# Economic School of Thought Quiz **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708 "2011-10-15T02:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/1 "2011-10-15T02:53:32Z")
[http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-economic-school-of-thought-test](http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-economic-school-of-thought-test) > [@](#): > > Your result for The Economic School of Thought Test … > Good Econ Student! > > 46 Keynesian, 69 Chicago, 15 Austrian > You have believe in a free market, and that it has some self-maintaining qualities. You also have some Keynesian School remnants in your thought. You probably took economics, but actually paid attention. You might want to think out some of your methodological issues, but basically, you’re on the right track! I think this is better in quality than the Politics Quiz. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/2 "2011-10-15T07:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > … > Weak Austrian > 15 Keynesian, 8 Chicago, 31 Austrian > You are a Weak Austrian. What this means is that you have the beginnings of belonging to a school of thought that places a great deal of importance on individual liberty, not just from the standpoint of justice, or liberty for its own sake, but also as something essential to a free and prosperous society. Austrians see the society and individual as not necessarily in conflict. I’m no economist, didn’t take economics courses in college, etc. Description makes sense though. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/3 "2011-10-15T22:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Economics Student > > 54 Keynesian, 46 Chicago, 15 Austrian > > You know some Keynesian and Neoclassical economics, but are committed to neither the Keynesian or Chicago School. You’re no radical, and, unless you scored toward 60 on at least one of the variables, you have just enough interest in economics to be dangerous _smerk_. At least you retained some, though, and have a working knowledge on which to build. Some of your thoughts are a bit inconsistent, though, so you probably are more of a practical thinker, just using what you think makes sense, or is most effective to the needs of the day. Don’t argue with Socialists or Fascists, you’re not equipped yet, but you can explain some basic things to a younger relative who may be asking why the market performs as it does. Don’t be afraid to jump in market conversations with friends, either 🙂 I think this is an accurate assessment. I’m no economist (seriously, has anyone ever met somebody who says they’re an economist) and I am a practical thinker that probably is ill prepared to defend my ideas of common sense as they apply to macro economics. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/4 "2011-10-15T22:12:09Z")
Also, I selected the wrong poll choice, so if anyone else gets “Good Econ Student” please select “Economics Student” to correct my error. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/5 "2011-10-15T23:39:55Z")
The test is preposterously simplistic and badly written. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/6 "2011-10-16T00:24:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The test is preposterously simplistic and badly written. Meh. For what it is, I think it’s pretty good. Obviously 13 multiple choice questions are not going to tell the story of your deepest philosophical economic beliefs, but for an online predictor, I think it’s better than average. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/7 "2011-10-16T01:00:59Z")
Free Keynesian 77/46/8 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/8 "2011-10-16T01:06:01Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Obviously 13 multiple choice questions are not going to tell the story of your deepest philosophical economic beliefs, but for an online predictor, I think it’s better than average. The problem I have, at least in principle, is the idea that 13 multiple choice questions can you parse you neatly out to one of 26 or 27 categories ;). He seems to be drawing some awful fine lines for such a short quiz. But on the other hand, eh - it’s just another little internet diversion. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/9 "2011-10-16T01:06:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The test is preposterously simplistic and badly written. Yes, writing the answers in a manner to _attempt to_ obfuscate as much as possible probably wasn’t a good idea. Any response including the phrase “animal spirits” should have been reconsidered before making the quiz live. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/10 "2011-10-17T00:37:01Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > I think this is an accurate assessment. I’m no economist (seriously, has anyone ever met somebody who says they’re an economist) and I am a practical thinker that probably is ill prepared to defend my ideas of common sense as they apply to macro economics. I know a lot of economists since I am a PhD student in a related discipline. Apparently I’m a Keynesian Privateer, which is pretty much dead on. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/11 "2011-10-17T01:03:40Z")
> [@](#): > > You are an Austrian American. I call you this because you obviously scored highly in the “Austrian School”, but you still lean somewhat toward the “Chicago School” approach as to how a free market society works best. Perhaps you like F. A. Hayek. Perhaps you are combining libertarian intuition with a college economic backgrounds. In any event, this is definitely a solid free market stance; however, you might want to look more into these schools of thought, and find out about your inner conflict 😉 Hard to argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/12 "2011-10-17T12:43:25Z")
Economics Student: 31 Keynesian, 23 Chicago, 15 Austrian I liked it until the last three questions, which I had to go look up to be sure I was answering correctly. And then the smarmy explanations for your ranking was just too much. No, just because I do not fit neatly into one camp or another does not mean I just need to learn more about economics. And I don’t know why the test creator thinks practicality is a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/13 "2011-10-17T13:20:54Z")
Balanced Freedom 46 Keynesian, 23 Chicago, 23 Austrian You are in favor of a free market, and quite a bit of individual freedom. That said, you don’t really fit in any one school of thought. A little Keynesianism, a little Chicago School methods, and a bit of Austrianism all sprinkled around. You just know you want a working market, and you support it, but you have no consistent methodology guiding you yep that is me ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/14 "2011-10-17T17:07:40Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > The problem I have, at least in principle, is the idea that 13 multiple choice questions can you parse you neatly out to one of 26 or 27 categories ;). He seems to be drawing some awful fine lines for such a short quiz. That, and if you’re going to ask about the causes of the Great Depression, and not offer the gold standard and protectionist tariffs as an answer choice…well, that doesn’t look too good, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/15 "2011-10-17T20:12:45Z")
I know piss-all about economics (had to look up what ‘Say’s law’ was), but got this: \*Mixed Market 31 Keynesian, 15 Chicago, 38 Austrian You have some knowledge of economics, but believe the freemarket is unstable and/or unfair. You would make a good economics bureaucrat in a stagnating social democracy somewhere. You aren’t hostile to freedom, though, and likely just want to make sure the right, just, decisions are made. In addition, you have just enough of a twinge of the “Austrian School” that you likely see some economic freedom as necessary. You like a mixed market, you have a concern for equity, but you’re no radical.\* Good Lord. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/16 "2011-10-17T20:25:49Z")
69 Keynesian, 46 Chicago, 15 Austrian > [@](#): > > You are a Keynesian Economics student, but you also have a regard for fiscal conservatism. You should work to restore your faith in the free market, and come to understand the abstract economic laws that make the market interventionism you’ve acquired a taste for unnecessary. The first sentence is absolutely true. But I rather disagree with the prescription following. I’m perfectly happy with my economic views as they are, than you very much, and don’t feel the need to be indoctrinated into the Grand High Church of Hayek. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/17 "2011-10-17T22:06:11Z")
\*Balanced Freedom 54 Keynesian, 31 Chicago, 31 Austrian You are in favor of a free market, and quite a bit of individual freedom. That said, you don’t really fit in any one school of thought. A little Keynesianism, a little Chicago School methods, and a bit of Austrianism all sprinkled around. You just know you want a working market, and you support it, but you have no consistent methodology guiding you.\* Sure. I just roll with the times. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/18 "2011-10-18T02:26:23Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > I think this is an accurate assessment. I’m no economist (seriously, has anyone ever met somebody who says they’re an economist) Well, yes. I used to work with some when I was in managment consulting. They had people who were experts in all sorts of finance, accounting and econ shit. I scored BALANCED FREEDOM, which I assume is best. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/19 "2011-10-18T03:40:16Z")
Sadly, I don’t think I want to sign up for OKCupid to find out. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708/20 "2011-10-18T05:36:21Z")
Mixed Market 31 Keynesian, 15 Chicago, 23 Austrian You have some knowledge of economics, but believe the freemarket is unstable and/or unfair. You would make a good economics bureaucrat in a stagnating social democracy somewhere. You aren’t hostile to freedom, though, and likely just want to make sure the right, just, decisions are made. In addition, you have just enough of a twinge of the “Austrian School” that you likely see some economic freedom as necessary. You like a mixed market, you have a concern for equity, but you’re no radical. * * * Sounds about right. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-school-of-thought-quiz/599708.md?page=2)