Ten Key Principles of Economics

1. Everything has a cost. There is no free lunch. There is always a trade-off.
2. Cost is what you give up to get something. In particular, opportunity cost is cost of the tradeoff.
3. One More. Rational people make decisions on the basis of the cost of one more unit (of consumption, of investment, of labor hour, etc.).
4. Incentives work. People respond to incentives.
5. Open for trade. Trade can make all parties better off.
6. Markets Rock! Usually, markets are the best way to allocate scarce resources between producers and consumers.
7. Intervention in free markets is sometimes needed. (But watch out for the law of unintended effects!)
8. Concentrate on productivity. A country’s standard of living depends on how productive its economy is.
9. Sloshing in money leads to higher prices. Inflation is caused by excessive money supply.!!
10. Caution: In the short run, falling prices may lead to unemployment, and rising employment may lead to inflation.



Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Plagarism? Keep Your Shirt On!!!


The viral nature of plagarism at the collegiate and high school levels has relegated the educator to performing detective work. More frequently than ever, students will construct assignments from existing passages cutting and pasting their way to what many perceive as a legitimate outcome. Education has become training where you get from point A to B as efficiently as possible, with little regard for development of the mind. Studies have proven the detrimental effects of cheating as a strategy and it doesn't bode well for the quality of our future leaders.

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