Title: Language in economics education

Authors: Oliver Simon Baer

Addresses: Kantonsschule Hottingen, Minervastrasse 14, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: A more careful use of language in economics education will prove to be a valuable piece of equipment for the next generation of economists. With relatively little effort, educators can greatly improve economics courses by insisting on a more precise use of words. By critically discussing the different meanings of the market in Mankiw's Essentials of Economics, this paper shows how ambiguously language is often used in today's economics courses. We suggest a multilayered view of the market that stresses the need for pluralism in economics. Following the arguments of the theory of money emissions, we separate exchange as the economic core of markets from behavioural and institutional aspects. Thereby, we propose a demarcation line between macro- and microeconomics that can be built into a financial and economics curriculum of the future.

Keywords: capitalism; equilibrium; exchange; language precision; macroeconomics; markets; methodology; money; banking; semantics; economics education; theory of money emissions; use of words; market meanings; pluralism; microeconomics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2012.051136

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2012 Vol.3 No.3, pp.252 - 265

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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