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Economic Point of View

A collection of 9 issues

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Is it presumptuous to speak about the economic way of thinking? Aren’t there several economic ways of thinking? There are surely many ways to think about economic life, at least once we’ve decided exactly what we mean by “economic life” (which turns out not to be all that

Mere Economic Curiosity

Note: I originally published this essay at the American Institute for Economic Research. Recently, I argued that studying economics instills gratitude. A friend responded by asking me what intellectual virtues are necessary for understanding economics. Gratitude may be a result of studying economics, but what antecedents undergird enriching encounters with

The Time I Ran Smackdab into an Entry Barrier!

In this essay which I originally published at The Independent Institute, I describe my experience with entry barriers–up close and personal. Experience is the best teacher. So, while my first introduction to the idea of entry barriers was undoubtedly as an undergraduate student, my first encounter with them was

Economists are Basically Storytellers

So says Robert Lucas. And Paul Heyne remarks: 💡The traditional storyteller begins, “Once upon a time. . . .” The persuasive economist begins, “Let’s assume that. . . .” Economists tell stories about demand curves that slope downward to the right, about the process of capitalizing expected values, about the exploitation of comparative advantage, about

Can Tiny Wal-Mart Survive?

Note: This post was adapted from a post on my personal blog, A Fuller's Soap. That’s what a 1962 headline in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat asks. Hard to see how Walmart could gain a toehold what with titans like K-Mart, Target, and Woolco around! As I argued

The (Big) Biblical Book of Economics

At the University of Connecticut, Dick Langlois teaches an "economics through film" course. It looks great– and reminds me that the humanities are a tremendous vehicle for communicating the economic point of view. Another case in point is economist Tyler Cowen's "Law and Literature"

Jessica Kiser on Provider Choice and Health Outcomes

My wife and I are due with our first in a short weeks, so naturally, this paper by econ job market candidate, Jessica Kiser, caught my eye. Here's her abstract: 💡Home births in the US have increased twofold since the early 2000s, yet little is known about the

Learn the Economic Point of View

Over at Shepherd, I offer my take on the five best books to learn the economic point of view. Here they are: Read the post for my reasoning. What would you add?

How Markets Work

If life is going to be something other than "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short," we need each other. The way we harness one another's unique talents, knowledge, and perspectives is through markets. Here's a hypothetical course that introduces students to the economic point