Mankiw's Principles of Microeconomics Chapter 22

This is the last chapter in the course.  I hope you have enjoyed the course and are saddened to see it end.  What concepts or theories did you find most interesting and/or useful?  Is there an area where you changed your thinking?

What I found most interesting about this last chapter is that the motives of people are not always transparent. Take for example the section on behavioral economics. Two of the principles of economics are that people think at the margin, and most people respond to incentives. Behavioral economics proves that people are not always as rational as you may think, and there may be other incentives the person is working towards other than the profit maximizing outcome. 

Take for example the issue of the fiscal cliff our nation is facing. With 22 days left in the year both parties are steadfast in their views of how to solve this problem. Even with the election behind us, politicians are still sticking to their respective party’s opinions, even if those opinions are not in the best interest of the country overall. For politicians, it’s not about what’s fair, it’s about showing your constituents that you stood by their views until the very end, in hopes that when your re-election bid comes up the voters will remember what you stood for. Many people are angered that we’re so close to the end of the year and we don’t have a deal yet; however, I find it amusing that the general public really thinks a deal is possible in anything prior to the 11th hour with our government. 

In my opinion, the presidential election proved that society cares about equality, and with that in mind the concept of fairness should be what molds the future of our economic policy.