选题1 : Can you use mathematics to explain why people queue at some coffee shops but not others?

你能用数学解释为什么人们在某些咖啡店门前排长队吗？

Hints: Think about models of decision-making under uncertainty, externalities, pricing, or expectations. Could queuing be a rational signal of quality? Use game theory, utility models or network effects.

考虑不确定性、外部性、定价或预期下的决策模型。排队能成为质量好的合理信号吗？可以运用博弈论、效用模型或网络效应来思考。

选题2 :Imagine a world where everyone has perfect information. What changes in how markets work?

想象一个人人都拥有完美信息的世界。市场运作方式会发生什么变化？

Hints: Explore market efficiency, price discovery, asymmetric information, and the role of speculation or advertising.

探讨市场效率、价格、信息不对称以及投机或广告的作用。

选题3 : How would you design a mathematical model to measure “economic happiness”?

你将如何设计一个数学模型来衡量“经济幸福”？

Hints: Define what variables matter (e.g. income, leisure, inequality). Consider utility, GDP alternatives, or wellbeing indexes. How would you test or apply it?

定义哪些变量是重要的（例如收入、休闲、不平等）。考虑一下效用、GDP替代方案或幸福指数。你将如何测试或应用它？

选题1 : Why do people tip in restaurants they’ll never return to?

为什么人们会在他们再也不会去的餐馆给小费？

Hints: Explore social norms, reciprocity, self-image, and irrational generosity. Consider experimental findings.

探索社会规范、互惠、自我形象和非理性慷慨。考虑实验数据。

选题2 : Imagine a world where everyone has perfect information. What changes in how markets work?

如果人类真的是理性的，那么超市还会以目前的形式存在吗？

Hints: Think about pricing psychology, choice architecture, and impulse behaviour. Consider how shopping would change in a hyper-rational world.

想想定价心理学、选择结构和冲动行为。想想在一个超理性的世界里，购物会发生怎样的变化。

选题3 : Why do people pay more for branded water? Can behavioural economics fix this?

为什么人们会花更多的钱买有品牌的水？行为经济学能解决这个问题吗？

Hints: Explore perceived value, framing, signaling, and consumer biases. What policies (if any) should intervene?

探索感知价值、框架、信号和消费者偏见。应该采取什么政策（如果有的话）进行干预？

选题1 : A new country is formed and launches its own currency. What determines whether the world takes it seriously?

一个新国家成立并发行了自己的货币。由什么决定世界是否认真对待它？

Hints: Consider monetary policy, central bank credibility, geopolitical alliances, and investor confidence. Case studies welcome!

考虑一下货币政策、央行信誉、地缘政治联盟和投资者信心。欢迎使用案例分析。

选题2 : What would happen if all borders were opened overnight?

如果一夜之间开放所有边境会发生什么？

Hints: Explore the flow of labour, capital, and goods. Discuss short vs long-term impacts, institutional strain,and economic opportunity.

探索劳动力、资本和商品的流动。讨论短期和长期影响、制度压力和经济机会。

选题3 : Could a digital-only currency replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve?

数字货币能否取代美元成为世界储备货币？

Hints: Compare digital currencies vs fiat, look at trust, power, tech infrastructure. How do politics and finance intersect?

比较数字货币和法定货币，看看信任、权力、技术基础设施。政治和金融是如何互相影响的？

选题1 : Should we put a price on nature?

我们应该给自然定价吗？

Hints: Think about ecosystem services, externalities, and valuation methods. Explore whether economic tools can meaningfully capture environmental value.

想想生态系统服务、外部性和估值方法。探索经济工具是否能有意义地捕捉环境价值。

选题2 : If climate change were a company, how would you bankrupt it?

如果气候变化是一家公司，你会如何让它破产？

Hints: Think creatively: subsidies, taxes, lawsuits, social pressure, or innovation. Can markets “defeat” emissions?

创造性地思考：补贴、税收、诉讼、社会压力或创新。市场能“战胜”排放吗？

选题3 : Is infinite economic growth on a finite planet a myth or a misunderstood goal?

在有限的地球上实现无限的经济增长是一个神话还是一个被误解的目标？

Hints: Challenge GDP as a goal. Explore the circular economy, decoupling, or redefine what “growth” means in an ecological context.

挑战GDP作为一个目标。探索循环经济、脱钩，或者重新定义“增长”在生态背景下的含义。