In preparation for Mother’s Day on Sunday it is important to see what mum’s think about economics.
Over at www.postcardsfromyomomma.com we get to find out (ht Kids prefer cheese via Marginal Revolution)
Backstory: After I got a D on my economics exam.
Honey, econ is for boring and ugly people. You shouldn’t be in that class, you’re too pretty and creative. I’m sick of these hard classes. Next semester sign up for gym classes.
Boring? Ugly? Not creative? I don’t like where this mum is going …
6 comments
agnitio says:
May 5, 2009 at 10:13 am (UTC 12 )
She obviously hasn’t met Matt Nolan!
Matt Nolan says:
May 5, 2009 at 11:03 am (UTC 12 )
@agnitio
Or maybe that is where she got the stereotype from
What would Hayek say says:
May 5, 2009 at 11:49 am (UTC 12 )
Or mum recognises the comparative advantage (and marginal utility) of more econ classes compared to gym classes and has decided that there is a higher return on investment in being a professional athlete than an eonomist.
Now there might be a backstory about probablity of x person becoming a professional athlete, but given the sample person presented is pretty and creative, then that sample person might have a higher probability of being a professional athlete than an economist. Noting that the sample person is creative mum may be forgetting another career option of being an investment/merchant banker
Matt Nolan says:
May 5, 2009 at 12:14 pm (UTC 12 )
If the person is pretty (?) and creative they will fit perfectly into economics though – unless the Mum is using creativity as short-hand for being thick …
I guess if the Mum feels they have to tell their kid what is the utility maximising choice they must believe their kid is dumb
What would Hayek say says:
May 5, 2009 at 1:19 pm (UTC 12 )
Well isn’t the wisdom of ages that “Mum knows Best”, and Dad says you should “ask your mother”, or (in this instance from mum) “because I say so…”
Matt Nolan says:
May 6, 2009 at 3:13 pm (UTC 12 )
@What would Hayek say
I think that might be the expectation of Mum’s