For some time, I've argued that a lot of economic policymaking boils down to the Magic Formula, which is: Low Taxes and Stable Money. There is more to it than this, of course; but if you don't get the big stuff right, the little stuff won't matter. Smith said not only that you should get the big stuff right, but that if you get the big stuff right, the small stuff will more-or-less take care of itself, "all the rest brought about by the natural course of things." And yet, I've noticed that economic intellectuals don't seem to have much to say about the Magic Formula. Yoram Bauman, a professor of economics at the University of Washington, translated Mankiw’s Ten Principles for laymen:Choices are bad Choices are really bad People are stupid People aren’t that stupid Trade can make everyone worse off Governments are stupid Governments aren’t that stupid Blah blah blah Blah blah blah Blah blah blahThe Foundation for Economic Education, representing a more libertarian approach, suggested their own twelve principles:Gains from Trade.

Source: Forbes March 02, 2018 17:15 UTC