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The Belief that Market Transactions Are Mutually Beneficial: A Comparison of the Views of Students in Economics and Other Disciplines

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  • Amélie Goossens
  • Pierre-Guillaume Méon
Abstract
Using a survey of a large group of first- and final-year students of different disciplines to study their beliefs in the existence of mutual benefits of market transactions, the authors observe significant differences between economics and business students versus students of other disciplines. These differences increase over time, due partly to economics students increasingly supporting the belief and partly to other students, in particular psychology students, increasingly disagreeing with it. The beliefs of economics students are more homogeneous at the end of their studies. The authors, therefore, report evidence of both a selection effect and an effect of studying different disciplines that goes beyond initial self-selection.

Suggested Citation

  • Amélie Goossens & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2015. "The Belief that Market Transactions Are Mutually Beneficial: A Comparison of the Views of Students in Economics and Other Disciplines," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 121-134, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jeduce:v:46:y:2015:i:2:p:121-134
    DOI: 10.1080/00220485.2014.991482
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    Cited by:

    1. Fischer, Mira & Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich W., 2017. "Support for free-market policies and reforms: Does the field of study influence students' political attitudes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 180-197.
    2. Maité Laméris & Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Anne-Marie Van Prooijen, 2019. "What have we done? The impact of choosing and studying different academic disciplines on beliefs and values," Working Papers CEB 19-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Lindov, Dalila, 2020. "Teachers and politics," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Maite D. Laméris & Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Anne-Marie Prooijen, 2023. "What have we done?! The impact of economics on the beliefs and values of business students," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 433-483, April.
    5. Tim Rosengart & Bernhard Hirsch & Christian Nitzl, 2020. "Self-selection and socialisation effects of business and legal studies," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(8), pages 1127-1145, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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