IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/soecon/v92y2025i2p606-627.html

Testing a new approach to teaching introductory economics: Effects on subsequent learning

Author

Listed:
  • Buly A. Cardak
  • Sue O'Keefe
  • Yen Dan Tong
  • David Walker

Abstract

The academic performance of students who take an introductory economics subject taught from CORE's The Economy is compared to the performance of students taught using the Australian adaptation of Mankiw's principles text. All students attended the same university, completing the relevant subject during the same semester. Using a difference in differences approach, it is found that the average mark for all subjects taken after the introductory economics semester is 0.26 standard deviations higher for students who took CORE Economics. The benefit extends beyond economics subjects, with students who have taken CORE Economics performing better in many business school discipline areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Buly A. Cardak & Sue O'Keefe & Yen Dan Tong & David Walker, 2025. "Testing a new approach to teaching introductory economics: Effects on subsequent learning," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 92(2), pages 606-627, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:92:y:2025:i:2:p:606-627
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12759
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12759
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/soej.12759?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert C. Nordvall & John M. Braxton, 1996. "An Alternative Definition of Quality of Undergraduate College Education: Toward Usable Knowledge for Improvement," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(5), pages 483-497, September.
    2. Amanda Bayer & Gregory Bruich & Raj Chetty & Andrew Housiaux, 2020. "Expanding and diversifying the pool of undergraduates who study economics: Insights from a new introductory course at Harvard," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 364-379, September.
    3. John J. Siegfried & William B. Walstad, 2014. "Undergraduate Coursework in Economics: A Survey Perspective," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 147-158, June.
    4. Durden, Garey C & Ellis, Larry V, 1995. "The Effects of Attendance on Student Learning in Principles of Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(2), pages 343-346, May.
    5. Robert H. Frank, 2006. "The Economic Naturalist Writing Assignment," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 58-67, January.
    6. Stephen L. Chew & William J. Cerbin, 2021. "The cognitive challenges of effective teaching," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 17-40, January.
    7. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Murray, James M., 2025. "Scholar spotlights! A curricular intervention to enhance students’ perceptions of relevance and belonging in principles of macroeconomics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    2. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2021. "Promoting Female Interest in Economics: Limits to Nudges," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 123-127, May.
    3. Depro, Brooks & Rouse, Kathryn, 2022. "Adapting the case method in an economics capstone research course," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    4. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2024. "A simple nudge increases socioeconomic diversity in undergraduate Economics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 287-307, January.
    5. Jane E. Ihrig & Scott A. Wolla, 2020. "Let's Close the Gap: Revising Teaching Materials to Reflect How the Federal Reserve Implements Monetary Policy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-092, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Natsuka Tokumaru, 2024. "Reality-oriented critical learning using the CORE in introductory economics courses: cognitive engagement and economic literacy," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 97-113, April.
    7. James E. McClure & Lee C. Spector, 1997. "Behavior and Performance in the Economics Classroom," Working Papers 199701, Ball State University, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2003.
    8. Sami Diaf & Jörg Döpke & Ulrich Fritsche & Ida Rockenbach, 2020. "Sharks and minnows in a shoal of words: Measuring latent ideological positions of German economic research institutes based on text mining techniques," Macroeconomics and Finance Series 202001, University of Hamburg, Department of Socioeconomics.
    9. Andrea B. Rempillo & Daryl I. Quinito, 2025. "Pedagogical Gaps and Teachers’ Performance in Public Secondary Schools," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 12(2), pages 611-620, February.
    10. Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Bauer, Thomas K., 1998. "Learning Efficiency of Economics Students," IZA Discussion Papers 23, IZA Network @ LISER.
    11. Alberto Baccini & Lucio Barabesi & Carlo Debernardi, 2025. "Exploring the Shape of Economics: A Multilayer Network Analysis of Social Communities and Intellectual Similarity Among Journals Before and After the 2008 Financial Crisis," Papers 2508.09079, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2026.
    12. Dey, Ishita, 2018. "Class attendance and academic performance: A subgroup analysis," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 29-40.
    13. Jadrian Wooten, 2022. "Book Review: Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, by Goldstein, J," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 67(1), pages 155-158, March.
    14. Jonathan Guest, 2015. "Reflections on ten years of using economics games and experiments in teaching," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1115619-111, December.
    15. Halliday, Simon D. & Makler, Christopher & McKee, Douglas & Papadopoulou, Anastasia, 2024. "Improving student comprehension through interactive model visualization," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    16. Tisha L. N. Emerson & KimMarie McGoldrick & John J. Siegfried, 2018. "The Gender Gap in Economics Degrees: An Investigation of the Role Model and Quantitative Requirements Hypotheses," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(3), pages 898-911, January.
    17. Brad R. Humphreys & Joshua C. Hall & Hyunwoong Pyun, 2015. "An Inventory of Sports Economics Courses in the US," Working Papers 15-49, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    18. Ishuan Li & Robert Simonson, 2016. "Capstone senior research course in economics," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 161-167, April.
    19. Graziella Bertocchi & Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2021. "Adams and Eves: The Gender Gap in Economics Majors," EIEF Working Papers Series 2115, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Dec 2021.
    20. Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora & Dario Pozzoli, 2012. "Determinants of grades in maths for students in economics," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:92:y:2025:i:2:p:606-627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2325-8012 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.