Economics Ideas for Beyond the FInal Exam

Here are nine ideas that I hope that you will remember long after the final exam is over. I have taken this list from Baumol and Blinder, Economics: Principles and Policy, ninth edition. For Baumol and Blinder's explanations of these ideas, see Chapter 1 of their textbook (downloadable in PDF format).

1. How much does it really cost? Think "opportunity cost."
2. When attempting to repeal the laws of supply and demand, the market strikes back.
3. The surprising principle of comparative advantage.
4. Trade is a win-win situation.
5. The importance of thinking at the margin.
6. Externalities: a shortcoming of the market, which can be cured by market methods.
7. The tradeoff between efficiency and equity.
8. The short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.
9. Productivity is almost everything in the long run.