Economic Literacy for All

According to The Wall Street Journal, the popularity of economics as an undergrad major is rising:  Up 40% in the US in the past 5 years, and the #1 major at Harvard, Columbia, and NYU.  Even in Russia and Poland—or, when you think about it, especially in Russia and Poland—its popularity is surging.   It comes at the expense of history (not a good thing), political science (a very good thing), and sociology (a spectacularly good thing).

With plausible, if not slam-dunk, justification, the reporter attributes the shift to a perception by undergrads that economics will be perceived as a smart choice for the job market after graduation.

Be that as it may—and I cede pride of place to no one in my belief in the intrinsic value of a classic, well-rounded "liberal arts" education—the good news here is that anything under the sun we can do to increase the economic literacy of the American populace is a per se good.  Until the majority of people, and politicians, understand such rock-bottom principles as opportunity cost, unintended consequences, dynamic vs. static analysis, and even good old supply and demand, we will continue to make bone-headed public policy decisions such as requiring the last 0.01% of asbestos removal, at a price per life saved of about half a billion dollars, instead of installing more highway guardrails, at a price per life saved of about $25,000.