International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (4 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Student Decision-Making Through Classroom Simulation-Based Learning: Preference and Effectiveness  
  by Ibtisam Al-Abri 
  Abstract: Non-traditional teaching methods like classroom experiments have increasingly gained attention as new means of teaching undergraduate courses to boost active learning. This paper has three objectives: 1) to describe a classroom simulation that allows students to accomplish a specific learning objective by choosing actions based on a simulated environment; 2) to discuss students' preference toward four teaching methods (simulation-based, simulation with direct instruction, interactive video, and interactive video with direct instruction); 3) to investigate the factors that may influence the preference for simulation-based learning. Eight factors have been considered: overall academic performance, gender, language proficiency, previous learning methods, coyness, favouring the course, number of friends, and number of active social media accounts. Most interestingly, post-simulation analysis reveals a discrepancy between students' preference for learning methods and the effectiveness of these learning methods. Findings disclose that interactive learning methods are effective; however, students prefer learning through a combination of interactive and traditional teaching methods. This is attributed to two main factors: past learning experience and the cultural aspect of Arabian counties. Findings reveal that academic performance and previous experience have a positive influence, while coyness and English proficiency negatively impact preferences for simulation-based learning.
  Keywords: simulation-based learning; student preferences; method effectiveness; fisheries economics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2024.10064484
   
  
• Alternative Teaching Approaches: Economics for Future Generations  
  by Kladiola Gjini  
  Abstract: This paper provides insights into the current state of economics education and proposes changes to improve the student learning experience. One key objective is to make economic education more appealing to younger generations by promoting active learning through the integration of literature, art, and economics with various other forms of human expression. We recognise the need for economics professors to reconsider their teaching approaches and their impact on students' learning outcomes, particularly in terms of effective analysis in economics classes. By initiating a debate on the best ways to connect cutting-edge methods with the knowledge presented in the classroom, this paper incentivises economics professors to explore innovative strategies. Through these discussions, we can foster interdisciplinary learning, engage students in critical thinking, and better prepare them for the challenges of the modern economic landscape. The ultimate goal is to inspire positive changes in economics education that will benefit both current and future generations of students.
  Keywords: economics; student engagement; innovative pedagogy; pluralism; economics education.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2024.10064503
   
  
• Adam Smith's Money Problem  
  by Reynold Nesiba 
  Abstract: In his 'Debt the First 5000 Years', anthropologist David Graeber (2011) argued that in the Wealth of Nations, Smith asserts that money spontaneously arose as a medium of exchange to overcome the double-coincidence-of-wants under an imagined system of barter. The result is that Smiths view of barter and money obscures our understanding of the role of money in economic history and in economic theory. In contrast, in his 1998 book, Understanding Modern Money, L. Randall Wray asserts that Smith saw the fundamentals of the Chartalist taxes-drive-money approach. More specifically, Smith is among the first to see that a governments requirement that tax payments be made in paper money can lift the value of that money above its par price with specie. In contrast with Graeber, Wray sees Smith as enhancing our understanding of economic history and theory. Unlike the famous Adam Smith Problem that exists primarily between his emphasis on the essentiality of sympathy for others in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and the pursuit of self-interest that animates The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smiths Money Problem exists within the pages of The Wealth of Nations itself. This paper discusses these different views with a hope to resolve the competing tensions.
  Keywords: Adam Smith; barter; modern monetary theory; MMT; chartalism; money; taxes-drive-money; David Graeber; L. Randall Wray.
  
  
• Methodology in theory, and Practice, in Economics Textbooks  
  by Martin K. Jones  
  Abstract: While methodology is not often seen as a core part of the economics curriculum in universities, a surprising number of economics textbooks have methodological discussions in them. An interesting question is just how far the textbook authors actually follow through on the methodology which they espouse. Fortunately, it is easy to test this in general, since many textbooks also have sections on behavioural economics. Insofar as the behavioural economics clashes with mainstream neoclassical economics, one can test how serious the textbook authors are about their methodological pronouncements.
  Keywords: textbook analysis; methodology; behavioural economics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2024.10064825