Tax Game part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
The link between a set of taxes and income distribution is an important, but difficult, concept taught in economics principles courses. The Tax Game simulation requires a student to set tax rates for an income tax, a property tax, a wealth tax, a payroll tax, a corporate income tax, a sales tax,and an excise tax. The student can choose any rates he or she wishes, but must achieve a given revenue target.

MarketSim part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
MarketSim helps students understand the functioning of markets by having them become consumers and producers in a simulated economy. There are two versions, both implemented over the internet. Jeremy's market ...

General Equilibrium Simulation for Microeconomics part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
Teaching general equilibrium analysis to students is challenging. General equilibrium models are typically accessible to only a small handful of mathematically well prepared students. Yet the growing significance ...

Specialization and Division of Labor part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
This example engages students in a simple simulation of specialization and division of labor. All that is needed are staplers and some paper.

Fair Model part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
The Fair model web site includes a freely available United States macroeconomic econometric model and a multicounty econometric model. The models run on the Windows OS. Instructors can use the models to teach ...

Dynamic Integrated Climate Change Model (DICE) part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
The Dynamic Integrated Climate Change (DICE) model assumes a single world producer must chose levels for three simultaneously determined variables: current consumption, investment, and greenhouse gases reduction. ...

Hobson's Choice: A Game Simulation about Homelessness part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Katherine Rowell, Sinclair Community College
Hobson's choice is a game about homelessness and how difficult it is to get off the streets and leave the situation of homelessness.It is a useful learning activity for helping students understand the differences between blaming the victim and structural causes of poverty.

Population Simulator part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Katherine Rowell, Sinclair Community College
This simulation uses United Nations world population projections to simulate future population trends for the whole world or of individual countries. Students will have an opportunity to examine population trends and make predictions.

Budget Explorer part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
Students often come to a principles course in economics with knowledge that is not correct. This example asks students to guess the percent of federal expenditures for different spending categories. They are then ...

Economics and the Tragedy of the Commons part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Simulations:Examples
Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University
In both macroeconomics and microeconomics principles courses, economists teach the virtue of markets as an allocative mechanism. But markets sometimes fail. This example allows students to simulate the market ...