Economic education as public policy: the determinants of state-level mandates

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical examination of the factors that influence a state's decision to mandate the teaching of economics within the K-12 curriculum. 38 states currently require some form of economics instruction within their approved curriculum. A binary choice probit model was estimated to determine the relationship between a variety of socioeconomic, political and policy environment variables in the decision to implement and maintain an economic education mandate. The results indicate that the number of university-based centers for economic education and the number of parents belonging to state parent-teacher associations positively affect the mandate choice. The incidence of poverty was found to be negatively associated with a state's requirement to include economics within the curriculum. These and other results highlight the need for additional research into the aggregate effects of required investments in economic human capital