This morning, I want to make the Case for why Economics is arguably the dopest discipline EVER.

It boils down to one thing: Economists are the most versatile (social) scientists we see today h/t @Noahpinion.

They can study whatever whenever and it's AMAZING usually. A thread/

Okay, I know that a lot of people know about supply and demand, but what economics *really* gets at -- correct me if I wrong-- is how we maximize limited [fill in the blank] under specific constraints.

Fill in the blank can LITERALLY be anything you want.

Literally.

2/

What's really cool about economics is that this concept of maximizing "limited whatever" applies to ANYTHING because constraints are everywhere, which means that economics can inform anything.

And when I say anything, I really mean EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE.

3/

Here's what economists can study:

- reparations for African-Americans
- financial aid for college
- poverty in the developing world
- environmental policies
- who the police stops
- texting and social networks

Banking/finance is just ONE small part economics.

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You wouldn't know all of the cool things economists do though because it's not advertised imo.

Folx don't tell you how it's applied and why it matters in intro classes. They might point you to some graphs and tell you to assume stuff.

That's not the whole story though.

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Being in economics means that you (hopefully and honestly) crunch and interpret important numbers, so basically you are needed everywhere.

Employment is low key guaranteed.

Economists ALSO sit in MANY spaces of power and make important decisions, which is also dope.

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The day I discovered economics, the world opened up to me.

Econ is amazing because it uses math/stat/data w/ social science to inform past, present, and future problems and solutions.

I hope this case was compelling.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

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Short list of favorite econ folx either because of work and/or real life are below:

@drlisadcook
@paulgp
@DaniaFrancis
@joelle_gamble
@TrevonDLogan
@JoshuaSGoodman
@SandyDarity
@nomadj1s
@gbenga_ajilore
@femme_economics
@MackenzieAlsto4
@LipstickEcon
@jhacova

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Lol, I know that folx may be tempted just to RT the short list, but please share this thread widely. It's high time people knew what economists do and what they inform.

Quoting my least favorite Marvel superhero's uncle:

9/7

It's actually NOT a coincidence nor GOOD that economics, a powerful discipline, is dominated by white men.

For a field that can shift the world in 0.2 seconds, Diversity is the prerequisite AND necessary ingredient for economic policies and analyses that help everyone.

10/7

FYI: Your favorite graphs? The ones that show social mobility or trends that inform job numbers. That data? That analysis? Economists.

Economics is everywhere if you don't want it to be. Get with the winning team lol, but also economists need to cite other disciplines.

11/7

Lol it looks like a lot of people *don't* like economists. You hate to see that.

Let me remind y'all that a pundit or some racist guy in the NYT that calls him/herself an economist is not representative of the body of economists.

Educate yourself and broaden your palate.

12/7

Also, we are not claiming economists who think they can double as epidemiologists. Those economists suck even in the econ space too.

We don't know them so stop bringing those folx up.

13/7

Lol let me take it one step further: just because someone calls themselves an economist doesn't mean that are qualified by any measure of the title.

Exhibit A: This administration has made it clear that job description =/= you actually knowing what the hell you're doing.

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Shoutout to @devikadutt, admittedly I am still a STUDENT of economics, so this important perspective is one that I am also learning more about as I go. Thank you so much for sharing!

15/7 https://twitter.com/devikadutt/status/1280155949940871169?s=20

I should plug that economic models/thought are HEAVILY contested within the field e.g. stratification economics, heterodox methods, etc.

A lot of these lines of thought are important because they consider different implications h/t @KKM_Econ:

https://phenomenalworld.org/analysis/stratification-economics

16/7

Alright I am going muting the notifications on this one, but I appreciate the critique to the thread/take and want to reiterate that I am speaking from my LIMITED knowledge of economics thus far.

Thanks for all the (respectful) feedback and of course keep discussing!

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