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1. Production possibilities frontier
What it means to everyone else: The latest innovation in smartphone technology.
What it means to econ majors: The concept of optimal resource allocation.
2. Sunk costs
What it means to everyone else: The expense of recovering items lost at sea.
What it means to econ majors: Costs that should not influence future decision-making.
3. Normal distribution
What it means to everyone else: A common grading practice in educational settings.
What it means to econ majors: A flawed assumption in many economic models.
4. Producers’ surplus
What it means to everyone else: Fresh produce sold at local markets.
What it means to econ majors: A measure of producer benefit in a market.
5. Risk
What it means to everyone else: A fun card game.
What it means to econ majors: A concept to consider when hedging investments.
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6. Indifference curve
What it means to everyone else: The dilemma of choosing between pop stars.
What it means to econ majors: The balance of choices that maximizes utility.
7. Oligopoly
What it means to everyone else: A historical economic term.
What it means to econ majors: A market structure that leads to higher prices.
8. Shutdown price
What it means to everyone else: The final bid in an online auction.
What it means to econ majors: The minimum price at which a firm can continue to operate.
9. Microeconomics
What it means to everyone else: Small-scale financial matters.
What it means to econ majors: The study of individual decision-making processes.
10. Marginal utility
What it means to everyone else: The upcoming charge on your utilities bill.
What it means to econ majors: The additional satisfaction from consuming one more unit.
11. Present value
What it means to everyone else: Understanding family affection on special occasions.
What it means to econ majors: The current worth of future cash flows.
12. Error term
What it means to everyone else: Mistakes made in academic assignments.
What it means to econ majors: The discrepancy in estimation models.
13. Natural log
What it means to everyone else: Kindling for a fire.
What it means to econ majors: A mathematical function representing continuous growth.
14. Multivariable function
What it means to everyone else: Planning weekend activities.
What it means to econ majors: A representation of complex economic relationships.
15. Elasticity
What it means to everyone else: Comfortable activewear.
What it means to econ majors: The responsiveness of demand to price changes.
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16. Fixed Costs
What it means to everyone else: Monthly rent payments.
What it means to econ majors: Costs that do not change with output.
17. Expected value
What it means to everyone else: Anticipating rising fuel prices.
What it means to econ majors: The rationale behind investment decisions.
18. Deadweight Loss
What it means to everyone else: The impact of unhealthy lifestyle choices.
What it means to econ majors: The loss of economic efficiency when equilibrium is not achieved.
19. Point of diminishing returns
What it means to everyone else: The effects of excessive indulgence.
What it means to econ majors: The point where adding input yields less additional output.
20. Z score
What it means to everyone else: An impressive score.
What it means to econ majors: A statistical measure indicating how many standard deviations an element is from the mean.
21. Bayesian probability
What it means to everyone else: A common misspelling of a pop star’s name.
What it means to econ majors: The method of updating probabilities as new evidence becomes available.
22. Economics
What it means to everyone else: A dull subject.
What it means to econ majors: The study of how individuals and societies allocate resources under constraints.
23. Monopoly
What it means to everyone else: A famously frustrating board game.
What it means to econ majors: A market structure where one firm dominates and controls prices.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
