Saturday, September 8, 2012

6 Sixty Second Adventures in Economics

The Invisible Hand


The Paradox of Thrift

I'd like to see a corollary video called The Paradox of Spending. Savings and spending go together much like labor and capital, too much of either is not healthy.

The Phillips Curve


The Principle of Comparative Advantage


The Impossible Trinity


Rational Choice Theory


2 comments:

  1. This is interesting because this is what students learn when they take an introductory course in economics. And, studies show, they promptly forget it! I question whether these esoteric concepts are what they should be learning in the first place - unless they are going on to major in economics.
    Your video last week showed people at the Dem convention would be in favor of a profits cap. They have no idea on the role of profits and HOW the economy works! And it isn't just the democrats.
    Students come away not grasping that the free market system can be harsh to those not prepared to make a contribution that society values. Students fail to understand that they easily can have more wealth than 99% of the people who have ever lived on this planet if they just grasp how the economy works.

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    Replies
    1. Robert, good points. Economic ignorance is apolitical. Rather than learning esoteric concepts, perhaps it would be better to run a simulated business. One of the most valuable lessons I learned in business school (and this was before the PC was invented) involved a computer simulation of competing businesses in a fictional economy. Most people attempted to maximize profits by raising prices very high or slashing costs and R&D spending. I won the simulation simply by offering a high quality product at a fair price. I had a lower profit margin than most because I invested heavily in R&D and used quality materials. But I cleaned up through significant gains in market share, while others lost market share.

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