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Symposium: A Fresh Look at the Future of the Intermediate Microeconomics Course – Challenges and Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Parama Chaudhury
  • Gail Hoyt

Abstract

Intermediate microeconomics occupies a key position in the undergraduate economics curriculum. It is considered the hardest ‘core’ course: mathematically rigorous, abstract in content, and frequently a turning point in students’ decisions to persist in the major. Yet, as the discipline grapples with declining enrolments, increasing emphasis on quantitative methods and persistent underrepresentation of women and minorities, the pedagogical and curricular design of intermediate microeconomics is ripe for scrutiny. This overview paper summarizes three papers describing those issues and proposing both pedagogical and curricular reforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Parama Chaudhury & Gail Hoyt, 2025. "Symposium: A Fresh Look at the Future of the Intermediate Microeconomics Course – Challenges and Opportunities," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 70(2), pages 280-283, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:70:y:2025:i:2:p:280-283
    DOI: 10.1177/05694345251353698
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amanda Bayer & David W. Wilcox, 2019. "The unequal distribution of economic education: A report on the race, ethnicity, and gender of economics majors at U.S. colleges and universities," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 299-320, July.
    2. Cynthia Harter & Carlos J. Asarta, 2022. "Teaching Methods in Undergraduate Intermediate Theory, Statistics and Econometrics, and Other Upper-Division Economics Courses: Results From a Sixth National Quinquennial Survey," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 67(1), pages 132-146, March.
    3. Emily C. Marshall & Anthony Underwood & Abigail Hyde, 2024. "Requirements of the undergraduate economics major: An update and comparison," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(3), pages 320-327, July.
    4. Tisha L. N. Emerson & KimMarie McGoldrick, 2024. "Failure, withdrawals, and retakes in intermediate microeconomics," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 333-349, October.
    5. Amanda Bayer & Cecilia Elena Rouse, 2016. "Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 221-242, Fall.
    6. Samuel Bowles & Wendy Carlin, 2020. "What Students Learn in Economics 101: Time for a Change," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(1), pages 176-214, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Diego Mendez-Carbajo, 2025. "Editorial Updates, Issue Review, and Teaching Intermediate Microeconomics Symposium," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 70(2), pages 191-192, October.

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