The world's funniest economics stories

Chapter 1 Preface
What the hell is economics?There used to be a joke that anyone with an IQ below 60 could be an economist.As we all know, the average person's IQ is between 90 and 100, and anyone with an IQ below 70 is mentally retarded.In other words, people with intellectual disabilities can also become economists.Although this is a bit of an exaggeration, as an economist said, economics is nothing more than a study of people’s activities and thinking in daily life, and ordinary people can become economists through hard work.

Is economics really that easy to understand?Why are we still at a loss when we come into contact with such words as GDP, CPI, PPI, Engel coefficient, Gini coefficient, etc.?Why do we still not know what counts as inflation?I don't know whether it is better for the RMB to appreciate or not to appreciate?Don't know what is active and tight fiscal policy?Indeed, even after graduating from university, we may still not know what the hell is in the face of such economic vocabulary.

In fact, the reason may be very simple, because when we usually come into contact with such vocabulary, what is often presented to us may be just an interpretation of a concept, a pile of dry words piled up together, and it seems half-understood when reading.But if we take another way, maybe it will be different to understand.Presumably everyone knows that 10 is greater than 9, but in economics, 10 is not as large as 9. Why is this?

In real life, there is such a phenomenon: women like to be 29 years old all the time, and they don't want to be 30 years old.Men also have similar thoughts, thinking that 49 years old is a mature flower, and at 50 years old, this flower may have withered.Although this is a kind of psychological resistance to age, deep down in people's hearts, they often feel that 9 is more precious than 10.Therefore, when we see the pricing of commodities in shopping malls or supermarkets, even if it is a commodity of 9.99 yuan, the shopping mall will not set the price at 10 yuan.

In economics, the reason why there is a theory that 10 is not as good as 9 is that 9 is rarer than 10, and the rarer the commodity, the higher its value, that is to say, if there are as many diamonds as water, people will When you get married, you may no longer be so rare about diamond rings.

Through the above story, we understand the relationship between the value and supply of commodities, the scarcity of commodities, and why the prices of shopping malls and supermarkets are so keen on 9.Through such interesting stories, we also have a deeper understanding of these economic phenomena.If we can use a story to tell the words that we were confused before, we may really be able to become an economist. Even if we fail, at least we can understand some market laws and choose consumption rationally. Become a rational social person.

Based on such an original intention, the book presents the most interesting stories for readers, allowing readers to understand some economic principles around them in the stories.For example, why are women's buttons on the left and men's on the right?Why is milk in a square box, but Coke is in a round bottle?Why does it seem to be haggling over every detail, but actually suffers everywhere?You can also understand some principles of economics from the story, understand how to choose the type of investment we should invest in from houses, stocks, gold...you can understand garlic, mung beans, radishes, vegetables...what should you produce?What to consume?Become an economics "expert" from a layman in economics, and be a smart and rational social person.

(End of this chapter)