50 Active Vs Passive Voice Topics for Economics Students

Choosing between active and passive voice in economics is more than a stylistic preference; it dictates how agency and causality are assigned in complex models. This list provides 50 rigorous topics to help students navigate the tension between objectivity and clarity in economic discourse.

48 topics organized by theme, with difficulty levels and suggested sources.

Agency in Macroeconomic Policy Reporting

Exploration of how the choice of voice shifts responsibility from policymakers to abstract market forces.

The Fed's 'Soft Landing' Rhetoric

Analyze if using the active voice in Federal Open Market Committee minutes increases market volatility by making central bank actions seem more aggressive.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Monetary Economics, FOMC Transcripts

Passive Construction in IMF Structural Adjustment Programs

Argue that the passive voice in IMF reports obscures the political actors responsible for austerity measures, framing them as inevitable market outcomes.

Advanced · Argumentative — Sources: World Development, IMF Staff Papers

Central Bank Accountability and the First Person

Investigate whether the shift to 'we' in European Central Bank communications has improved public trust compared to the traditional third-person passive style.

Intermediate · Research-Based — Sources: European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Attributing Inflationary Pressure

Compare how active voice ('firms raised prices') versus passive voice ('prices were raised') in news media affects consumer inflation expectations.

Beginner · Compare-Contrast — Sources: Journal of Consumer Research, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

Agency in Debt Crisis Narratives

Examine how the passive voice in sovereign debt reporting minimizes the role of predatory lending while emphasizing the failure of the borrowing nation.

Advanced · Case-Study — Sources: Journal of International Economics, UNCTAD Reports

The 'Invisible Hand' as an Active Subject

Discuss whether personifying market forces through active verbs in introductory textbooks leads to a deterministic view of economic theory among students.

Beginner · Expository — Sources: Journal of Economic Education, Wealth of Nations

Transparency in Quantitative Easing Explanations

Evaluate if active voice clarity in explaining asset purchases reduces the 'information asymmetry' between the Fed and small-scale investors.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Quarterly Journal of Economics, Federal Reserve Bulletin

Fiscal Policy and the Passive 'It is Expected'

Analyze the impact of using non-committal passive structures in budget forecasts on the credibility of government deficit targets.

Intermediate · Research-Based — Sources: Public Choice, Journal of Public Economics

Stylistic Evolution in Economic Research

Examining the historical shift from the formal passive to the modern active voice in peer-reviewed journals.

The Decline of 'The Author' in The AER

Track the frequency of active vs passive voice in the American Economic Review over 50 years to identify when the 'objective' passive fell out of favor.

Advanced · Research-Based — Sources: American Economic Review, JSTOR Data for Research

McCloskey and the Rhetoric of Economics

Apply Deirdre McCloskey’s theories to argue that the active voice is essential for honest economic persuasion rather than scientific posturing.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: The Rhetoric of Economics by Deirdre McCloskey

Objectivity vs. Readability in Econometrics

Compare the readability scores of econometrics papers written in the passive voice against those using active voice for methodology descriptions.

Beginner · Analytical — Sources: Econometrica, Journal of Applied Econometrics

Gendered Language in Economic Working Papers

Investigate if female economists utilize the passive voice more frequently than male counterparts to adhere to perceived norms of scientific modesty.

Advanced · Research-Based — Sources: NBER Working Papers, Journal of Economic Literature

The Passive Voice in Neoclassical Formalism

Argue that the rise of mathematical formalism in the mid-20th century necessitated the passive voice to mimic the 'timeless' nature of physics.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: History of Political Economy, Foundations of Economic Analysis

Active Voice in Behavioral Economics

Examine why behavioral economists like Thaler and Kahneman favor the active voice to describe human decision-making processes.

Intermediate · Compare-Contrast — Sources: Thinking, Fast and Slow; Misbehaving

Journal Guidelines and Voice Constraints

Compare the style guides of the Chicago School vs. the Ivy League journals to see if institutional 'house styles' dictate voice usage.

Beginner · Case-Study — Sources: Journal of Political Economy, QJE Style Guidelines

The Power of 'I' in Economic Essays

Discuss whether the recent trend toward first-person active voice in the Journal of Economic Perspectives undermines or enhances scholarly authority.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: Journal of Economic Perspectives

Voice in Corporate and Market Signaling

How firms use active or passive constructions to communicate with investors and stakeholders.

Earnings Calls and the Passive 'Losses Were Incurred'

Analyze how CEOs use the passive voice to distance themselves from poor quarterly results while using active voice for profit growth.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Finance, SEC EDGAR Database

Passive Voice in ESG Reporting

Examine if 'greenwashing' is more prevalent in reports using passive voice to describe environmental impacts without naming specific corporate actions.

Advanced · Research-Based — Sources: Journal of Business Ethics, Sustainability Accounting Journal

Active Voice in Tech Startup Prospectuses

Argue that the overuse of active, 'disruptive' verbs in IPO filings creates artificial valuation bubbles by overstating managerial control over markets.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: Review of Financial Studies, Crunchbase

Auditor Reports and the Passive Shield

Examine the legal function of the passive voice in independent auditor reports to limit liability in cases of corporate fraud.

Advanced · Case-Study — Sources: The Accounting Review, PCAOB Standards

Consumer Contracts and Passive Obfuscation

Analyze how credit card agreements use the passive voice to hide the conditions under which interest rates are increased.

Beginner · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Consumer Affairs, CFPB Reports

Merger Announcements: Active Synergies vs Passive Layoffs

Compare the linguistic framing of 'creating value' (active) versus 'positions being eliminated' (passive) in M&A press releases.

Intermediate · Compare-Contrast — Sources: Journal of Financial Economics, PR Newswire

Cryptocurrency Whitepapers and Technical Authority

Evaluate how the use of passive voice in whitepapers (e.g., Bitcoin) establishes an aura of decentralized algorithmic authority.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Satoshi Nakamoto Whitepaper, Journal of Monetary Economics

Retail Investor Sentiment and Active Framing

Measure whether Reddit's 'WallStreetBets' use of aggressive active voice influences the trading volume of 'meme stocks'.

Advanced · Research-Based — Sources: Social Science Research Network (SSRN), Journal of Behavioral Finance

Voice in Labor and Development Economics

Analyzing how grammatical subjects impact the perception of marginalized groups and economic growth.

The Passive Victim in Development Discourse

Critique the use of passive voice in World Bank reports that frames developing nations as 'being impacted' rather than active participants in trade.

Advanced · Argumentative — Sources: Journal of Development Economics, World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

Active Voice in Labor Union Charters

Assess whether the transition from passive to active voice in union communications correlates with higher member mobilization and strike success.

Intermediate · Case-Study — Sources: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, AFL-CIO Archives

Framing Unemployment: Choice vs. Circumstance

Compare the economic outcomes of policies described in active terms ('finding work') versus passive terms ('being unemployed').

Beginner · Expository — Sources: Journal of Labor Economics, OECD Employment Outlook

The Passive Voice in Automation Debates

Argue that the phrase 'jobs will be lost to AI' (passive) prevents a rigorous economic analysis of the firms choosing to automate.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: Journal of Economic Perspectives, MIT Technology Review

Microfinance and the Active Entrepreneur

Analyze how the active voice in microloan marketing materials (e.g., Kiva) creates a narrative of individual responsibility over systemic change.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Microfinance, World Development

Migration Narratives in Economic Policy

Examine how the passive voice in immigration economics reports ('labor is moved') dehumanizes the economic agents involved.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, IZA Journal of Labor Policy

Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Active or Passive?

Discuss whether using active voice ('men earn more') versus passive voice ('women are paid less') changes public support for equal pay legislation.

Beginner · Compare-Contrast — Sources: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Gender & Society

Agricultural Productivity and Active Voice

Evaluate if extension service manuals written in the active voice lead to better adoption of new farming techniques in sub-Saharan Africa.

Advanced · Research-Based — Sources: Food Policy, Agricultural Economics

Game Theory and Strategic Communication

How the structure of sentences reflects the strategic interactions between agents.

Active Voice in Signaling Games

Analyze if active voice communication in Spence’s signaling model reduces the cost of signaling for high-ability workers.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Games and Economic Behavior

Passive Voice in Collusion Agreements

Investigate how firms in cartels use the passive voice in internal memos to avoid admitting to explicit price-fixing (active) behavior.

Advanced · Case-Study — Sources: Journal of Industrial Economics, DOJ Antitrust Division

The First Person in Experimental Economics

Compare the results of 'Dictator Games' when instructions are written in the active voice ('You give') versus passive voice ('Money is given').

Intermediate · Research-Based — Sources: Experimental Economics, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty

Voice and Credibility in Threat-Making

Discuss whether 'If-Then' threats in trade wars are more credible when phrased in the active voice compared to the passive voice.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: Journal of Conflict Resolution, World Economy

Strategic Ambiguity in Central Bank Guidance

Argue that the passive voice is a necessary tool for 'strategic ambiguity' in monetary policy to prevent market overreaction.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Alan Greenspan’s Memoirs

Active Voice and the Nash Equilibrium

Explain how the active voice helps students conceptualize the 'best response' in non-cooperative games more effectively than passive descriptions.

Beginner · Expository — Sources: Game Theory: An Introduction by Steven Tadelis

Passive Voice in Insurance Underwriting

Examine how passive voice in insurance policies obscures the insurer's duty to pay, shifting focus to the 'occurrence' of the loss.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Risk and Insurance, Geneva Risk and Insurance Review

Voice in Common Pool Resource Management

Analyze Elinor Ostrom's use of active voice to describe community-led governance versus the passive voice used in 'Tragedy of the Commons' narratives.

Advanced · Compare-Contrast — Sources: Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom, Science

Voice in Economic History and Methodology

How historical accounts and methodological frameworks are shaped by grammatical choices.

The Great Depression: Active or Passive Causes?

Compare Keynesian active-voice explanations ('The Fed failed') with Monetarist passive-voice descriptions of liquidity contraction.

Intermediate · Compare-Contrast — Sources: A Monetary History of the United States, The General Theory

Passive Voice in Malthusian Theory

Argue that Malthus utilized the passive voice to frame population growth as a biological inevitability rather than a social choice.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: An Essay on the Principle of Population, History of Political Economy

Marxism and the Active Class Struggle

Analyze why Marx’s transition to the active voice in 'The Communist Manifesto' was essential for its role as a political call to action.

Beginner · Expository — Sources: Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto

The Passive Voice in Cliometrics

Evaluate if the data-heavy approach of Cliometrics forces a passive writing style that lacks historical agency.

Advanced · Analytical — Sources: Journal of Economic History, Explorations in Economic History

Adam Smith’s Use of the Active Voice

Examine how Smith uses the active voice to describe the 'butcher, the brewer, and the baker' to ground economics in human action.

Beginner · Research-Based — Sources: The Wealth of Nations, Theory of Moral Sentiments

Voice in the Austrian School of Economics

Discuss how Mises and Hayek use the active voice to emphasize 'Methodological Individualism' against the passive 'aggregates' of macroeconomics.

Intermediate · Argumentative — Sources: Human Action by Ludwig von Mises, The Road to Serfdom

Passive Voice in Colonial Economic Surveys

Analyze how 19th-century colonial economic reports used the passive voice to describe the extraction of resources as a natural process.

Advanced · Case-Study — Sources: Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Economic History Review

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and Active Spending

Explore how MMT proponents use active voice to redefine the government as a 'currency issuer' rather than a passive 'tax collector'.

Intermediate · Analytical — Sources: The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics

Pro Tips for Choosing Your Topic

• Use active voice when describing the results of your regression analysis to clearly state which variables are driving the change.
• Reserve the passive voice for the methodology section if you want to emphasize the process over the researcher.
• Identify the 'agent' in every sentence; if the agent is a government or central bank, the active voice usually provides more accountability.
• In theoretical proofs, the active voice can make the steps of a derivation much easier for a reader to follow.
• Check your favorite economics journal's 'Instructions for Authors'—many top-tier journals now explicitly encourage the first-person active voice.

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