The Colbert Report combines comedic entertainment and current events, two pedagogical sources that have the potential to increase student interest in classes and improve student learning. This article offers suggestions on the use of segments from The Colbert Report to teach introductory macroeconomics. Segments are included that relate to comparative advantage, supply and demand, externalities, GDP, unemployment, classical versus Keynesian theory and the Great Depression, fiscal policy and economic stimulus packages, monetary policy and the Federal Reserve, money, taxes, and foreign aid. Guidance is provided regarding the use of the clips in an introductory macroeconomics class.
AllgoodS.BosshardtW.van der KlaauwW.WattsM. (2004). What students remember and say about college economics years later. The American Economic Review, 92, 259-265.
ArumR.RoksaJ. (2011). Academically adrift: Limited learning on college campuses. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
4.
BainK. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5.
BeckerW. E.WattsM. (2001). Teaching economics at the start of the 21st century: Still chalk-and-talk. The American Economic Review, 91, 446-451.
6.
BenedictM. E.HoagJ. (2002). Who’s afraid of their economics classes? Why are students apprehensive about introductory economics courses? An empirical investigation. The American Economist, 46(2), 31-44.
7.
CochranJ. P.BrownR. M. (1989). What’s wrong here?Economic Inquiry, 27, 541-545.
FerraraniT. H.MateerG. D. (2014). Multimedia technology for the next generation. The Journal of Private Enterprise, 29, 129-139.
11.
FowlerJ. H. (2008). The Colbert Bump in campaign donations: More truthful than truthy. Political Science & Politics, 1, 533-539.
12.
GillisM.JoshuaH. (2010). Using the Simpsons to improve economic instruction through policy analysis. The American Economist, 55(1), 84-92.
13.
GoffeW. L.KauperD. (2014). A survey of principles instructors: Why lecture prevails. Journal of Economic Education, 45, 360-375.
14.
HallJ. (2005). Homer economicus: Using the Simpsons to teach economics. Journal of Private Enterprise, 20, 165-176.
15.
HallJ. (Ed.). (2014). Homer economicus: The Simpsons and economics. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
16.
HallJ.LawsonR. (2008). Using music to teach microeconomics. Perspectives on Economics Education Research, 4, 23-36.
17.
JulienB. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2010a, October6). Episode 780, Tiny Triumphs—Environmentalist ear pollution [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
18.
JulienB. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2010b, December1). Episode 804, return of the estate tax [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
19.
JulienB. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2011, January4). Episode 815, Gold Faithful–Ron Paul & David Leonhardt [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
20.
JulienB. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2012a, July24). Episode 1063, U.S. agriculture & drought-Bruce Babcock, U.S. agriculture & drought disaster [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
21.
JulienB. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2012b, September5). Episode 1083, Michael Grunwald [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
LeetD.HouserS. (2003). Economics goes to Hollywood: Using classic films and documentaries to create an undergraduate economics course. Journal of Economic Education, 34, 326-332.
24.
LuccasenR. A.HammockM.ThomasM. K. (2011). Teaching macroeconomic principles using animated cartoons. The American Economist, 56(1), 38-47.
25.
LuccasenR. A.ThomasM. K. (2010). Simpsonomics: Teaching economics using episodes of the Simpsons. Journal of Economic Education, 41, 136-149.
26.
MateerD. (2004). Economics in the movies. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
27.
MateerD.GhentL. S.StoneM. (2011). TV for economics. Journal of Economics Education, 42, 207.
28.
MorechiO. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2013, January8). Episode 1132, postage price hike [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.PurcellT.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
29.
PurcellT. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2009a, March16). Episode 528, the new deal–Jonathan Chait [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.SilvermanA.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
30.
PurcellT. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2009b). Episode 534, Dambisa Moyo [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.SilvermanA.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
31.
PurcellT. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2009c). Episode 647, Fed’s Dead [Television series episode]. In ColbertS.SlivermanA.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
32.
SilvermanA. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2007, June25). Episode 278, the Freegans [Television series episode]. In BennettM.ColbertS.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
33.
SilvermanA. (Writer), HoskinsonJ. (Director). (2008, March17). Episode 367, the word–audacity of hopelessness [Television series episode]. In BennettM.ColbertS.StewartJ. (Producers), The Colbert report. New York, NY: Comedy Central.
WalstadW. B.RebeckK. (2002). Assessing the economic knowledge and economic opinions of adults. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 42, 921-935.
36.
WattsM.BeckerW. E. (2008). A little more than chalk and talk: Results from a third national survey of teaching methods in undergraduate economics courses. Journal of Economic Education, 39, 273-286.
37.
WillinghamD. T. (2010). Why don’t students like school: A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
