How is raising interest rates supposed to help with the kind of inflation we are having now?

[bimble]

but what's bad for business can be good for hedge funds and vulture capital, and what's bad for property values can be good for people who are already sitting on a pile of money who can buy cheap during the slump...

Sure. I’m just more inclined towards the fuckup theory of things than the cunning plan one, I suppose. Especially with this government.
& learned yesterday that the BOE is somehow duty bound to take government forecasts seriously whilst nobody else does, which seems extra stupid.

 

[kabbes]

Microeconomics has some science behind it, but macroeconomics is really just a bunch of competing "theories".

I would put it in the same category as sociology or history.

Not really. Sociology and history do not attempt to create laws that can be used to make predictions and run countries. They take as a starting point that context is crucial and ever-drifting, meaning that situations must be analysed for what they are in their time and place. They do similarly attempt to make sense of the affairs of humanity, but don’t have the aim to control it. Economics is more like alchemy, frankly.

 

[Cat Fan]

Not really. Sociology and history do not attempt to create laws that can be used to make predictions and run countries. They take as a starting point that context is crucial and ever-drifting, meaning that situations must be analysed for what they are in their time and place. They do similarly attempt to make sense of the affairs of humanity, but don’t have the aim to control it. Economics is more like alchemy, frankly.

Not that they're the same, but they have about the same robustness in predicting what will happen in the real world. Economists have never successfully predicted a major recession. Pretty damning evidence right there.

 

[kabbes]

Alternatively, they’ve predicted 35 of the last 3 recessions…

 

[bimble]

According to ucas the entry requirements for an economics degree, main thing usually is a good grade in maths, which seems a bit unfair. Should be more clearly a ‘humanity’/ art or whatever & open to anyone who enjoys making things up. Maybe that’s part of the problem, the people making these decisions think they’re doing something unavoidable & logical because they’ve never had their ideas questioned.

 

[brogdale]

According to ucas the entry requirements for an economics degree, main thing usually is a good grade in maths, which seems a bit unfair. Should be more clearly a ‘humanity’/ art or whatever & open to anyone who enjoys making things up. Maybe that’s part of the problem, the people making these decisions think they’re doing something unavoidable & logical because they’ve never had their ideas questioned.

IMO the most effective Economists are those that have no tradition in Maths whatsoever, but are able to engage with processes that rely on an appreciation of human behaviour.

 

[kabbes]

IMO the most effective Economists are those that have no tradition in Maths whatsoever, but are able to engage with processes that rely on an appreciation of human behaviour.

Mathematical economists gave us the “rational human”, who acts in no way like any human being ever. Then we had 50 years of nonsense surrounding the concept of utility-maximisation. I’d say that the problems really arose, however, when exactly what you suggest happened. Psychologists got involved and then when we got behavioural economics, which actually is pretty good at reverse engineering the problem — if you can’t predict how people will behave then manipulate them to behave how you predict.

 

[A380]

Cozzie Livs.

As apparently the young people say.

 

[Thesaint]

— if you can’t predict how people will behave then manipulate them to behave how you predict.

Sounds more scary when you phrase it like that.

Most economic policy these days though seems to be be more debt in all sorts of forms. Not sure how that ties into the behavioral economists being involved though if at all

 

[brogdale]

Rejoice; the cost of yer bread and scrape is 'only' rising at 12.1%...

 

[DaveCinzano]

Rising lol

 

[PR1Berske]

Voted 6-3 to keep at current rates

 

[PR1Berske]

Inflation figures out today.

 

[emanymton]

Inflation figures out today.

All Taylor Swift's fault, apparently.

Hopes of August rate cut fall after UK inflation stays at 2%

‘Taylor Swift effect’ on hotel prices partly blamed for UK inflation defying forecast drop

www.theguardian.com

 

[Everything Goes]

All Taylor Swift's fault, apparently.

Hopes of August rate cut fall after UK inflation stays at 2%

‘Taylor Swift effect’ on hotel prices partly blamed for UK inflation defying forecast drop

www.theguardian.com

Only yesterday I was blaming Taylor Swift for the awful summer. She has a lot to answer for apparently.

 

[MickiQ]

Only yesterday I was blaming Taylor Swift for the awful summer. She has a lot to answer for apparently.

Personally I usually blame James Blunt for most things