Every year, the Edge Foundation asks a bunch of scientists one interesting question. This year’s question was “What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?” The hundreds of answers are varied and fascinating, but I found myself wishing that a similar survey existed for economics. There are plenty of econ terms regular people would find not only very interesting, but useful for thinking about policy. Sadly, the most commonly used econ words tend to be the ones with the vaguest meanings -- “rational,” “equilibrium” and “efficient.” Instead, here are some of my suggestions: • Endogeneity Everyone knows that correlation doesn’t equal causation, but somehow people seem to forget. Endogeneity is a word that can help you remember. Something is endogenous when you don’t know whether it’s a cause or an effect (or both). For example, lots of people note that people who go to college tend to make more money. But how much of this is because college boosts earning power, and h...
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