Teaching and Educational Methods

Teaching Undergraduate Economics: Emphasize Early the Meaning of Vertical Distances and of Their Summation Over Quantities

Matthew G. Interis
Mississippi State University

JEL Codes: A22, D600
Keywords: Graphing, principles, teaching, welfare

Publish Date: November 30, 2022
Volume 1, Issue 1

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Abstract

Many important economic concepts—for example, deadweight losses, market surplus measures, and
concepts preceded by the word “total”—are graphically depicted as areas. Although many students can
identify areas like total surplus appropriately in simple circumstances such as when a market is in
equilibrium, many struggle to do so when the circumstances are even slightly more complex, such as
when a market is not in equilibrium. The reason may be that many students do not understand how
these areas are graphically derived. In this commentary, I discuss simple adjustments instructors can
make to emphasize the economic meaning of vertical distances and of their summation over quantities
so that students can better identify graphical representations of economic concepts even in more
complex circumstances.

Acknowledgements: I thank the editor and two reviewers for comments that helped me to greatly improve the manuscript. About the Author: Matthew G. Interis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University. (Corresponding Author Email: m.interis@msstate.edu)

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