In keeping with the season, we have put together a short list of ideas, collected from various economics-related source, which may be useful if you are attending a Halloween party full of like-minded economists.

Halloween is probably one of the best occasions to demonstrate how seriously you take yourself (or not!) and how far your creativity can go to show it. If you think that Halloween is below your intellectual level, well, they say that even Paul Krugman threw one economics-themed party, where “two guests came as Asian tigers, several came as hedge funds, one woman came as capital, dressed as a column..."

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In keeping with the season, we have put together a short list of ideas, collected from various econ-related source (like a Halloween Edition from Economists Do It With Models), which may be useful if you are attending a Halloween party full of like-minded economists.

1. EconoTroll

Take a look at this well-known post from Noah Smith about EconoTrolls and you may be surprised by the amount of ideas for Halloween costumes. In his witty blog post from last year, not only has Noah categorized all possible species of trolls in the econ blogosphere, but also explicitly illustrated them. Don’t miss out on the comments either.

2. Your favourite “evil” economist

It might sound easy, but creating a good costume of a real person is an art that is hard to master. Although anyone can buy a mask of Ben Bernanke, only a few would be able to depict his persona in an allegoric way.

To succeed: think of the most “infamous” policies or just a tiny character detail anyone would recognize about that person and play around them.

3. Economics theory & concepts

There is no need to be creative if the great thinkers have already done it for you. Any economics textbook has a whole host of ideas for Halloween costumes – just read all the definitions literally. Invisible hand, indifference curve, price elasticity, budget constraint … it is a list without end.

4. Financial crisis related

Financial crisis has become a buzzword, referred to by individuals regardless of profession and status. So if your Halloween party-mates happen to come from outside of the economics community, costumes related to financial crises might be the only ones that have a chance of being understood: just dress-up like an investment banker and add horns, or dress yourself up as a bubble.

5. Economics costumes for couples

Although some might argue that a couple is a rare phenomenon among economists, ideas for Demand & Supply or Keynes vs Hayek could make it worth making an effort to find at least a temporary partner.

There's also the classic 'bear and bull' duel Halloween costume, also financial crisis related, and relatively easy (bear and bull costumes aren't too difficult to come by).

6. An Econometrician

An idea from one of the many anonymous users from econjobrumours: “Find a friend who dressed up as a statistician, blatantly copy his/her costume, get twice as much candy”.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street

How do you make yourself look like Leonardo DiCaprio? Actually, you don't have to develop an inferiority complex by attempting this. A much easier way to do this is wear a suit, shove fistfuls of fake money (or real money, if you're into extravagant displays of wealth) into your pockets, and throw a wolf mask on top. Very easily done.

8. An Economist

At the end of the day, is there a need for a costume at all? Just look at the pictures from your last academic conference and copy a look of a random audience member.