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Take Us to Your Economists: Teaching Economics Through a (Hypothetical) Alien Invasion

Author

Listed:
  • Scott Burns

    (Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Business Administration, Southeastern Louisiana University, USA)

  • Matthew Alford

    (Instructor of Economics, Department of Business Administration, Southeastern Louisiana University, USA)

  • David C. Wyld

    (Charles Wesley Merritt Professor of Management, Department of Business Administration, Southeastern Louisiana University, USA)

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges that economic educators face is finding creative ways to bring the economic way of thinking to life. This paper introduces a creative way to engage students in the most important ideas in economics using a captivating thought experiment from science fiction: what can economics teach us about how our policymakers should respond to an alien invasion? Although this thought experiment was initially used as a debate topic for an economics club event, it has also been successfully utilized in principles-level classes. It even has applications to a variety of higher-level classes in international trade, game theory, and monetary economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Burns & Matthew Alford & David C. Wyld, 2025. "Take Us to Your Economists: Teaching Economics Through a (Hypothetical) Alien Invasion," European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, European Open Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:epw:ejedu0:v:6:y:2025:i:2:id:30844
    DOI: 10.24018/ejedu.2025.6.2.844
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