great, super specific ideas about models which have more direct relevance to students' lives than the traditional models of consumer and producer theory.
There is more wonderful stuff in each of these papers than you will be able to use.
Know your own situation, and think about it from your students' perspective. Then, experiment and iterate.
ASSA 2025 Discussion
By Chris Makler
ASSA 2025 Discussion
Discussion: Future of the Intermediate Microeconomics Course
