Justice Matters: Equality-Efficiency Tradeoff in Principles of Macroeconomics

Abstract

Students who are trained in standard macroeconomics often prioritize economic efficiency over other values, such as justice. Most of them believe that to achieve higher efficiency, a society needs to sacrifice economic justice. In other words, there exists a tradeoff between equality and efficiency. In my Principles of Macroeconomics class, I therefore create lectures and assignments including self-reflections and group discussions to persuade students to question the value of economic efficiency and justice. The assignments raise the awareness of students about economic justice as another essential value in society. The goal is to encourage students to rethink macroeconomic policies critically, reevaluate their moral biases, and cultivate their moral compass when dealing with ethical dilemmas.

JEL Classification: A22, B0, D63, E0