Abstract

Using short stories as supplements to traditional economics courses or as the part of non-traditional economics or interdisciplinary courses helps students to grasp economic concepts while diversifying instructional methods in the classroom. Short stories centered on economic concepts fit well in the long tradition of teaching by parable. Students derive great pleasure from reading short stories and they possess great skill analyzing short stories, seeming quick to grasp even very subtle meaning in the narrative. The paper describes the pedagogical value of this literary form and presents numerous short stories apt for use in the economics classroom.