Integrating Statistics Labs Into Economics Electives

Typically, undergraduate economics electives focus on content rather than methods, in spite of the fact that empirical work is fundamental to the practice of economics. This article describes an alternative approach to teaching content by using statistics labs that emphasize the empirical testing or applications of the theory. The result of this approach is that students develop an understanding of content in a way that more closely resembles the understanding of a research economist. 1 In spite of persuasive arguments in favor of moving away from lecture/exam formats for undergraduate economics classes, the vast majority of economics classes are still taught in the “chalk and talk ” format.1 Some classes, most commonly statistics or econometrics, have an add-on laboratory component in which students do engage in active learning of statistical techniques, while a few economics programs contain separate, stand-alone laboratory courses. In contrast, electives in an economics curriculum typically focus on content, rather than empirical methods. The important feature of all these approaches is that the manner in which content i