Many years ago I read an essay that was pretty critical of the way so much fantasy fiction could not build believable societies with plausible economic underpinnings. The author was fairly concise and snarky, arguing that (I'm paraphrasing here) she could suspend disbelief about dragons and magic, but that she couldn't slog her way through a book where not the least bit of thought had been given to how all these characters and their associates could make a living, grow or acquire food, and otherwise acquire money and engage in trade. I
think it was an essay by Joanna Russ in Fantasy & Science Fiction in the 70s, when she had a regular book review column there, but I could be conflating like mad.
posted by maudlin
on May 7, 2013 -
6 answers
How have sociologists and/or economists historically defined or measured "middle class" in the United States or the developed world generally? I mean over the last 100-200 years.
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posted by Wretch729
on Feb 14, 2013 -
6 answers
Help me to philosophically pigeon-hole what I take to be the
methodological views of many professors in my economics department. Then help me to explore that and other pigeon-holes.
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posted by mister_kaupungister
on Dec 1, 2012 -
10 answers
Please recommend podcasts about accounting, economics, or finance. A Canadian focus would be a bonus but not a necessity.
posted by sockpup
on Nov 30, 2012 -
7 answers
I read
this article and I'm fascinated by the effects of current events on how money moves through the world and how money seems to affect other money. I've found a new interest! But, I don't even know what it's called! How can I study this?
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posted by windykites
on Nov 8, 2012 -
8 answers
How many millionaires are self-made? The commonly repeated statistic, apparently from
The Millionaire Next Door, is that only 20% of millionaires came from millionaire upbringings - which is then used to argue that class privilege doesn't really exist in America, and if you only work hard enough... I can slice that argument up easily enough (many of those millionaires are doctors, for instance, who rarely come from underprivileged households). But how many millionaires really are self-made? I can't find a source with data to back it up (other than quotes from that book, which I don't have, and so I don't know if it backs up the claim or not).
posted by IAmBroom
on Sep 21, 2012 -
21 answers
I am looking for suggestions on the cheapest way to get bulk (25-100) smart phones (android preferred, but iOS could also work) for an academic research experiment.
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posted by vegetableagony
on Jul 25, 2012 -
7 answers
What is the current state of interdisciplinary research between biology and economics?
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posted by gauche
on May 16, 2012 -
4 answers
I'd like to relearn the fundamentals of economics and public policy. Where should I look for books, videos, and other materials on these topics?
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posted by wingless_angel
on Mar 28, 2012 -
5 answers
I am planning on applying to economics PhD programs for next year, but before I commit I wanted to think about alternatives, especially in light of all the articles lately about how PhD programs and academia in general are a pyramid scheme.
What other careers/education might be a less painful way of getting to a job that fits my life goals.
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posted by vegetableagony
on Nov 4, 2011 -
13 answers
The Canadian Wheat Board's monopsony is being
abolished. If I were a wheat farmer in Saskatchewan, what could I expect to see over the next five years?
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posted by twirlip
on Oct 17, 2011 -
9 answers
How should list undergraduate classes with long/unusual names on a resume that I am using for applications to economics PhD programs?
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posted by vegetableagony
on Aug 15, 2011 -
11 answers
Can you suggest the best, most recent articles that give an overview of China's economic foreign policy in Africa?
posted by paradoxflow
on Jul 31, 2011 -
7 answers
Has there ever been a case of real-life hyperdeflation, where prices race downwards?
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posted by curuinor
on Jul 23, 2011 -
8 answers
What studies and books are there about the economics of scientific research? I'm interested in a few questions including does giving out grants to University based researchers produce more startups and more highly regarded refereed papers than institutions like NIH or CSIRO? The only book I know of that looks at this is the book
The Economic Laws of Scientific Research which looks interesting but is also described as a polemic.
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posted by sien
on May 1, 2011 -
7 answers
I follow politics and current events, especially international politics, fanatically. I know next to nothing about economic systems, philosophy (particularly political philosophy), sociology, and other basics of social science that could be useful when trying to make sense of the world, though. I would like to change this.
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posted by dcheeno
on Apr 13, 2011 -
25 answers
Do airplane ticket sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, etc.) increase prices between successive browsing sessions, as well as manipulate prices so that they are in agreement with each other?
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posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Feb 21, 2011 -
19 answers
Yesterday, Mike Konczal (rortybomb) wrote the following, "The graduating class of 2011 will enter a brutal job market that will hurt its ability to be rewarded for its labor, and thus lead a full life, for at least a decade. A note to these graduates: take comfort that you must “endure” this suffering in order to placate invisible bond vigilantes and protect rentier income." What is the rentier income he is talking about? Is he saying that bond holders, generally, are rentiers?
posted by Hypnotic Chick
on Jan 28, 2011 -
14 answers
How do I deal with community supported agriculture flakes? I NEED people to pick up their shares.
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posted by melissam
on Jan 15, 2011 -
39 answers
I was reading an article about fiscal responsibility legislation and the author referred to passing to (what I infer) was a spectacular budget blowout or deficit condition in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. The article was dated 1996 so whatever it was, it would have been before that. Googling turns up nothing useful. Does anyone know anything about this, or have any pointers to any further resources (in English please)? Thanks in advance.
posted by Logophiliac
on Oct 28, 2010 -
4 answers
So I'm looking for some hard data on the Alberta Oil Sands:
Employment rate, type of employment, demographics, who owns what, etc.
I'm finding plenty of opinion pieces, and plenty of environmental assessments, but not much hard data on the economics of it. Does anyone know where to look for this kind of information?
posted by Stagger Lee
on Oct 25, 2010 -
6 answers
I'm reading Marx's "Capital" Vol. I and I'm looking for a "Dummy's Guide" to his economic theories.
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posted by facetious
on Sep 11, 2010 -
14 answers
Help me find the name of this "Marxist Sceptic" thinker. I remember reading on aldaily.com within the last few months about a Marxist thinker who essentially came to the conclusion that though desirable, no socialist system of government would exist in the immediate future. I'm not sure if it was an obituary or something else.
posted by atrazine
on Aug 20, 2010 -
3 answers
I'm going to be starting up a new research agenda on the economics of marijuana policy with an undergraduate student this fall, and I'm looking for materials which can help both me and my student navigate through the legal jungle that is US marijuana policy. I had a few questions.
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posted by scunning
on Jun 30, 2010 -
11 answers
A desperate college student needs your advice, and also needs his homework checked.
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posted by andrewsa
on Jun 27, 2010 -
24 answers
Can anyone recommend a book which explains the basics of economic theory in a way accessible to physicists/mathematicians?
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posted by snoktruix
on Apr 24, 2010 -
14 answers
What are the best articles and books that thoughtfully look back and analyze the financial crisis so far and its causes?
posted by shivohum
on Apr 18, 2010 -
13 answers
I last flew in September and the price was 300 bucks for one way non-stop flight. Now, in April, it's 600 dollars for the non-stop, and the cheapest flight has a layover, AND is 80 (380) dollars more. Is there a reason for the large increase in flying costs these past 6 months?
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posted by symbioid
on Apr 13, 2010 -
17 answers
When I was in 4th (maybe 5th) grade, we were shown a series of educational programs where a dude with magical powers helped kids solve everyday problems (what leisure activity is the best? how should I invest my allowance to get what I most desire?) through basic ecnomic principles. What is this show?
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posted by codacorolla
on Feb 5, 2010 -
8 answers
Did ancient greeks pay for their tickets to the theatre? The Romans for their seats at the Circus?
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posted by kandinski
on Oct 29, 2009 -
7 answers
Looking for source of an anecdote about social capital and trust. It involves renting a car: and apparently, in some developing countries (or possibly rural China?) where there are low levels of trust of outsiders, people at first found even the idea of renting a car implausible because they can't see why you would let a stranger drive away with your car or why you would return the car to a stranger you will never see again.
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posted by Maias
on Apr 26, 2009 -
5 answers
I'm a recent master's graduate in Applied Economics (Concentration: Community and Economic Development), and I’m looking for a research position with the government or a consulting firm that performs public policy-related research (e.g. The Urban Institute, Brookings, Pew Research Center, etc.). I've had no luck to this point (been looking for about two months), and I'd like some advice.
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posted by bcredrabbit
on Mar 30, 2009 -
10 answers
paper filter: I'm doing a paper on information technology's effect on population growth/migration. Where do I start?!
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posted by dunderwood
on Mar 17, 2009 -
4 answers
What were the social impacts of the lost decade in Japan? Yes, I know economists are all about growth-growth-growth and if you don't have it you're a failure. But what were the actual impacts on levels of personal happiness and satisfaction?
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posted by alms
on Feb 26, 2009 -
18 answers
I read the Wikipedia article on Dubai itself, but am still confused as to exactly how businesses such as a hotel located in the country can afford to do things like
put on a larger fireworks show than the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
A friend of mine with Republican/Libertarian leanings told me they do not charge any form of taxes and that is why business has boomed there, but I am a bit dubious about this answer.
I know they use a lot of borderline slave labor to build, but there has to be more than that too.
posted by idyllhands
on Nov 24, 2008 -
25 answers
Why do I often see two, three, even four different Thai restaurants on the same block, sometimes even right next to one another?
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posted by bubukaba
on May 19, 2008 -
22 answers
(Possibly Advanced) Economics Filter:
How does new value created by industry and economy become money?
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posted by SlyBevel
on Dec 28, 2007 -
32 answers
Has an economist ever calculated the worth of human life? It would be an added bonus if it s/he had worked out the different value in different parts of the world.
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posted by Kattullus
on Sep 29, 2006 -
14 answers
