Top Ten Ways to Sound Like an Economist

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to sound like an economist, please remember our yearly econlife Top Ten:

The Original Top Ten List

1. Whatever the question, always answer, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
2. Defend a decision by declaring, “It was worth the opportunity cost.”
3. Whether you like or dislike government, point to, “The power of the market.”
4. Explain a love of low prices with, “It’s the law of demand.”
5. Explain high prices with, “It’s the law of supply.”
6. Preface a position with, “on the one hand…but on the other…”
7. Justify your Thai T-shirt, Japanese camera, and Sumatran coffee beans by repeating, “comparative advantage, comparative advantage…”
8. When asked, “How are we doing?” just cite the GDP, CPI, and S&P.*
9. Know that the size of the pie has nothing to do with food.
10.  And finally, the most dependable way to “think economically” is to remember that, no matter what the topic, “It’s about the economy…”

*#8 was appropriate in the past, but not now.

Also, several years ago, I received this sound-like-an-economist suggestion from Kevin Denny (Thank you!).

• To reject any inconvenient fact, “The econometric evidence is not clear on this.”

Do be sure to send your Top Ten additions.

Our Bottom Line