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Academia does not equal economics, a field where a Nobel Prize winner ran a multibillion dollar hedge fund into the ground, and economists can’t agree on whethe

by aj7 4y ago

Academia does not equal economics, a field where a Nobel Prize winner ran a multibillion dollar hedge fund into the ground, and economists can’t agree on whether a person deserves healthcare.

brutusborn 4y ago
The company in question if anyone is as interested as I was: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/longtermcapital.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/longtermcapital.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Term_Capital_Management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Term_Capital_Management Interestingly the Nobel Prize winners' advice was ignored in some cases: "As a result, LTCM began investing in emerging-market debt and foreign currencies. Some of the major partners, particularly Myron Scholes, had their doubts about these new investments. For example, when LTCM took a major position in the Norwegian kroner, Scholes warned that they had no "informational advantage" in this area"
barry-cotter 4y ago
> economists can’t agree on whether a person deserves healthcare. Economists have no special insight into deserts, any more than philosophers. Is does not imply ought and all that.
- aj7 4y ago
  Healthcare is 20% of the U.S. econ-omy.
galdosdi 4y ago
You're talking about macroeconomics, the exciting and unscientific field of how interest rates, markets, etc interact and the whole big world of wealth works. Obviously very difficult to get any real experimental data that isn't unrepeatable or biased. You can argue one position, or just as easily find data to argue the opposite position, and nobody will ever know which one is right. Microeconomics on the other hand is much more a real science that helps answer boring practical questions like "How much capital should I invest in each product line? How much should I price this good at?" or my personal favorite because it is relevant to everyone, not just managers: "How elastic is the demand at firm X or in industry Y for laborers with skills like mine, and how elastic is the supply of such laborers?" Thinking about that question can really help anyone make choices about where to apply for work if you want your career to do well. And since it happens at a small level there is lots of data so correspondingly more scientific certainty.

by aj7 4y ago

Academia does not equal economics, a field where a Nobel Prize winner ran a multibillion dollar hedge fund into the ground, and economists can’t agree on whether a person deserves healthcare.

brutusborn 4y ago

The company in question if anyone is as interested as I was: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/longtermcapital.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/longtermcapital.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Term_Capital_Management https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Term_Capital_Management Interestingly the Nobel Prize winners' advice was ignored in some cases: "As a result, LTCM began investing in emerging-market debt and foreign currencies. Some of the major partners, particularly Myron Scholes, had their doubts about these new investments. For example, when LTCM took a major position in the Norwegian kroner, Scholes warned that they had no "informational advantage" in this area"

barry-cotter 4y ago

> economists can’t agree on whether a person deserves healthcare. Economists have no special insight into deserts, any more than philosophers. Is does not imply ought and all that.

aj7 4y ago
Healthcare is 20% of the U.S. econ-omy.

galdosdi 4y ago

You're talking about macroeconomics, the exciting and unscientific field of how interest rates, markets, etc interact and the whole big world of wealth works. Obviously very difficult to get any real experimental data that isn't unrepeatable or biased. You can argue one position, or just as easily find data to argue the opposite position, and nobody will ever know which one is right. Microeconomics on the other hand is much more a real science that helps answer boring practical questions like "How much capital should I invest in each product line? How much should I price this good at?" or my personal favorite because it is relevant to everyone, not just managers: "How elastic is the demand at firm X or in industry Y for laborers with skills like mine, and how elastic is the supply of such laborers?" Thinking about that question can really help anyone make choices about where to apply for work if you want your career to do well. And since it happens at a small level there is lots of data so correspondingly more scientific certainty.