classic economics quotes

hey, i had just had this idea of posting your favourite classic economics quotes.il start,

"the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist"

John Maynard Keynes

Reply 1

Laws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ZX5qdIEB0

Reply 2

Chrrye

Impressive and amusing as that was I'm not sure it qualifies as an economics quote.

Reply 3

sweet_fluffy_nuke

"Economics is a theory of substitution effects but we live in a world of income effects." Larry Summers

"The laws of Economics 'lie' because they isolate, by abstraction, determination of prices and quantities by interaction between supply conditions (as determined by resources and technology) and demand conditions (as determined by wealth and preferences)."
Ian Hunt.

The lies of (some) economists:
1. "Demand is inelastic" for some products As Paul Heyne said, there are substitutes for everything.

2. The model predicts well, don't worry about the assumptions.

3.People may make mistakes when the stakes are small, but as they become more decisive over larger prizes, the irrationality goes away. (Name any major politician or how about Tom Cruise on Oprah?)

Reply 4

Don Vito

"If you pay people not to work, and tax them when they do, don't be surprised if you get unemployment." Milton Friedman

Reply 5

fredstar

"In the Long Run, we are all Dead" - Keynes
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon" - Milton Friedman

ffs I am a bit of an economics geek!

Reply 6

Overmars

fredstar

"In the Long Run, we are all Dead" - Keynes
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon" - Milton Friedman

ffs I am a bit of an economics geek!

lol don't worry, you don't need to be a geek to know them quotes. They're classics - especially the first one.

Reply 7

stupanico

Q: How many economists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None. They're all sitting around waiting for the invisible hand of the market do it for them.

'market forces'

"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" - Jane Austen

Reply 10

thyssen1207

There's no such thing as a free lunch. M Friedman

Reply 11

mrniceguy

Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt - Herbert Hoover :biggrin:

Reply 12

tourist

I'm surprised the old "supplying it on demand" comment has not yet been made...

Reply 13

lodzinski

'Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.' - Galbraith

Reply 14

Alec3

"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite." - John Kenneth Galbraith

lol!

Reply 15

achilleas999

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVp8UGjECt4

'Microeconomics is being wrong about specific things'
'Macroeconomics is being wrong about things in general'
'Macroeconomists have successfully predicted 9 of the last 5 recessions'

and Keynes :'In the long run we are all dead'