How Should We Think About the Intermediate Microeconomics Course in Light of Recent Trends in the Economics Major?
Recently, the number of undergraduate economics bachelor’s degrees conferred has declined as has the percentage of total degrees conferred to economics majors (IPEDS). Simultaneously, the fraction of economics degrees conferred to econometrics and quantitative economics (STEM-designated) has been rising (IPEDS; Marshall and Underwood 2020). These concurrent trends, alongside a perpetual underrepresentation of females and other minorities in economics, motivate an examination of the core economics curriculum components. This paper discusses aspects of intermediate microeconomics, a foundational and almost universally required course in the economics major and explores how this course may play a role in these trends.
Authors
- Emily C. Marshall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9998-7295)
- Anthony Underwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6424-626X)
- Roisin O’Sullivan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4788-2253)
- Darshak Patel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6202-0670)
- Gail M. Hoyt
Institutions
- Dickinson College (US)
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Smith College (US)
- Denison University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The American Economist
- Published
- 2025-06-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/05694345251353199
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Innovations in Educational Methods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 35.70