Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [economics]

Economics is the analytical study of the costs and benefits of producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. This tag should not be used for personal finance questions, nor for most questions about expensive items, e.g. exorbitantly priced houses, autos, jewelry. It can be used for current events, and in historical contexts.

  • Macroeconomics concerns itself with behaviors, trends and efficiency at an economy-wide level.
  • Microeconomics focuses on firm-level and specific industry-scale behavior, e.g. individual transactions, forces of supply and demand, competitive markets participants versus those who wield pricing power.

Economic concepts are applicable to business enterprises in the private sector, as well as in government. Economic systems vary, from laissez-faire to central planning. The scope of economic thought is broad, influencing social welfare programs, foreign trade, monetary policy, and much more.

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Was breaking apart coins for change ever a common custom?

Discussion at many online sites asserts that it was a common custom (e.g., in medieval or Roman times) to pay for a purchase with a coin and have the coin broken apart, with part of it returned as change. In particular, the most common sub-claim is…
Daniel R. Collins
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Do pricey medicines in the USA subsidise R&D for the rest of the world?

A recent (February 2018) report by the US government Council of Economic Advisors makes the following argument (my highlights): The United States both conducts and finances much of the biopharmaceutical innovation that the world depends on,…
matt_black
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In California, does it cost more to send someone to prison than to send them to Stanford?

According to Bernie Sanders' Facebook page: Is this statement true?
JonathanReez
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Does the U.S. government spend four times as much on welfare as it would take to eliminate poverty by giving the necessary cash?

According to this article by Peter Ferrara, the U.S. spends more than four times as much on welfare as it would take to simply cut every person under the poverty line a check large enough to bring them above it. Federal and state governments spend…
Schilcote
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Does the UK government have only 300 staff investigating tax evasion of £70bn+ vs 3250 staff investigating benefits (welfare) fraud of £1.2bn?

The following graphic is doing the rounds on Facebook: Is it true? Does the graphic give an accurate representation of the comparative headcount/effort/resources that the UK government (as a whole) puts into investigating these two things? To what…
A E
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Have airlines as a whole been unprofitable over their history?

I recently overheard a discussion in which it was claimed that the airline industry has generated more losses than profits when we take its whole history into account. This is basically a repeat of Warren Buffet's claim in 1999: Here's a list of…
Innocent Haage
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Do automobile manufacturers make parts wear out and break easily, just so they can make more money?

It is sometimes heard that automobile manufacturers design low-quality parts that wear out or break easily, so that they can make money on the repair or replacement of these parts. I believe this to be true, and not just limited to automobile…
Keith Groben
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Does banning abortion significantly increase or decrease the number of abortions?

According to the following article, the oft quoted result that abortion is higher in countries where it is legal is misleading: The obvious problem with The Lancet study is that many of the countries where abortion is illegal are located in…
Casebash
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Does the Bilderberg Group have influence on world events?

Is there any evidence to support the claim the Bilderberg Group have control of the world and its money supply? Is there evidence to suggest they are planning on exterminating the majority of the earths population in order to control the world's…
Moab
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Did (former) German Minister Manfred Lahnstein admit that Germany wanted the EMS in order to get a competitive edge over other European countries?

A 2017 article about the European Monetary System (EMS) in Foreign Policy relates this story: But there was always a suspicion that Germany was trying to get long-term trade advantages from linking the [European] currencies. In the early 1980s, the…
Fizz
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Is Sweden's economy deteriorating fast?

I am rather surprised to read this article: Sweden to become a Third World Country by 2030, according to UN In 2010 Sweden had the 15th place in the HDI rankings but according to UN forecasts, Sweden will be #25 in 2015, and in 2030 on the 45th…
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Do the Jewish control a larger proportion of U.S. wealth than their proportion in the population?

As per StormFront (warning: neo-nazi website): While only 3% of the population, the Jews control over 25% of the nation's wealth and this percentage rises every year. Is only 3% of the population Jewish? Do the Jewish control over 25% of the…
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Can a society become unhappier with an increase in wealth?

People like to claim that less developed countries are happier, because they live the simple life and stronger family ties. We've all heard the saying: Money can't buy you happiness. Which is easy to dismiss by showing that rich nations do better…
Kit Sunde
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Is over 96% of Moderna's revenue from their COVID-19 Vaccine?

In a recent YouTube video from "The Lotus Eaters", one of the anchors states that "During the previous quarter, Moderna's earnings on their shares were 4.97 billion overall, and the COVID vaccine out of that was 4.81 billion" The anchor then states…
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Is 90% of world trade conducted on WTO terms?

The European Union is, among many other things, a large free trade block with few barriers to cross-country trade within it. The United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU and is currently trying to negotiate the terms of that departure including the…
matt_black
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