economics The absorbing and expanding social science of economics Economists are a lucky bunch. Decades of work by those in our discipline have produced arguably the most useful, tractable, and flexible model of human behaviour that the world has ever seen. While other social sciences struggle with measuring personality, separately identifying broad social trends, explaining the evolutionary origins of
benefit of education Your economics education: how to travel the path to enlightenment, rather than the road to hell Economics students around the globe have clamoured in recent years that Something Be Done about the way economics is taught (see, for example, http://www.rethinkeconomics.org/). The basic message is that economics, as usually taught to undergraduates, does not accurately depict the real world – an assertion that is self-evidently
Darwinism Living Economics Part 3: Consumers, producers, and the evolution of economies The first two blogs in this series have explored hidden phenomena on the demand and supply side of markets that keep our economies healthy. This third post will discuss how the desires and reactions of each individual economic actor shape the direction of an entire economy. To make it easier
competition Living Economics Part 2: Stimulus-response on the demand side In the first blog of this series, we had a look at the hidden underpinnings of Adam Smith’s aptly named ‘invisible hand’ as they pertain to the supply side of the economy. We discussed how investment decisions hinge critically on the world of unseen and unmeasured expectations. In this
adam smith Living Economics Part 1: Stimulus-response on the supply side This is the first in a series of blogs that aims to connect founding ideas in economics to life in our modern world. A good place to start is with Adam Smith (1723-1790), and takes that core idea of his that has grown into an identity-confirming mantra for economists plying
