Marginal Revolution University : Learn, Teach & Share

Marginal Revolution University

LEARN, TEACH & SHARE

Centre for Civil Society is bringing Prof Tyler Cowen and Prof Alexander Tabarrok, two leading economists from George Mason University to talk about their recently inaugurated online education project Marginal Revolution University (MRUniversity).

Join us for a conversation with Tyler and Alexander

When: 3:00 - 5:00 pm, 20 December 2012
Where: Heinz Auditorium, YMCA, New Delhi, India

REGISTER NOW!

For further information contact: Daphne at daphne@ccs.in or +91-9910667576

Tyler Cowen is the Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and General Director of the Mercatus Center. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1987. His book The Great Stagnation: How America Ate the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better was a New York Times best-seller. He was recently named in an Economist poll as one of the most influential economists of the last decade and last year Bloomberg Business Week dubbed him “America’s Hottest Economist.” Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of its “Top 100 Global Thinkers” of 2011.

Alexander Tabarrok is Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center, Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and Research Director for The Independent Institute, Assistant Editor of The Independent Review. He is co-author (with Daniel Klein) of The Independent Institute web site, FDAReview.org. Dr. Tabarrok is the editor of The Independent Institute books, Entrepreneurial Economics: Bright Ideas from the Dismal Science, The Voluntary City: Choice, Community, and Civil Society (with David Beito and Peter Gordon, University of Michigan Press), and Changing the Guard: Private Prisons and the Control of Crime.

MRUniversity.com Launches Revolution in Online Learning

“We think education should be better, cheaper, and easier to access,” notes Cowen in the announcement of the new site, “so we decided to take matters into our own hands and create a new online education platform toward those ends.” The first course in development economics will provide the equivalent of a 45-hour course in a series of narrated videos broken into short segments (most no longer than 5 minutes) that can be taken as a complete syllabus or in separate lessons. The site is also designed to provide the opportunity for interactive questions, quizzes, and other related materials, including user-submitted content.

“The ability to understand the fundamentals of development economics and the reasons why some countries are rich while others are poor is critical to students the world over,” says Tabarrok. “MRUniversity.com provides this course for free and invites students around the world to not just learn but also to teach and share their knowledge.”

Users will be encouraged to submit content. Cowen explains, “Our goal is not merely a series of one-to-many lectures but also a many-to-many learning experience.” As the site evolves, registered users will be able to submit multiple types of content, including questions and answers, documents, PowerPoint presentations, and their own videos. As the curriculum expands, the site will add “country sections” to the basic core of material. India will be the first country, followed by Mexico. MRUniversity.com users will also have the opportunity to follow a Twitter feed from the world’s leading economists, practitioners, and writers on development economics.

Centre for Civil Society

A-69, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India - 110016
T: +91-11-26537456; E-mail: ccs@ccs.in