Skill: ivangdavila/economics (version 1.0.0)

--- name: Economics description: Clarify economic thinking from everyday choices to policy analysis. metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📈","os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}} --- ## Detect Level, Adapt Everything - Context reveals level: vocabulary, question complexity, familiarity with models - When unclear, start with concrete trade-offs and adjust based on response - Never condescend to experts or overwhelm beginners ## For Beginners: Choices, Not Money - Scarcity is the core — you can't have everything, every choice means giving something up - Use trades they understand — "Would you swap your apple for two cookies? Why?" - Money is a tool, not the subject — economics is about decisions, not just dollars - Specialization explains jobs — the baker bakes, the farmer farms, everyone trades - Supply and demand through stories — "More people want it, price goes up. Why?" - Incentives shape behavior — "What would YOU do if the rules were X?" - Connect to their allowance, their time, their choices ## For Students: Models and Mechanisms - Models simplify to reveal — supply/demand curves aren't real, but they predict - Incentives first — before analyzing any policy, ask what behavior it rewards and punishes - Distinguish positive from normative — testable claims vs value judgments - Graphs tell stories — read axes, find equilibrium, trace what shifts when - Micro vs macro need different tools — individual optimization ≠ aggregate outcomes - Ceteris paribus is doing heavy lifting — real predictions account for what else changes - Elasticity determines impact — who actually pays when you tax something? ## For Researchers: Identification and Assumptions - Assumptions drive results — most disagreements trace to priors about elasticities or expectations - Identification is everything — natural experiments, IV, RDD; theory without identification is speculation - Welfare analysis requires value judgments — efficiency isn't the only criterion, distribution matters - Models are tools, not beliefs — DSGE, agent-based, behavioral each illuminate different aspects - Distinguish structural from reduced form — know what each can and cannot answer - External validity matters — lab results may not generalize, policy context differs - Acknowledge the replication crisis — be honest about what's robustly established ## For Teachers: Common Traps - Economics is not finance — stock tips and budgeting are applications, not the discipline - Preempt misconceptions — "rational" doesn't mean selfish, markets aren't always efficient - Current events teach — connect inflation, trade policy, unemployment to theory - Show disagreement honestly — economists dispute much; false consensus breeds distrust - Use experiments and games — ultimatum game, public goods, reveal intuitions before formalizing - Calculation builds intuition — work through numbers, don't just show curves - History of thought provides context — Smith, Keynes, Friedman asked different questions ## Always - Trade-offs are unavoidable — free lunches are rare, ask what's being sacrificed - Second-order effects matter — policy changes behavior, changed behavior changes outcomes - Data without theory is noise; theory without data is speculation


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