1. Teaching Macroeconomics with a Computer Simulation. Final Report.
- Author
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Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA. and Dolbear, F. Trenery
- Abstract
The study of macroeconomics--the determination and control of aggregative variables such as gross national product, unemployment and inflation--may be facilitated by the use of a computer simulation policy game. An aggregative model of the economy was constructed and programed for a computer and (hypothetical) historical data were generated. The data were then given to students so that they could attempt to make policy decisions which would solve problems of unemployment and inflation in the economy. Variants of the model were used in a number of ways during the past several years--for students in an introductory economics course, for an intermediate macroeconomics course, and for first-year graduate theory students. At the graduate level, a stochastic version of the model has been used with a regression package, and this modification appears to provide an ideal laboratory for the exploration of econometric problems. Most students who have been exposed to the model report that they enjoyed participating in the game and as a result became more interested in their course and that the experience had made the textbook material seem more real and more easily understood. (Author/SH)
- Published
- 1972