This paper presents a framework for thinking abaout the different types of spreadsheet modeling applications available for teaching economics. Spreadsheet applications are categorized by the degree to which students are involved in the spreadsheet's construction, and the degree to which students...

This paper presents examples of consumer theory concepts that can be explored more thoroughly, and made more accessible, when spreadsheet software is used as part of the intermediate-level economics classroom. Areas of application are utility functions, income and substitution effects, price...

Because modern macroeconomics is by nature dynamic, the mathematics involved are often difficult for undergraduate students to grasp. Unfortunately, numerical examples that are helpful in clarifying other technical areas of economics are very time consuming and even intractable when using pen,...

This paper applies spreadsheet software to intermediate-level consumer theory concepts. Spreadsheets help make the concepts more accessible while allowing students to explore the ideas in more depth. Areas of application are utility functions, income and substitution effects, price indices,...

Empirical evidence contradicts the view that savings rates are independent of permanent income levels. Instead, a distinctive nonlinear relationship between savings and permanent income has been found. What explains this result? Using Robert Frank's model of the demand for nonpositional goods,...

This paper presents a way to incorporate the neoclassical assumptions of the permanent income hypothesis and rational expectations into a spreadsheet version of a textbook new Keynesian model. This approach allows students to compare these schools of thought through many different types of...

Since the early 1970s, there has been a dramatic change in the way firms handle reference requests. Before 1970, firms would willingly provide detailed information about a former employee's job performance. More recently , firms have become reluctant to provide information due to a perceived...

The measurement of economic and social development is one of the most hotly contested subjects in economics. Since the 1970s, it has become evident that it is necessary to use a composite index to capture various aspects of social and human development and to address related issues of...

It is shown that the component statistics of the HDI are highly correlated with one another. An implication of this correlation is that a wide range of index weights produce indexes that are statistically identical to the HDI. Indexes with only two of the three HDI components are very highly...

Preliminary tests are conducted on the Cahill and Isely (1998) model. In this model, the level of external debt is partially determined by foreign aid. Specifically, this model suggests that the level of external debt for an LDC is positively related to GDP and aid, but is negatively related to...