Is the concept of opportunity cost misunderstood? Survey evidence from students studying economics in Australia

Joseph Macri

Is the concept of opportunity cost misunderstood? Survey evidence from students studying economics in Australia

Joseph Macri

Department of Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference paper

Abstract

The notion of opportunity cost is arguably the most fundamental concept in economics and is often viewed as crucial in explaining and understanding individual rational choice on the basis of trade-offs. This study surveys the responses to an opportunity cost question which was adapted from the popular textbook, Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke’s textbook, Introduction to Microeconomics (2001). The results attained in this study are consistent with the Ferraro and Taylor (2005) study and raises serious questions about the understanding of fundamental concepts in economics. Furthermore, there may be implications in the way fundamental concepts in economics are taught to students.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	256-262
Number of pages	7
Journal	Proceedings of the IABE-2008 annual conference
Volume	5
Issue number	1
Publication status	Published - 2008
Event	International Academy of Business and Economics Conference (6th : 2008) - Las Vegas, Nevada Duration: 19 Oct 2008 → 22 Oct 2008

Keywords

opportunity cost
surveys
economic education

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abstract = "The notion of opportunity cost is arguably the most fundamental concept in economics and is often viewed as crucial in explaining and understanding individual rational choice on the basis of trade-offs. This study surveys the responses to an opportunity cost question which was adapted from the popular textbook, Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke’s textbook, Introduction to Microeconomics (2001). The results attained in this study are consistent with the Ferraro and Taylor (2005) study and raises serious questions about the understanding of fundamental concepts in economics. Furthermore, there may be implications in the way fundamental concepts in economics are taught to students.",

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AB - The notion of opportunity cost is arguably the most fundamental concept in economics and is often viewed as crucial in explaining and understanding individual rational choice on the basis of trade-offs. This study surveys the responses to an opportunity cost question which was adapted from the popular textbook, Robert Frank and Ben Bernanke’s textbook, Introduction to Microeconomics (2001). The results attained in this study are consistent with the Ferraro and Taylor (2005) study and raises serious questions about the understanding of fundamental concepts in economics. Furthermore, there may be implications in the way fundamental concepts in economics are taught to students.

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KW - economic education

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