The Effects of an Introductory Economics Course on Students’ Political and Economic Opinions (2009)

Undergraduate: Anna MacMonegle

Faculty Advisor: Ralph Byrns
Department: Economics

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This study examines the effects of an introductory economics on students’ political and economic opinions. It was hypothesized that completing such a course would make students think and respond to survey questions more like PhD economists.

In order to test this, students at UNC and Duke were surveyed using The Washington Post’s “Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy.” These 37-question surveys were conducted at the end of the Fall semester and at the beginning of the Spring semester for students enrolled in the introductory economics courses at each school. The responses of the students were then compared to the responses of PhD economists, previously obtained by The Washington Post.

It was found that at UNC, there were conclusive results to indicate that completing the economics course changed the way students responded, and that this change was in the direction of economists. At Duke, the findings were less conclusive but still suggested a movement towards the responses of PhD economists.

The results from this research suggest that students who complete economic education think more like economists. This proposes the idea that economic education can correct any biases the public may have about political and economic topics.