Economic Fallacies

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"In the economic sphere, an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects unfold only subsequently; they are not seen. Between a bad and a good economist, this is the whole difference: one confines himself to the visible effect; the other takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen."

— Bastiat, Frédéric event 1850

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That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen

person Bastiat, Frédéric event 1850

Famous essay introducing the concept of opportunity cost and the broken window fallacy, arguing economists must consider both immediate visible eff...

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Economics in One Lesson

person Hazlitt, Henry event 1946

Classic introduction to economic thinking, demonstrating that good economics considers both the immediate effects and the longer-term effects on al...

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The Broken Window Fallacy

A logical error in economic reasoning first described by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay

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The Cantillon Effect

The Cantillon Effect is an economic concept explaining how newly created money does not affect everyone equally. When new money enters the economy,...

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