ICES Economics Workshops at George Mason University

General Information

ICES economics workshops successfully inform students about economic principles prior to their enrollment in AP or college courses, facilitating the process of establishing a learning habit and strengthening their aspiration for continuous learning. Drawing from the pioneering studies of Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith, ICES’ proven teaching strategy uses interactive economic games to effectively convey sophisticated economic concepts while at the same time providing students resources to enable further discovery of economic ideas.

Combining experimental games with engaging discussions, ICES Workshops stimulate a classroom market where students experience firsthand how incentives matter, and develop an appreciation for how and why markets and social institutions work the way they do.

Objectives

Objectives of this workshop are:

• Introduce students to fundamental concepts of economics to help them accurately understand the workings of the markets and the influence of institutions on current social, political, and economic issues.
• Involve students in experimental games that demonstrate how markets emerge, how market signals guide individual choices, and how subjective individual decisions depend on incentive structures.
• Teach students how to think economically by showing them how to assess market components such as incentives, unintended consequences, mutual benefits of exchange, etc.
• Familiarize students with the economic systems that best foster economic liberty, respect individual rights, and encourage economic activity.
• Inspire students to delve into further individual research that will advance their intellect by introducing tem to interesting economic literature sources.

What will students do at the ICES economics workshop?

• Actively participate in decision making in markets and the learning process.
• Learn how to apply scientific methods and fundamental economic concepts to explain individual behaviors and the emergence of markets.
• Learn how to employ economic concepts to better understand current social, political, and economic events.
• Become informed about reliable economics sources for further intellectual advancement.
• Earn cash daily from their decisions during experimental games.

What are students expected to learn?

Students are expected to learn how and why:

• Everything in the market has a cost and a benefit
• Trade-offs are part of solutions
• Incentives guide our decision-making process
• Voluntary exchange and protected property rights create value
• Prices help gather the dispersed knowledge
• Profits direct scarce resources to those that value them the most
• ..and so much more!