The Scope of Microeconomics: A Comment

Bringing together this diverse panel of experts to discuss the scope of economics in the context of the Framework is welcome for several reasons. One is that too often what we write is published and we never hear any reactions to it. Another is that we do not often enough try to take stock of the discipline in a specific, rather than in some global, context. Still another is the need to give more attention to what we teach and how it is taught. In this case, it is the opportunity to help the Joint Council on Economic Education (JCEE) ensure that its major curriculum project, the Master Curriculum Guide, can stand up against close scrutiny by economists and educators. The first edition of the Framework, published in 1977, received intensive review while being written, prior to publication, and shortly after publication at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association. Before preparing the second edition, the JCEE convened a conference of economists and educators to examine the content and structure of the first edition and to offer suggestions to the authors. Again, the draft report received extensive review by economists, educators, and teachers to ensure that it was on target. Despite this care, the blending of many views into the printed report, while satisfying some, inevitably unsettles others. The reasons should be obvious: we each have a unique slant on economics, strong views about the importance of particular topics, special ways for addressing certain portions of the material, and nagging doubts about how to put all the elements together to give students a coherent view of the strengths and weaknesses of the economic approach. The fact that these differences exist is testimony to the healthy condition of economics and economists. The Framework report that was sent to all conferees represents only one component, albeit an important component, of the JCEE's K-12 instructional efforts. Its Master Curriculum Guide, of which the Framework is the key document, also includes a series of strategies volumes that illustrate how to teach many of the concepts outlined in the Framework volume. These volumes put flesh on the skeleton of economics that is contained in the Framework. The need for these supplementary volumes should be obvious. The seventy-two page Framework represents an attempt to distill the essential elements out of the vast knowledge of economics. It necessarily