Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Thinking Like an Economist with Prof. Jonathan Gruber
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Thinking Like an Economist with Prof. Jonathan Gruber
Professor Jonathan Gruber wants to train students to think like economists. Economics uses elegant mathematical models to explain how people make decisions and allocate their resources—but all too often those models are taught in ways that remain disconnected from students’ own experience. In this episode, Professor Gruber shares his thoughts on bridging that gap in his course 14.01 Introductory Microeconomics. He says he tries to anchor the course with real-world examples; as he explains, “You only really understand something when you go out in the real world and apply it.” And those examples, he says, have to be relatable. So rather than discussing companies none of his students have heard of or commodities nobody cares about, he illustrates fundamental economic concepts with examples like Kim Kardashian’s exercise corset, Uber’s policy of surge pricing, and LeBron James’s decision not to attend college. By engaging students with accessible examples of economic principles in action, Professor Gruber helps them develop economic intuition—a sense of how the mathematical models apply in the real, seemingly chaotic world. If you’ve always thought economics was boring, listen in on this podcast. It may change your mind!
Relevant Resources:
MIT OpenCourseWare
The OCW Educator Portal
Professor Gruber’s Scholar course on OCW
Professor Gruber’s microeconomics course on EdX
Professor Gruber’s faculty page
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions
Connect with Us
If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!
On our site
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Instagram
Stay Current
Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter.
Connect with Us
If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!
Call us @ 617-715-2517
On our site
On Facebook
On X
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Stay Current
Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter.
Support OCW
If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseware, donate to help keep these programs going!
Credits
Sarah Hansen, host and producer
Brett Paci, producer
Dave Lishansky, producer
Jackson Maher, producer
Show notes by Peter Chipman
View all episodes
By MIT OpenCourseWare
4.9
4141 ratings
Professor Jonathan Gruber wants to train students to think like economists. Economics uses elegant mathematical models to explain how people make decisions and allocate their resources—but all too often those models are taught in ways that remain disconnected from students’ own experience. In this episode, Professor Gruber shares his thoughts on bridging that gap in his course 14.01 Introductory Microeconomics. He says he tries to anchor the course with real-world examples; as he explains, “You only really understand something when you go out in the real world and apply it.” And those examples, he says, have to be relatable. So rather than discussing companies none of his students have heard of or commodities nobody cares about, he illustrates fundamental economic concepts with examples like Kim Kardashian’s exercise corset, Uber’s policy of surge pricing, and LeBron James’s decision not to attend college. By engaging students with accessible examples of economic principles in action, Professor Gruber helps them develop economic intuition—a sense of how the mathematical models apply in the real, seemingly chaotic world. If you’ve always thought economics was boring, listen in on this podcast. It may change your mind!
Relevant Resources:
MIT OpenCourseWare
The OCW Educator Portal
Professor Gruber’s Scholar course on OCW
Professor Gruber’s microeconomics course on EdX
Professor Gruber’s faculty page
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions
Connect with Us
If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!
On our site
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Instagram
Stay Current
Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter.
Connect with Us
If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!
Call us @ 617-715-2517
On our site
On Facebook
On X
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Stay Current
Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter.
Support OCW
If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseware, donate to help keep these programs going!
Credits
Sarah Hansen, host and producer
Brett Paci, producer
Dave Lishansky, producer
Jackson Maher, producer
Show notes by Peter Chipman
More shows like Chalk Radio
View all
Global News Podcast
7,909 Listeners
Economist Podcasts
4,283 Listeners
The Best of Car Talk
16,523 Listeners
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
10,700 Listeners
Learning English from the News
251 Listeners
Inside Trader Joe's
4,305 Listeners
Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
6,751 Listeners
Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
799 Listeners
For Heaven's Sake
441 Listeners
Huberman Lab
28,494 Listeners
The Ezra Klein Show
15,335 Listeners
Plain English with Derek Thompson
2,208 Listeners
The Economics of Everyday Things
1,619 Listeners