CliffsNotes Study Guide
How Economics Can Save the World in Nine Bullet Points
CliffsNotes claims to be the original study guide. Designed to “ease your homework headaches” – and also maybe to help you cheat on exams – these texts have been a favorite of generations of students.
For better or worse, the actual CliffNotes haven’t gotten to my own books (yet). A reader called Daniel in Singapore has, though.
Daniel very helpfully typed up a chapter-by-chapter study guide for How Economics Can Save the World. I’m reposting it here (unedited) for your perusal.
1. How to eliminate poverty: give money to the poor. Really, they won’t misspend it.
2. How to raise happy children and remain sane: stop worrying, treat them with kindness and respect, and realise that your efforts don’t matter too much.
3. How to fix climate change: carbon taxes
4. How to change bad behaviour: change social norms by telling them publicly, and make lots of people change at the same time
5. How to give people what they want: trading platform for kidney donation
6. How to be happy: earn enough money just above the median household income, then buy experience not stuff, be content, make society more equal
7. How to be humble: confront your predictions with feedback, think why you can be wrong
8. How to get rich, save and invest in index linked funds, improve your financial literacy
9. How to build community: set up institutions to get better Nash equilibriums to avoid tragedy of the commons, set rules, monitor behaviour and enforce rules
You can find the original here.
This is good. Under "be content" I'd add a few details like "could you fly less, explore your locale more? Could you demonstrate for your kids "making your own fun", e.g. homemade costumes, art, art, art.? " There definitely needs to be something about art in the big equation. DB