1. Undressing the Dismal Science
Naked Economics
Undressing the Dismal Science

2. Who feeds Paris?

3. What is GDP?
Why is it a good measure?
Why is it NOT a good measure?

4. What is price discrimination?
Airplane ticket prices

5. Do incentives matter?

6. What is the “superstar phenomenon”?

7. What is creative destruction?
Who loses out most often?

8. Do brands matter?

9. How can black rhinos be saved?

10. What is human capital?

11. What are the two basic assumptions that economists make about individuals and firms?
Self-interested
Rational

12. Role of prices in the market economy?
determining an efficient distribution of resources in a market system.
signal for shortages and surpluses which help firms respond to changing market conditions

13. Advantage of market economy?
Allocative efficiency
The best available model
BUT (market failures)

14. Adverse selection
When you do business with people you would be better off avoiding. Adverse selection can be a problem when there is asymmetric information between the seller of insurance and the buyer
“What you don’t know CAN hurt you”?

15. Informational asymmetry
transactions where one party has more or better information than the other.
E.g. – buying a used car, life insurance (adverse selection)

16. Perverse incentives
an unintended and undesirable result which is contrary to the interests of the incentive makers
E.g. car seats on airplanes

17. Principal-Agent problem
principal–agent problem or agency dilemma concerns the difficulties in motivating one party (the "agent"), to act on behalf of another (the "principal").
E.g. corporate management (agent) and shareholders (principal), fast food employees

18. prisoner's dilemma
example of a game that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so
Ac, Bc – 1 year, 1 year
Ac, Bs – 0 , 2 years
As, Bc – 2 years, 0
As, Bs – 3 months, 3 months

19. What is an externality?
is a cost or benefit that is not transmitted through prices, and is incurred by a party who was not involved in the transaction.
negative externality – pollution from a factory
positive externality – fire department

20. What is a public good?

21. Role of Government Stability legal framework
Protection of property rights
Protection of contracts

22. What is a public good?
Examples

23. What is productivity?

24. Why are many poor countries poor?

25. Are foreign sweat shops bad?

26. What is the primary role of the Federal Reserve?