Have You Ever Taken A Class In Economics?

[ThomWV]

I'm trying to get a feeling for how many people actually understand the workings of our economy and what news of how the economy is doing actually mean.

So here's the question: Have you ever take a class in economics, macro or micro. High School civics (or similar) classes that brushed up against economics don't count - just classes that were specifically to teach an understanding of Economics.

[Solon]

1. Took a course in college, thought it would compliment the U.S. politics course I took as well...

All I learned was that Economic "theories" make about as much sense as using goat entrails to predict the future.

[Hepburn]

3. Same here....

...I really do not understand economics.

[Solon]

10. Its not so much that I didn't understand it...

It just seemed like a bunch of BS dressed up in fancy language, a pseudoscience, if you will. It seemed to me that at least half the data related to the Economy was either distorted or ignored by these so called experts.

[Hepburn]

38. Maybe that was my problem....

....I just turned it off cuz it seemed like such BS. Did not learn one thing in that class that I ever used at a later time.

[hfojvt]

112. the purpose of studying economics is to learn enough to not be fooled

by economists - Economist Joan Robinson

"Graduate economics courses have become classes in rhetoric. The idea is to make plausible and logical arguments based on assumptions that need not be realistic at all. The criterion for economic theory is simply whether it is internally logical, not its realism. That is what makes economics a non-science in the sense that the physical sciences require not only a consistency of assumptions, but realism as well. The task of economists is to come up with a set of assumptions that will lead to the conclusions promoted by their employers. " Michael Hudson


I have taught economics. There is some interesting stuff if you read the radical economists. It's trickier than physics though, because human action is a little bit harder to predict than the motion of rocks.

[lligrd]

5. Those Were My Thoughts Too

Well not exactly the goat entrails but I remember wondering why in the heck anyone would waste there time coming up with this BS and why anyone else would think it was worth studying.

[Crayson]

6. Basics

Had enough economics to know that you should kick them, when they're down !!

So now is the time to buy stocks (or cheap houses in the US nobody wants)
^_^

Notice how they jumped up when the FED lowered the interest rate?
--> banks can get cheaper credits --> banks give cheaper credits --> economy is growing

now its gonna go up a bit.

Just be sure to jump off the train before the FED raises their interest rate again and the opposite is going to happen.

[goodgd_yall]

96. Kick em when their down

Yes, I remember that section very well. I remember trying to find some antidote for Adam Smith in the text we used.

[SoCalDem]

36. Economics in high school.. with outdated textbooks.. taught by the football coach

who announced on day one..

"Hey, you guys probably know more about this stuff than I do, so it will be a learning experience all around".

It wasn't..

I think we managed to teach him how to balance a checkbook, though :)

[Dulcinea]

47. Yes, in college.

I was a freshman. I found the subject interesting, but it was very difficult for me at the time.

[CoffeeCat]

2. I have a minor in economics...

I took Micro, Macro, Intermediate Micro and Macro, and Money and Banking.

I feel like these classes gave me a basic understanding of some economic
issues. However, I know very little.

[ThomWV]

9. You are too modest

Your first sentence tell me you know far more than 99% of the people I run across.

[ThomWV]

4. I should confess, its what my degree is in

And I am constantly astounded by the misunderstandings I see in print.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. I've Published Papers Trying To Correct Those Misunderstandings

So, i'm empathetic, Thom.
GAC

[CoffeeCat]

19. I also have a degree in journalism...

...and I think many, but not all, general-news reporters have a very limited understanding of economics.

[Nickster]

7. I've always felt that it was a lot simpler than people made it out to be. At it's most base,

economics is simply about people's behavior and how they react to outside influences.

[BlooInBloo]

57. ROFLMAO!!!

[Nickster]

75. Very useful response. Thanks for sharing.

[BlooInBloo]

80. Oh shit - you were serious? My bad.

[ProfessorGAC]

77. People's Behavior & Their Reactions Are Simple?

It would seem to me to be approaching a chaotic state, to me. Your explanation, while valid, is not simpler. It's far more complicated.
The Professor

[Nickster]

78. I was speaking on the most basic of levels. It's not hard to understand some of the theories when

you think "Gee how would I react if the price of something got to a certain point, or I could no longer get this product, etc?" Obviously it's much more complicated than that, but when you break it down a lot of the economic theories can be broken down to common human reactions,panic,anxiety, etc. People can relate to emotions and human reactions to certain stimuli.

When you look at it from that aspect, at least when I did, I was able to build a foundation about how economics worked and went from there rather try to understand charts and tables and data from the start.

I obviously don't have the knowledge that you have on the subject, but I'd bet that I have a better understanding of it than the average American.

[ProfessorGAC]

82. Actually, I Completely Agree With You

As i thought i mentioned, your view is valid. But, understanding the reasons why many people do things for many reasons is way more difficult than looking at how the broader, collective decisions are made.

Obviously, those behaviors go into economics, because without people there are no economies.

I was just kidding, because it seemed funny to me that understand why 300 million people make the decisions they do under any number of circumstances seems like an impossible task.

But, if it helped you get a better grasp, then that's great. I think it would have made it harder for me, honestly.
GAC

[Nickster]

83. I get what you're saying. I was just trying to clarify what I meant. Maybe I'm just wired different.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I've Taught BUNCHES Of Them

Mostly i do graduate studies in econometric theory and modeling. Sort of a combination of polydimensional modeling and statistics, along with applying it to economic activity.

So, i guess yeah!
The Professor

[bicentennial_baby]

11. It's my major, one year to go...

The level of economic illiteracy I see, everywhere, astounds me sometimes. :o

:hi:

[EFerrari]

14. I don't know how I managed not to take one single econ course.

Really, you'd think that should be part of general ed requirements. :shrug:

[bicentennial_baby]

17. I absolutely think that it should

At least Econ 101 and 102.

:hi:

[goodgd_yall]

97. It was a choice among the gen ed requirements

I took it to meet one of those reqs because I was so ignorant of it. I'm still ignorant which is why I'd like to take more classes.

[EFerrari]

116. At least now I know who on DU can translate the stock market for me.

lol

:)

[slackmaster]

12. After learning it was called the Dismal Science, I avoided it

Life seemed dismal enough in my late teens and early 20s.

[FormerDittoHead]

15. One thing I do know - this guy is a KOOK...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Williams">Walter E. Williams - Wikipedia

[Canuckistanian]

114. Whoa. Walter Williams endorses Ron Paul??

I've hear the guy on Rush many times. But I would never have pegged him as a Ron Paul supporter.

Aside from his insulting comments about his wife, he seems to be a true libertarian, even on an economic level. He's often railed against farm subsidies as if he didn't understand the rationale behind them (the government should pay ME not to raise soybeans).

But his social policy ideas are right in line with Brownback or Santorum.

[IDemo]

16. Took macroeconomics to satisfy a required business credit for a AA degree

Found it completely fascinating, got an A from the class, and couldn't find my ass with an invisible hand 15 years later when it comes to economics topics..

[treestar]

18. It should be taught in high school

It amazes me how many perfectly intelligent people think of the economy as unchanging.

Even the best employer can't always guarantee a job with raises and promotions. There has to be a market for whatever is being sold. People overlook that and talk as if once they have their job, they should be able to keep it forever, regardless of whether or not the business makes money or the product becomes obsolete. And we can't guarantee that it all take place within each country's borders, either.

[CoffeeCat]

24. My kids are 6 and 7...

...and I teach them about "limited resources" and the "opportunity cost" of buying
Polly Pockets.

"Ok, if you're going to get the Polly Pocket, we won't be able to get those glittery sandals
that you want. Also, if you spend this money, it won't be making interest in the bank...so
that's something to think about too. We have to make choices".

My 7-year old heard me complaining about milk prices, and she asked me, "If it costs so much, why
do we still buy it?". I thought...'hey, in a roundabout way, she's sensing "elastic" and "inelastic" demand curves!'.

I explained to her that no matter what the price of milk was, we always had to have it. Therefore, our
demand for milk is "inelastic"---less affected by price increases.

:)

[The Vinyl Ripper]

20. I've run my own business for twenty years..

And never had a losing year.

So I guess I have a modest grasp of the subject from an up close and personal point of view.

The one thing I do know is that what works today may not work tomorrow. Marketing is a black art and about as counterintuitive a thing as I've ever run across.

Marketing is all about getting into people's heads, and people are _weird_.

[Virginia Dare]

21. Does Home Economics count?

seriously, I think I had an Econ 101 class back in my freshman year, but it mostly went over my head at that time.

[AngryAmish]

22. Undergraduate degree in Econ

I don't work as an economist nowadays. I guess it is an avocation.

There is really wonderful work being done out there now that interest me a lot more than when I was thinking about graduate school. Neuroeconomics and behavioral economics is really interesting.

One thing that depresses me about this place is when I wander down the the economy dungeon (or GD)the misinformation/sky is falling/gold bugs that hang out there. By any objective standard the US is doing fine right now and will continue to do so. We are not heading for a depression, but people don't want to hear it. Oh well.

[dmallind]

28. With ya on both counts

Econ undergrad and MBA here - so more Econ there too. I wouldn't claim to be a real expert especially on the macro side but it floors me every time I read those threads - tons of em in the last couple of weeks as the Dow - just one index by the way, and of limited diversification dropped precipitously to......well to what was a record level just a few months earlier. Everybody started predicting that dollars would be worthless and we'd be a subsistence economy within a few years. Admittedly a freefalling dollar over the short term is not exactly a long shot, but the mercantilist countries who rely on our consumer market need those dollars to be worth something, and are more than happy to buy all the bonds it takes to make it so.

[AngryAmish]

35. China is calling in the debt! China is calling in the debt!!

I am not kidding, I have explained how it is impossible for them to do so over 50 times around here. People don't understand how a T-Bill works yet feel free to pontificate about things they have no idea about. I don't blame folks for not knowing (which is kinda technical) but pontificating about matters they know nothing about with certainty is a sign of a real pompous ass -- the loud guy at the end of the bar.

[dmallind]

41. Hey I AM the loud guy at the end of the bar!

...but only when I get a trivia question wrong and call myself a moron.

Of course the greatest challenge, especially on DU, is explaining the concept of relative advantage and why offshoring often improves the real income of the US consumer.

I'm all for regulation where needed - total laissez-faire is asking for predatory behavior - but trying to persuade DUers that not only is the global trade genie out of the bottle for good, but that this is a GOOD thing is a bit frustrating at times.

[Ikonoklast]

Ok, but they're the ones floating the idea

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Chinese government has hinted that it may liquidate its vast holding of US Treasury bonds, potentially triggering a crash in the dollar, if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation, The Telegraph reported.

The paper said that two Chinese officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning, for the first time, that China may use its 1.33 bln usd of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

Xia Bin, finance chief at China's Development Research centre, which has cabinet rank, commented last week that China's foreign reserves should be used as a 'bargaining chip' in talks with the US, the report said.

He Fan, an official at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, went further yesterday, indicating that China had the power to set off a dollar collapse, if it chose to do so, The Telegraph said.

[On the Road]

23. My Econ Course in Business School

was a night class taught by an expert in fiscal policy working for the Fed. So you got both sides the equation there.

He would ask us to bring clippings from the economics page each week (eg, unemployment, housing, CPI, etc) and how explain what was behind them and give his personal prediction for the next quarter. Most useful classes I took in that program.

[mcscajun]

25. Yes, I took both Macro and Microeconomics in college.

I had a high school economics course, but that was just surface stuff, and as I recall, it was taught by a raging conservative who even in the late 60s was already railing against Social Security. This was a private Catholic school and she wasn't above propagandizing in the class.

[SoonerPride]

26. I'm a Professor of, what was it again, dear?

ECONOMICS?

[atommom]

55. He's in the MATH department!

Classic movie...

[bbgrunt]

27. unfortunately too many courses in economics seem

to concentrate on only supply and demand and the invisible hand as a model to explain economic forces. I think a cursory understanding of this model has done great damage to our national interest by promoting an emphasis on "free markets" and privatization as the "efficient" solution to all problems. You don't get the nuanced understanding about market failures and the nature of the commons until you take advanced courses like industrial organization and public finance.

Likewise, economics fails to provide a sufficient basis for decision making when it deals with variables that are difficult to quantify. It is, however, an excellent tool to develop critical thinking--as long as one doesn't become wedded to the idealism of underlying "free maket" models.

[dmallind]

29. Oh yeah - the "supply and demand" canard

How come nobody who uses that to explain, say, oil prices, ever seems to remember that the classic Econ 101 basic model assumes perfect freedom to both produce and consume and perfect knowledge of prices?

Start throwing in the astronomical barriers to entry for production and the essential nature of oil consumption and those curves get pretty skewed and asymmetrical pretty darn fast.

[bicentennial_baby]

30. OPEC is a cartel though, and doesn't exhibit the

characteristics of a perfectly competitive market.

[dmallind]

39. Well yeah but that's only one problem

Nobody can just say "hey oil prices are up I think I'll start selling oil!" and, extreme "simple life" examples notwithstanding, there is very limited option to say "hey oil is expensive - let's stop buying it" too.

Even without an oligopoly and a colluding oligopoly at that on the supply side, oil wouldn't look like a perfectly competitive market.

[bicentennial_baby]

40. Oh, I agree

:)

[Hawkowl]

31. Agree completely

I have an undergrad degree, and one year of grad school and I agree completely. The cliff notes of the "free market" and "capitalism" that are trumpeted in the media and your basic intro macro and micro courses do far more damage than good in my opinion. People take away the idea that no regulation is the best solution to everything. What people forget, is that there "perfect competition" and "free markets" are as much a fairy tale as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. And the complete absence of regulation and adequate government oversight leads to a criminal economy run by pirates, similar to the mafia.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

37. The black market in banned drugs makes that completely clear..

With no regulation, violence and monopolistic practices are a given.

But nevertheless the law of supply and demand does work to some extent.

If not then pot would not be the number one cash crop in the USA.

[shanti]

32. no

it's one class i did not take in college. it seemed like it would be an incredibly boring class, and i don't do boring willingly.

[onethatcares]

33. is the school of hard knocks a credible substitution?

cause I've been learning since I moved out at 16, 40 yrs ago.

[WorkingClassGuy]

34. My Minor Was In Economics

Surprisingly most clasically trained economists agree upon more than they disagree upon...

[Romulox]

42. Economics is completely unfalsifiable

It's a pseudoscience with a chip on its shoulder.

[dmallind]

43. Not entirely

While much of economics is speculative and subjective, there are predictive models which can be shown to have produced accurate or inaccurate results.

The problem it comes with is any science which deals with human behavior is not going to be predictive with mathematical certainty like those dealing with, for example, brainless particles or molecules. Lithium can't decide it doesn't want to be a light alkali metal today. Electrons don't get bored with going rouind and round and decide to stop for a change. Psychitary is not able to accurately predict human behavior either, but they can tell that certain traits tend to develop after certain experiences in most people. Even basic medicine cannot be accurately predictive in the specific. Is medicine pseudoscience because different people react differently to different therapies? So economics, which is surprisingly capable of accurate prediction on the aggregate scale - for example in the marginal propnsity to consume - isn't going to do so well on specific predictions. It's not a physical science with universally applicable constants. People aren't as simple as electrons.

[Solon]

48. Please, stop demeaning science in this way...

Science, in general, is deductive at its core, Economics is speculative, no more, no less. Doesn't matter what you are studying in Science, generally the goal is to explain an observation through theory. The problem with Economics is that it isn't objective and is far too subjective to be useful to most people. If Economics were a science, they would have peer reviewed journals, I've never heard of one.

Even medicine and Psychiatry, as you mentioned, are considered sciences, mostly because they do NOT leave out facts, or skew them, and are peer reviewed to be kept honest. Even with the Chaos thrown in from human behavior and physiology, they still come up with workable solutions in the real world.

[BlooInBloo]

58. "Science, in general, is deductive at its core" - ROFLMAO!!!!!!

The early 20th century language used to describe "what science is" is equally risible.


EDIT: Subject typo.

[Solon]

63. Excuse me for using terms that you would be able to understand...

I was talking about, "in general" and the basic process, if you want more detail, fine. Do Economists use double blind studies to test their theories? Do they form a hypothesis and then test it in controlled and uncontrolled environments, using experimentation and/or observation? Do they cross specialties with other scientific fields to help with any experiments or observations? Do they publish their theories in any accredited scientific, peer reviewed papers?

The answers to the above questions is no, of course, so Economics is NOT a science.

[BlooInBloo]

70. LOL! People concerned with "the demarcation problem" generally have little to offer....

... Especially when all they do is squawk "Double blind! Double blind!"

Such people don't even understand the *pointlessness* of their idiotic remarks - even were they interestingly true.

[ProfessorGAC]

65. You've Never Heard Of A Peer Reveiwed Journal In Econ????

Where do you think the folks that win Nobel awards in Econ first publish?

Trust me; i've been in those journals. And i've both BEEN reviewed and was a reviewer.

The analytic school would take issue with your opinion. As do i.
The Professor

[BlooInBloo]

72. Don't worry about it. The poster is merely going to gin up some ad hoc...

... uber-restrictive notion of "science" which neither econ nor any other "real" science meet, and then she'll/he'll declare that his/her point has been proven.

Pure idiocy - sounds like an undergrad at a crap school taking a Phil of Sci class from a 90 year old prof, reading nothing but Hempel.

[Solon]

73. Can you give me a name of one of these journals?

Also, as far as the Nobel prize, I don't really care, what credibility do they have with Henry Kissinger as a Nobel laureate?

[ProfessorGAC]

76. My. Another Pretentious, Boring Slide

Do your own research. You're wrong! That's fact. Just because you don't kow about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Ever heard of a double blind study in quantum mechanics? Didn't think so. That's not science either.

You're tedious. I'm out.
The Professor

[BlooInBloo]

81. Told ya. :)

[Solon]

85. I'm perfectly willing to admit I'm wrong, to be frank, I'm biased because of my college experience..

The most vivid memories of my Econ 101 class was being lectured on how good the Free Market and Deregulation were, even my Political Science class wasn't like that, and I don't view that as much of a science either, but at least in that class, I was told to think critically, in the Econ class, I was told what to think. I don't like that, and it soured me on the subject.

[BlooInBloo]

86. Wow - I didn't realize so many people took the Econ-That-Is-Not-Actually-Econ classes. lol!

[Solon]

88. Well excuse me, it was the only Economic course available at my community college...

Not all of us can afford the AAA colleges, after all. I'm SO glad my economic situation at the time is so amusing to you. :sarcasm:

[BlooInBloo]

89. Easy tiger - I didn't say it was your fault. I was just surprised thread-wide....

... at the large numbers of people for whom "Economics" means that-bullshit-class-you-referred-to-that-isn't-really-Economics.

One result of that class is that large numbers of people end up walking the country (through no fault of their own) having not the first clue what economics actually is - lol.

I recall Atrios remarking on the econ101 phenomenon - now I have a better feel for it.

[ProfessorGAC]

87. Aha! Now I Get It

In fact, i completely understand. If you look at my earlier post, i've never taught a basic econ class.

I am, first and foremost, a "debunker". I use very extensive statistical modeling of GIANT datasets to test the most fundamental hypotheses in econ.

Far too many of the "Free market/Dereg" drones are stuck in the Austriathat n School, despite the fact that major award winning work has been published to debunk such simplistic theories.

You were right to dismiss most of that simpleminded, two dimensional libertarian nonsense. No wonder you didn't like it. You didn't actually have anyone teaching it with any more than a superficial understanding of the systems, themselves.

I completely get your "sourness" on the subject.

But, you'll have to trust me. It can be a science if the focus is properly set and the correct tools are employed.

Sorry for the earlier snark. Thought you were getting chippy, so i got so in return. Same page now, i hope.
GAC

[Solon]

91. It was even worse than that...

It was at a Community College, being poor and all, that was all I could afford, with loans, etc. I think the "professor" at the time was part time, if I remember right, he was a business owner in the area who taught Economics on the side.

This wouldn't be that much of a problem, assuming he knew what he was talking about, like my Computer Science Professor, who was a Professor of Computer Science at Washington University and worked as a Computer Technician as well. Just a question, how many Professors moonlight in other jobs? My French teacher in High school taught German in the Community College, in addition to helping run many clubs in both schools. I'm just wondering, because it seemed to me that a lot of them do this type of stuff.

[BlooInBloo]

92. Even at big 4yr schools, econ 101 is nothing but a propaganda class....

... So what you had was really par for the course.

For more on what happened to you without your knowledge or consent:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_11_05_archive.html#116318383753434667

[bicentennial_baby]

95. Agreed...

I took 102 first, which is more of a real-world based intro course, and I fell in love with Econ. 101 was mind-numbing, as was 201, Micro Theory. If I had started with Micro, I may have never become an Econ major. Having dynamic and skilled professors goes a long, long way too.

[Solon]

100. I'll tell you a messed up story...

I majored in Computer Science, though there were no hard and fast rules, it was Community College after all, my Minor, from the classes I took, would have been Journalism.

Anyways, I wanted to dive right into some advanced Computer classes, the problem was, and don't ask me why this is, but I had to take an "Introduction to Computers" course before I could go into anything else, related to my major. Now, I shit you not, this course actually had shit like "How to use the Mouse and Keyboard" as part of the course. At this time, I already built, from scratch, 4 computers, set them up, and even learned some programming in High School. Let me just say that it was mind numbing, to say the least.

[bicentennial_baby]

102. Oh, that is ridiculous...wow.

I was blessed to go to a fantastic CC before transferring to University. Your experience sounds horrible!

[BlooInBloo]

104. Wow - that's craptacular - lol!

[hfojvt]

113. AEA is still the biggest association I think

American Economics Association. If you google that, it will probably mention several journals. There is/was also URPE - Union of Radical Political Economists and other associations such as AFEE (Association for Evolutionary Economics) and ASE (Association for Social Economics). They have journals too which are peer-reviewed, but the peers are different, depending who belongs to the associations.

[Romulox]

59. Economics is not limited to predictive models

It also attempts to put forward a normative model based on its self-described "scientific" insights. I.e. not whether free trade will increase aggregate wealth, but whether increasing aggregate wealth without any regard for fair distribution is a desirable goal in the first place.

For an example, read the blog of that old vampire Judge Posner...

[ProfessorGAC]

62. Unbrilliant

And untrue. It depends upon how, and by whom, the analyses are done, and models are constructed.

The Professor

[Romulox]

101. Unimpressed...

offer up some example of the "pure" economics that isn't merely apologia for avarice and the current status quo. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, merely that it will take some searching.

[ieoeja]

44. In college, however....

... everything they taught has shown itself to be untrue.

I asked a commodities trader at the time of the Mississippi flood why, with a substantial percentage of our crops being destroyed, crop prices continued to drop. He replied, "supply and demand have very little to do with anything; it's all what they think they can force people to pay/accept".

[goodgd_yall]

99. Commodities trader

When I studied Economics, I was very cynical about everything I was reading and what that trader said was what I thought too when reading about supply and demand.

[taught_me_patience]

45. Majored in Economics in College

I read the Wall Street Journal and have ponied up $200 bucks a year for a subscription to Barrons. I'm a little bearish on the economy right now.

[marions ghost]

46. yes

I actually thought it was vaguely interesting but college economics --all those models & theory-- doesn't seem to relate to the real world of infinite complexity. I put economics in the category of
all those classes in college that have no application. Maybe the more advanced classes do.

I remember the Econ professor writing on one of my tests--"Don't get so creative!"

Nowdays I rely on interpreters like you to put it in perspective.

Interesting question--it's likely our lack of understanding of economics is one reason the Few have been so successful at scamming the Many.

It would be interesting to take a class that related economics directly to politics.

[MGB4EVA]

51. Without understanding economics a person really can't undertand poltics.

Economics is a fascinating subject. I have a politics degree that concentrated on political economy. With out at least a basic understanding of it, it's impossible to truly understand politics, and vice versa. Sadly enough, very few people understand economics to any degree. I have a good understanding of the basic principles, but most of the higher level stuff escapes my grasp (I'd have minored if I thought calc wouldn't have killed my GPA), yet I find I know more then virtually everyone I hear talk about it, including 90% of the government. The only people on an equal or better footing are those with equal or better schooling in it.

[marions ghost]

71. well I think you're right

that many people don't really understand how economics relates to politics, even some politicians.
Those legislators you see on C-Span --some of them (understandably) need a lot of help. You wonder what kind of advice they're getting...

Hasn't globalization of the economy made everything a thousand times more complex? Do people have any idea what a revolution this is? I looked up a very basic definition: "In economics, globalization is the convergence of prices, products, wages, rates of interest and profits towards developed country norms." Do we understand the implications of this?

So do the Dem candidates have a reasonable grasp of economics as it relates to politics? They seem to, but I'm not a good judge of it.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

49. Majored in Business Economics. n/t

[ComerPerro]

50. Not happy with the poll wording, I've taken 3 Econ classes at University level, but

I would hardly consider myself having "formal training in economics". Seems arrogant to me...

So, yes, I have, and I understood it just fine, but im no expert.

[WinkyDink]

52. I wouldn't call it "formal training," but yes, I had a respectable "B" in college Econ.

[MissB]

53. Required course for my engineering degree.

[newportdadde]

54. I took the regular Econ 101 and 102 in college, financial stats and accounting. All have helped me.

understand how money really works. I'm a computer programmer but took those classes as part of my studies.

One underrated area of study in regards to economics is history. The breakdown of an economy either through war expense or through inflation of fiat money.

There is just so much to learn on this subject.

[BlooInBloo]

56. Of course - but a micro or macro class provides but an epsilonishly small...

... understanding of "the working of our economy".

Much worse off are the "I read lots of books, I don't need no stinkin' edjumacation" people - lol!

[ProfessorGAC]

60. Boy Have I Heard That Before

Of course, nobody needs to hear the explanation or opinion of some "exper". You know like an econ prof. LOL!
The Professor

[BlooInBloo]

66. Yuppers! I'd believe it upon meeting a self-study person who'd mastered...

.... say, the variational methods of optimization within econ.

[EstimatedProphet]

61. Yep, college course in Econ

[XemaSab]

64. Natural Resources Economics

(the first half of which was a general overview.)

[Sapere aude]

67. Yes in high school, undergrad school and grad school

One thing I have learned is that the world of economics is constantly in flux. What I studied way back when doesn't pertain much to today's economy.

Globalization, corporatism, conservative government policies and changing laws all have an effect on the how economics is viewed today.

I always like the right wingers stating "free market theory" when none of the free market requirements are there.

Alternative products
Many suppliers
Availability of buyers to get in and out of the market at will


None of these things exist with gasoline and other products because the producers restrict them. They studied economics and learned how to manipulate the markets in their favor.

[JuniperLea]

68. College economics...

And two NASD securities licenses.

[angstlessk]

69. Other - took Econ 101 and understood it..."if profit can be made, business will produce"

without any caveats, and even I understood at the time that if Death produces Profits, business will produce Death. This was in Nader's heyday when the Pintos were all the rage!

[yella_dawg]

74. 12 semester hours of Economics in college

It was meaningless theory and propaganda.

If anything, it impedes my understanding of what is going on in the world around me.

The economy is a complex system in the mathematical sense. Classic economics treats it as a linear system. This is contradictory at best and counterproductive in practice.

My basic opinion is that the real economics that guide our lives is hidden behind so much smoke and so many mirrors that we cannot possibly hope to understand what is going on.

[Hippo_Tron]

79. I've taken macro thus far, going to take micro this semester

My favorite day in class was when we were discussing minimum wage and I asked my professor "Do any people ignore what's best for the business and pay their low wage employees more because it's the right thing to do." He responded "If you sleep better at night knowing that the guy who cleans your office earns a living wage then it is a business decision." Too bad there are a lot of Republicans who have no trouble sleeping.

[Blue_In_AK]

84. Way, way back in high school

in the Dark Ages. I had a terrible teacher and I hated the class. I really don't understand economics at all, don't care to. All I'm interested in is keeping my checkbook balanced, which I do to the penny. I let my husband worry about our "portfolio," whatever the hell that is, and as "unliberated" as that sounds.

Now, ask me about the law, which I've worked in and around for 32 years, and you might get some intelligent conversation out of me. :)

[BlooInBloo]

90. You should've EXPLICITLY disallowed "econ101" from counting....

... Too many people - through no fault of their own - are under the radically misguided impression that that propaganda class counts for something.

[PA Democrat]

93. Bachelor's degree in economics, a decade in banking industry.

[goodgd_yall]

94. Something inbetween

I took one class and I understood it. But it wasn't a breeze.

I'd actually like to take more classes.

[ecstatic]

98. Yep. Most interesting thing I learned about was the "Veil of Ignorance"

By the time I took the course, I already knew I was liberal but it was interesting to learn more about the background philosophies.

[BlooInBloo]

105. You mean the Rawlsian condition for distributive justice?

[JNelson6563]

103. Economics was a requirement where I went to HS

and that was a pretty long time ago (Class of 81). Wasn't it like that everywhere?

Julie

[mnhtnbb]

106. Had enough econ in college to almost qualify for a minor

but I was engaged to, then married my senior year, then divorced the Ph.D. economist after 7 years of marriage.

Beware of getting too close to economics.

[bicentennial_baby]

107. Kick!

'cause this is better than the 'Porn Wars of 07' :P

[BlooInBloo]

108. Phew - I was just gonna ask why, given the non-econ that people seem to think counts...

... thus making this poll even more useless than usual.

But yah, the porn wars are getting kinda old.

[bicentennial_baby]

109. i just wanted a break...

:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

111. Yep - I'm with ya.

[rucky]

110. I learnt from the School of Economic Hard Knocks n/t

[Nikia]

115. I took the first microeconomics course required for the major

It was an elective for me. I thought that economics was something that I should learn in order to become an educated person along with Shakespere, Classical Mythology, and Constitutional Law.