Are Germans and Dutch workers the most productive in Europe?
A) No
B) Yes

Why do Swedish bus drivers earn 20x more than Indian bus drivers for the same job?
A) Higher productivity
B) Labor market rules

How did the US and UK actually become wealthy?
A) Protectionism
B) Free trade

How much of advanced Western economies’ GDP is typically “planned”?
A) Nearly half
B) Less than 25%

What coordinates most business activity today?
A) Markets
B) Internal planning

Where do most breakthrough innovations originate?
A) Private entrepreneurship
B) Public governments

Do equal opportunity standards guarantee fair outcomes?
A) Yes
B) No

Are “Commons” (resources managed in collectives) really “tragic”?
A) No — commons often work for centuries
B) Yes — shared property is ultimately ineffective (“prisoner’s dilemma”)

Are we living in a knowledge economy?
A) Yes — most economic value today comes from knowledge-rich services
B) No

Is education a guaranteed path to national prosperity in developed countries?
A) Yes — more education means more growth
B) No

A. Trick question: Germany and Netherlands rank among Europe’s highest in labor productivity (about €90/hour), but this stems largely from strong institutional support, wage coordination, sector specialization, public infrastructure and capital investment, not innate worker skill; German or Dutch workers transplanted to lower-productivity countries would perform less efficiently. (Myth 1a)

B. Swedish bus drivers earn on average 20-50 times more than Indian counterparts largely due to labor market protections, minimum wages, union strength, and social insurance—all of which contribute 60-80% of the wage gap, with productivity differences explaining only 20-40%. However, driving in India is much more challenging, with drivers navigating chaotic mixed traffic of cars, bicycles, and animals, which likely means higher relative productivity under tougher conditions. (Myth 1b)

A. The US and UK industrial and economic rise was underpinned by deliberate high tariffs (35-50%), infant industry protection, state-backed credit, and infrastructure investments rather than free trade or laissez-faire, enabling scale and technological learning. (Myth 2)

A. Nearly half of advanced economies’ GDP typically involves government planning through welfare, public investment, education, and regulation, with countries like France and Sweden spending over 50% of GDP on these functions. (Myth 3)

B. Over 60% of economic activity in advanced economies is coordinated within firms, governments, and institutions through planning and hierarchies, dwarfing decentralized market allocation by prices; transnational corporations use internal supply chains for a third to half of global trade. (Myth 4)

B. Over 70% of major breakthrough innovations (e.g., Internet, biotech, GPS) since 1945 originated primarily from public R&D and state-sponsored risk-taking, while private entrepreneurship mainly delivers incremental improvements. (Myth 5)

B. No. Equal opportunity alone does not produce fair outcomes; OECD data show children from top income quintiles are four times likelier to attain higher education, and intergenerational transmission of economic status is strong, requiring redistribution to overcome disparities. (Myth 6)

A. No. Contrary to the “tragedy” myth, commons governed by local communities over centuries demonstrate sustainability and high performance through self-organization, monitoring, sanctions, and participatory governance. (Myth 7)

B. No. Manufacturing volume at constant prices has remained stable or grown globally in the last 30 years (~$16 trillion output in 2023), with clear declines mainly in the UK; manufacturing is critical for productivity, innovation diffusion, and export-led growth. (Myth 8)

B. No. Especially in advanced economies, longer education without intentional and complementary industrial policies, skilled labor demand, and technological upgrading fails to drive national prosperity; cognitive skill quality, not just years of schooling, closely correlates with economic growth. (Myth 9)