Donna Ginther and Shulamit Kahn have just published a paper that tracks thousands of American academics from the time they first get their PhDs through to their tenure and promotion decisions. They conclude: Economics is the one field where gender differences in tenure receipt seem to remain even after background and productivity controls are factored in and […]

Imagine two course sections with the following grading schemes: Section A: 4 assignments worth 5% each for a total of 20%; 35% midterm; 45% final. Section B: 4 assignments worth 10% each for a total of 40%; 60% final. In my experience, students often reason: "Section B places more weight on assignments. I can work with […]

A random question from a Stanford University PhD micro exam looks something like this: The "Robinson Crusoe economy" is the simplest possible general equilibrium model, and students who can solve for Crusoe's leisure and coconut consumption choices have presumably learned something about general equilibrium theory. But they haven't learned how to theorize. 

My colleague Stephen Saideman just tweeted a post by Bill Ayres on The Myth of Academic Incompetence. In it, Bill argues: there is no necessary correlation between having to make sometimes difficult trade-off decisions and alienating people. What matters is how the decisions are made and what the relationship is between those making those decisions and those being affected by […]