Bridging Mathematical Proficiency and Economic Reasoning: A Commentary on Calculus in Undergraduate Economics Education

Adam Thompson

doi:10.1007/s40753-026-00295-9

Bridging Mathematical Proficiency and Economic Reasoning: A Commentary on Calculus in Undergraduate Economics Education

Adam Thompson

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Abstract

This commentary reflects on the article Calculus in Economics – Important Features, Challenges, and Consequences by Voßkamp et al. (2025), which examines how calculus is used in economics and highlights key challenges students face when applying mathematical tools in economic contexts. Drawing on the perspective of an economics educator, the commentary considers the interpretive demands placed on students and the frequent disconnect between how calculus is taught and how it functions within economics. Two key reflections are developed: the importance of emphasising conceptual understanding and the interpretation of mathematical results, and the pedagogical challenges posed by the tension between discrete economic realities and their representation using continuous mathematics. The commentary concludes by considering implications for curriculum design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and future research and practice in economics education.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	773-780
Number of pages	8
Journal	International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
Volume	11 (2025)
Issue number	4
Early online date	31 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40753-026-00295-9
Publication status	Published - 31 Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

Copyright © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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10.1007/s40753-026-00295-9Licence: CC BY 4.0

Bridging Mathematical Proficiency and Economic Reasoning - A Commentary on Calculus in Undergraduate Economics Education
Copyright © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Final published version, 509 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

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title = "Bridging Mathematical Proficiency and Economic Reasoning: A Commentary on Calculus in Undergraduate Economics Education",

abstract = "This commentary reflects on the article Calculus in Economics – Important Features, Challenges, and Consequences by Vo{\ss}kamp et al. (2025), which examines how calculus is used in economics and highlights key challenges students face when applying mathematical tools in economic contexts. Drawing on the perspective of an economics educator, the commentary considers the interpretive demands placed on students and the frequent disconnect between how calculus is taught and how it functions within economics. Two key reflections are developed: the importance of emphasising conceptual understanding and the interpretation of mathematical results, and the pedagogical challenges posed by the tension between discrete economic realities and their representation using continuous mathematics. The commentary concludes by considering implications for curriculum design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and future research and practice in economics education.",

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N2 - This commentary reflects on the article Calculus in Economics – Important Features, Challenges, and Consequences by Voßkamp et al. (2025), which examines how calculus is used in economics and highlights key challenges students face when applying mathematical tools in economic contexts. Drawing on the perspective of an economics educator, the commentary considers the interpretive demands placed on students and the frequent disconnect between how calculus is taught and how it functions within economics. Two key reflections are developed: the importance of emphasising conceptual understanding and the interpretation of mathematical results, and the pedagogical challenges posed by the tension between discrete economic realities and their representation using continuous mathematics. The commentary concludes by considering implications for curriculum design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and future research and practice in economics education.

AB - This commentary reflects on the article Calculus in Economics – Important Features, Challenges, and Consequences by Voßkamp et al. (2025), which examines how calculus is used in economics and highlights key challenges students face when applying mathematical tools in economic contexts. Drawing on the perspective of an economics educator, the commentary considers the interpretive demands placed on students and the frequent disconnect between how calculus is taught and how it functions within economics. Two key reflections are developed: the importance of emphasising conceptual understanding and the interpretation of mathematical results, and the pedagogical challenges posed by the tension between discrete economic realities and their representation using continuous mathematics. The commentary concludes by considering implications for curriculum design, interdisciplinary collaboration, and future research and practice in economics education.

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JO - International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education

JF - International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education

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Bridging Mathematical Proficiency and Economic Reasoning: A Commentary on Calculus in Undergraduate Economics Education

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