Economic Education for Undergraduate Students in Japan: The Status Quo and Its Problem

Undergraduate economic education has become a serious problem in these years in Japan. It is largely derived from the complicated economics contents, a rapid change of current economy, decreased scholastic attainments among students, and the disconnection of economic instruction between senior high school and university. The authors survey the recent change of applicants to and enrollments in the faculty of economics, the career economics majors pursue on graduation, and the coursework of economics faculty in some universities focusing on instruction in the basics of economics. A mathematical knowledge is the key to understanding of modern economics, but examinees can gain admission to the economics faculty of a private university without taking an entrance examination in mathematics. This raises a math problem to be solved in many universities. Then, the authors compare the results of TUCE-4 micro and macro exam to feature the economic understanding of Japanese students as against that of American students. There is a gap of economic literacy between students in high-ranked universities and those in low-ranked universities in Japan. It is proved by means of a regression analysis. A di#erence of economic literacy between them may cause a change of undergraduate economic education