The World Economic Forum has published this article to make you think about 5 economic myths.
The article can be accessed here.
Imagine you are given these as preparatory work for your interview.
Have a read of it and summarise the key ideas.
Myth 1: Free market-driven development is the best mechanism to build vibrant economies, using the private sector to encourage growth and more opportunities for all, including the poor.
Myth 2: Countries should sustain their development through foreign direct investment.
Myth 3: Large-scale urbanization is necessary and an inevitable step for developing countries seeking to modernize through industrialization, manufacturing and sustained productivity growth.
Myth 4: The best way to understand productivity so as to grow economies is to measure it as how quickly and how cheaply we can produce something.
Myth 5: We can fight climate change through the free market and technological innovation instead of actual hard limits on carbon emissions and consumption.
Now complete the following exercises:
- If we accept the premise that these are indeed myths, explain the flaws in the myths
- Why do you think these myths persist?
- Do you have any evidence to support the existence of, or rejection of, any of the myths?
- Can you think of any inherent bias in the myths presented by the writer of the article?
- Extension question: can you think of any economic ideas that changed your previous (incorrect) way of thinking?
- Extension question: can you name something you have come across in Economics that has seemed counter-intuitive to you?