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A lot of economics teachers and students know MRU for our stickers. We’ve given away more than 100,000 econ stickers over the years in promotions and at conferences and other events. And we’re not done yet! We’re planning to continue rolling out new designs and sharing them with our fans. You can also order some of our most popular designs on our Redbubble store.
If you’re wondering what some of our stickers mean–or if you’re looking for MRU content that fits in with the same themes–check out the details below.
A lot of economics teachers and students know MRU for our stickers. We’ve given away more than 100,000 econ stickers over the years in promotions and at conferences and other events. And we’re not done yet! We’re planning to continue rolling out new designs and sharing them with our fans. You can also order some of our most popular designs on our Redbubble store.
If you’re wondering what some of our stickers mean–or if you’re looking for MRU content that fits in with the same themes–check out the details below.
Hedge Fund!
Most active investors–including professionals like hedge fund managers–fail to beat the market over time. Indeed, economist Burton Malkiel commented, “a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper’s financial pages could select a portfolio that would do just as well as one carefully selected by the experts.” These days investors can use an index fund instead of a monkey to get a low-cost, diversified portfolio that delivers market-level returns. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Andrew S., St. John Paul II Preparatory School, St. Charles, MO!)
Resources:
Thing as a Free Lunch!
Popularized by economist Milton Friedman and sci-fi author Robert Heinlein (among others), this saying reminds us that you can’t get something for nothing. In economics “TANSTAAFL” usually refers to opportunity costs and other trade-offs. If a generous salesman buys you lunch, it’s not free to you–you’re paying with your limited time and attention, which you then can’t spend doing something else. (For the same reason, it’s not free for the salesman either, even if his company pays the bill. By pitching you he’s missing the opportunity to sell to another prospect!)
No deep economics principle here–this sticker is all about us, and maybe about you! We think econ isn’t just an academic discipline. It’s a different way of observing and understanding the world, as cool and subversive as any biker tattoo could ever hope to be.
This design is a stylized version of a basic supply and demand graph. (It’s a vital concept, so we thought it deserved to be prettier.) The demand curve slopes downward, with quantity demanded decreasing as price increases. The supply curve slopes upward, with quantity supplied increasing as price increases.
Resources:
- The Demand Curve – Video
- The Supply Curve – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
- Shifts in Supply or Demand – Interactive Practice
A view of the basic supply and demand graph, but with an emphasis on the spot where the magic happens: the market-clearing price where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied. There’s a lot to love about a market in equilibrium!
Resources:
- The Equilibrium Price and Quantity – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
- Price Ceilings and Price Floors – Unit Plan
In The Wealth of Nations (1776) Adam Smith described the results of self-interested business decisions in a market-based economy: the businessman is “led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention”–that is, a general improvement in society’s welfare as he creates goods desired by his customers. Later economists more explicitly tied the concept to price theory (producer and consumer surplus).
Resources:
- I, Rose – Video
- A Price Is a Signal Wrapped in an Incentive– Video
- Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
This is perhaps the best-known line from economist John Maynard Keynes, in his 1923 A Tract on Monetary Reform. It’s more easily understood when the preceding sentence is included: “The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead.” In other words, it’s not enough to consider the ultimate equilibrium that a policy change will lead to–economists (and politicians) should also carefully consider the likely effects in the short run, and especially any negative impacts.
Resources:
- Game of Theories: The Keynsians – Video
- The Long-Run Aggregate Supply Curve – Video
- The Short-Run Aggregate Supply Curve – Video
- Monetary Policy – Unit Plan
Inflation–and especially hyperinflation–usually has a simple cause: governments try to solve fiscal problems by printing more money. The increased quantity of money chases a fixed quantity of goods (in the short term), leading to price inflation…and more fiscal problems that the government tries to solve by printing more money. Repeat the cycle for a year or two, and a currency can become almost worthless.
Resources:
- Zimbabwe and Hyperinflation: Who Wants To Be a Trillionaire? – Video
- Quantity Theory of Money – Video
- Money and Inflation – Unit Plan
- Winners and Losers of Inflation – Interactive Practice
- The Inflation Auction – Game
For most of human history, there was almost zero long-term economic growth. This changed dramatically starting in the 18th and 19th centuries with the Industrial Revolution. Suddenly, we experienced compounding annual growth over many decades. (With occasional stumbles, of course.) A graph of this long-term trend looks a bit like a hockey stick on its side
It’s easy to mix up how price floors and price ceilings work on a supply and demand chart. Price floors only affect a market if they’re above the equilibrium price, and price ceilings only matter if they’re below it. This design is a good way to remember that slightly topsy-turvy relationship. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Ivana N., Athens High School, Troy, MI!)
Resources:
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
- Price Ceilings and Price Floors – Unit Plan
- Price Ceilings – Interactive Practice
- Price Floors – Interactive Practice
A key driver of consumer behavior–and of gains from trade–is the concept of diminishing marginal utility. For most goods, the more you have of the good, the less you value getting a little more of that good. (Getting one ice cream cone when you have none is great. Getting a second ice cream cone…still pretty good. But getting a 20th ice cream cone? We’ll pass.)
Resources:
- Introduction to Consumer Choice – Video
- Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
- International Trade – Unit Plan
Substitutes are goods that serve a similar function. Even if they’re not identical or perfect substitutes, consumers may switch between them when relative prices change. Think flying vs. driving, streaming a movie vs. going to the theater, or two remarkably similar flavors of soda. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Sara J., Athens High School, Troy, MI!)
Resources:
- Indifference Curves – Video
- What Shifts the Demand Curve? – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
No deep economics principle here–this sticker is all about us, and maybe about you! We think econ isn’t just an academic discipline. It’s a different way of observing and understanding the world, as cool and subversive as any biker tattoo could ever hope to be.
In The Wealth of Nations (1776) Adam Smith described the results of self-interested business decisions in a market-based economy: the businessman is “led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention”–that is, a general improvement in society’s welfare as he creates goods desired by his customers. Later economists more explicitly tied the concept to price theory (producer and consumer surplus).
Resources:
- The Demand Curve – Video
- The Supply Curve – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium
– Unit Plan - Shifts in Supply or Demand
– Interactive Practice
A view of the basic supply and demand graph, but with an emphasis on the spot where the magic happens: the market-clearing price where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied. There’s a lot to love about a market in equilibrium!
Resources:
- The Equilibrium Price and Quantity
– Video - Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium
– Unit Plan - Price Ceilings and Price Floors
– Unit Plan
In The Wealth of Nations (1776) Adam Smith described the results of self-interested business decisions in a market-based economy: the businessman is “led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention”–that is, a general improvement in society’s welfare as he creates goods desired by his customers. Later economists more explicitly tied the concept to price theory (producer and consumer surplus).
Resources:
- I, Rose – Video
- A Price Is a Signal Wrapped
in an Incentive – Video - Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium
– Unit Plan
This is perhaps the best-known line from economist John Maynard Keynes, in his 1923 A Tract on Monetary Reform. It’s more easily understood when the preceding sentence is included: “The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead.” In other words, it’s not enough to consider the ultimate equilibrium that a policy change will lead to–economists (and politicians) should also carefully consider the likely effects in the short run, and especially any negative impacts.
Resources:
- Game of Theories: The Keynsians – Video
- The Long-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
– Video - The Short-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
– Video - Monetary Policy – Unit Plan
Inflation–and especially hyperinflation–usually has a simple cause: governments try to solve fiscal problems by printing more money. The increased quantity of money chases a fixed quantity of goods (in the short term), leading to price inflation…and more fiscal problems that the government tries to solve by printing more money. Repeat the cycle for a year or two, and a currency can become almost worthless.
Resources:
- Zimbabwe and Hyperinflation: Who Wants To Be a Trillionaire? – Video
- Quantity Theory of Money – Video
- Money and Inflation – Unit Plan
- Winners and Losers of Inflation
– Interactive Practice - The Inflation Auction – Game
of Growth!
For most of human history, there was almost zero long-term economic growth. This changed dramatically starting in the 18th and 19th centuries with the Industrial Revolution. Suddenly, we experienced compounding annual growth over many decades. (With occasional stumbles, of course.) A graph of this long-term trend looks a bit like a hockey stick on its side.
John Maynard Keynes wrote about how people are less than perfectly rational in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936): most decisions “can only be taken as a result of animal spirits–of a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction, and not as the outcome of a weighted average of quantitative benefits multiplied by quantitative probabilities.” The idea is commonly applied to financial markets, and it also resonates in the work of behavioral economists.
A key driver of consumer behavior–and of gains from trade–is the concept of diminishing marginal utility. For most goods, the more you have of the good, the less you value getting a little more of that good. (Getting one ice cream cone when you have none is great. Getting a second ice cream cone…still pretty good. But getting a 20th ice cream cone? We’ll pass.)
Resources:
- Introduction to Consumer Choice– Video
- Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
- International Trade – Unit Plan
Some goods (common resources or public goods) are “non-excludable:” they benefit everyone, even people who don’t pay for them. Because of this “free-rider problem,” too few of those goods (think lighthouses or asteroid defense) may be produced. Fortunately, the type of free-riding illustrated on the sticker is rare–motorcycles are excludable, private goods. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Valentina G., Mandarin High School, Jacksonville, FL!)
Resources:
- Free Rider! – Video
- Types of Goods – Interactive Practice
- Public Goods and Asteroid Defense – Video
Externalities occur when other people bear some of the costs (or get some of the benefits) of someone’s actions. Planting flowers creates positive externalities for your neighbors–but letting those flowers honk their little horns all night creates negative externalities. (And probably earns you a nasty letter from your HOA.) (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Will L., New Technology High School, Napa, CA!)
Externalities occur when other people bear some of the costs (or get some of the benefits) of someone’s actions. Planting flowers creates positive externalities for your neighbors–but letting those flowers honk their little horns all night creates negative externalities. (And probably earns you a nasty letter from your HOA.) (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Will L., New Technology High School, Napa, CA!)
Complements are two goods that naturally “go together”–consumption of one drives demand for the other. (Essentially, the opposite of substitutes.) “Left shoes” and “right shoes” are a classic example of perfect complements, and other complementary relationships are common in everyday life. Chips and guacamole, cars and gasoline, printers and paper…or coffee and donuts.
Resources:
- Indifference Curves – Video
- What Shifts the Demand Curve? – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium
– Unit Plan
Complements are two goods that naturally “go together”–consumption of one drives demand for the other. (Essentially, the opposite of substitutes.) “Left shoes” and “right shoes” are a classic example of perfect complements, and other complementary relationships are common in everyday life. Chips and guacamole, cars and gasoline, printers and paper…or coffee and donuts.
Resources:
- Indifference Curves – Video
- What Shifts the Demand Curve? – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
John Maynard Keynes wrote about how people are less than perfectly rational in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936): most decisions “can only be taken as a result of animal spirits–of a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction, and not as the outcome of a weighted average of quantitative benefits multiplied by quantitative probabilities.” The idea is commonly applied to financial markets, and it also resonates in the work of behavioral economists.
Substitutes are goods that serve a similar function. Even if they’re not identical or perfect substitutes, consumers may switch between them when relative prices change. Think flying vs. driving, streaming a movie vs. going to the theater, or two remarkably similar flavors of soda. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Sara J., Athens High School, Troy, MI!)
Resources:
- Indifference Curves – Video
- What Shifts the Demand Curve? – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium
– Unit Plan
Such Thing as
a Free Lunch!
No deep economics principle here–this sticker is all about us, and maybe about you! We think econ isn’t just an academic discipline. It’s a different way of observing and understanding the world, as cool and subversive as any biker tattoo could ever hope to be.
Some goods (common resources or public goods) are “non-excludable:” they benefit everyone, even people who don’t pay for them. Because of this “free-rider problem,” too few of those goods (think lighthouses or asteroid defense) may be produced. Fortunately, the type of free-riding illustrated on the sticker is rare–motorcycles are excludable, private goods. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Valentina G., Mandarin High School, Jacksonville, FL!)
Resources:
- Free Rider! – Video
- Types of Goods – Interactive Practice
- Public Goods and Asteroid Defense – Video
Most active investors–including professionals like hedge fund managers–fail to beat the market over time. Indeed, economist Burton Malkiel commented, “a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper’s financial pages could select a portfolio that would do just as well as one carefully selected by the experts.” These days investors can use an index fund instead of a monkey to get a low-cost, diversified portfolio that delivers market-level returns. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Andrew S., St. John Paul II Preparatory School, St. Charles, MO!)
Resources:
It’s easy to mix up how price floors and price ceilings work on a supply and demand chart. Price floors only affect a market if they’re above the equilibrium price, and price ceilings only matter if they’re below it. This design is a good way to remember that slightly topsy-turvy relationship. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Ivana N., Athens High School, Troy, MI!)
Resources:
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
- Price Ceilings and Price Floors – Unit Plan
- Price Ceilings – Interactive Practice
- Price Floors – Interactive Practice
This sticker refers to the broken window fallacy, introduced in 19th Century economist Frederic Bastiat’s essay “That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Unseen.” It’s a story of opportunity costs and unintended consequences. Imagine a shopkeeper’s window is broken, so he has to pay to replace it. Some might naively assume this transaction (“that which is seen”) stimulates the economy–but in fact society is made poorer by the destruction, because otherwise the shopkeeper could have spent the money on something more productive (“that which is unseen”) and still had a window. As Bastiat concludes, “Destruction is not profit.” (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Nicolas Y., Maricopa High School, Maricopa, AZ!)
Resources:
- Frederic Bastiat on the Seen and Unseen – Video
- Opportunity Cost and Tradeoffs – Video
- Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
This sticker refers to the broken window fallacy, introduced in 19th Century economist Frederic Bastiat’s essay “That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Unseen.” It’s a story of opportunity costs and unintended consequences. Imagine a shopkeeper’s window is broken, so he has to pay to replace it. Some might naively assume this transaction (“that which is seen”) stimulates the economy–but in fact society is made poorer by the destruction, because otherwise the shopkeeper could have spent the money on something more productive (“that which is unseen”) and still had a window. As Bastiat concludes, “Destruction is not profit.” (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Nicolas Y., Maricopa High School, Maricopa, AZ!)
Resources:
- Frederic Bastiat on the Seen and Unseen – Video
- Opportunity Cost and Tradeoffs – Video
- Intro to Econ – Unit Plan
A tongue-in-cheek explanation of an old saying, based on the concepts of supply, demand, and equilibrium. Goods that have low demand and have high supply will have low prices because demand shifting back and supply shifting out both push prices down. This rather wonky econ explanation describes why talk is cheap. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Karina C., Fort Defiance High School, Fort Defiance, VA!)
Resources:
- The Demand Curve – Video
- The Supply Curve – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
A tongue-in-cheek explanation of an old saying, based on the concepts of supply, demand, and equilibrium. Goods that have low demand and have high supply will have low prices because demand shifting back and supply shifting out both push prices down. This rather wonky econ explanation describes why talk is cheap. (Spring 2024 Sticker Contest Winner–congrats Karina C., Fort Defiance High School, Fort Defiance, VA!)
Resources:
- The Demand Curve – Video
- The Supply Curve – Video
- Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium – Unit Plan
