To be used for general economics questions that are in some way related to personal finance, the subject of this site. Avoid asking questions that are speculative in nature, academic, or unrelated to personal finance.
Questions tagged [economics]
154 questions
89
votes
22 answers
In a competitive market, why is movie theater popcorn expensive?
I have seen some arguments claim that movie theater popcorn is expensive because the theater acts as a monopolist. However, this is only true after I have paid for a movie ticket. Before entering the theater I can choose among theaters and compare…
Ram Ahluwalia
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74
votes
13 answers
What (if any) is the reason to buy in small local stores?
Recently I have heard movements from the local stores (say clothes, electronics, foods, etc) and some politicians (of a particular wing) that argue that you should buy in local, small stores. Appealing to a feeling of nostalgia, they say those…
mrbolichi
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33
votes
12 answers
Where does the value of money go during inflation?
I was wondering if I put $1000 in the piggy bank for a year and the inflation being 10%, and everything else being constant, 1 year later that $1000 in cash money can only buy goods that today would cost me $900. So my question is: where did that…
user1070087
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19
votes
6 answers
Why is everyone saying how desperately we need to save money "in this economy"?
Everywhere you turn today, you hear people talk about how much they need to save or how important it is to find a good deal on things "in this economy". They use phrases like "now more than ever" and "in these uncertain times". It seems to be a lot…
Jeffrey
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17
votes
8 answers
What's an economic explanation for why greeting cards are so expensive?
Greeting cards sell for about $5-6 per card. For what is basically a piece of paper, that's pretty expensive.
Yet, they're not exactly well protected.
Anyone with photo editting software could design their own cards to sell
There are no barriers…
Joe.E
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14
votes
2 answers
Does high frequency trading provide economic value?
HFT is often bandied about in the media as a greedy activity that produces no real economic value. It's an easy to believe argument - certainly no ipods are directly created and no minerals are mined. The argument doesn't seem like a proof though.…
Gregable
- 393
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2
votes
3 answers
S&P is consistently beating inflation?
I read this on a forbes article.
From September 1967 to September 2007, the S&P 500 produced an
annualized return of 7.14%, compared to the annualized gain of 4.67% in
the CPI over the same period.
I don't understand this. The S&P is a benchmark…
user56973
2
votes
3 answers
What is Real versus Nominal value?
The last version of the Wikipedian article "Real versus nominal value (economics)" has this definition of the subject:
In economics, nominal value is measured in terms of money, whereas
real value is measured against goods or services
I stopped…
George
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1
vote
1 answer
How do changes in the current account deficit affect the government budget deficit?
How do changes in imports and exports affect the level of taxes or government expenditure? The two deficits are supposed to be linked somehow right?
user2654
1
vote
1 answer
Repaying with buying common goods
If two people share the expenses and person 'A' pays 20 in a supermarket then that person should receive 10 from person 'B' in cash to be fair
If the person 'B' decides to repay instead of cash by buying in a next purchase in a supermarket though…
user92933
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1
vote
0 answers
Is credit the principal force behind the business cycle, as claimed on a Dalio youtube video?
The following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0 seems to argue that credit is the principal force behind the business cycle, as far as I cal tell.
Is this considered to be a established truth?
user123124
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0
votes
1 answer
Qatar is richest country but not largest economic country
What is the difference between world largest economic countries and richest countries?
Gokula Khanal
- 101
0
votes
1 answer
Why was there a spike in disposable income in December 2012?
If you go to: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/disposable-personal-income and look at December 2012, there was a huge spike in disposable income. Does anyone know the reason for this?
phil12
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