Paper Abstract
234. J. Hersch and W. K. Viscusi, The Courtroom Comes to the Classroom: Estimating Economic Damages as an Instructional Device, 5/98; subsequently published in Journal of Economic Education, Vol. 29, No. 4, Fall 1998, 301-311 .
Abstract: A mock trial setting provides a superb opportunity for students to apply their economic knowledge. This format utilizes a team approach in which parties representing the plaintiff and defense provide calculations of economic damages, which are presented before a jury. Because this exercise replicates actual activities by economists in trial settings, it serves as a credible exercise for motivating economic students in general and pre-law students in particular. This article includes the background information needed to carry out such a classroom trial exercise.