Quote of the Day

Today's quote comes courtesy of Truck and Barter:

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“Incentives do matter, although the obsession of many economists with this idea can become tedious. It is important to stop short of the barmy extremes of some Chicago economists – who would get married to derive economies of scale in household production and commit suicide when the net present value of future utility becomes non-positive (after allowance for the value of future options to commit suicide, calculated using the Black-Scholes formula). They discredit the profession as much as the “up and down” economists do. The ordinary business of life must keep some room for love and soul.”

-John Kay, of whom I commented in this post- Armchair Economics Reading List

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See my less eloquent, but very similar thoughts here.