Northern Michigan University's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) launched the Wildcat Economics Reading Program last semester, and students selected to participate who attended regular meetings received $500 CEEE Scholar Awards when it ended. A second installment of the program started in January. Students from all academic majors and backgrounds read and discuss non-technical selections on contemporary topics ranging from health care, property rights and freedom of speech to the environment, economic systems and discrimination.
Joshua Ingber, assistant professor of Economics and fellow within the CEEE, moderates the discussions, with support from the Student Economic Association. The topics are tailored more to non-economic majors, because some students may never experience topics such as healthcare or environmental policies while within their discipline. Understanding topics is part of developing a comprehensive analytical framework of thinking, or “the essence of a university degree.”
Participants have a chance to attend a conference to meet with other students and engage with some of the authors of the works that were read. Similar reading groups have seen success at other institutions including Southern Methodist University, Baylor, Texas Tech and others. NMU's CEEE received permission to join this curriculum.
The reading group draws its funding from Flywire Inc., Summit Consulting, and local operators of Jimmy John's and Third Coast Pizzeria