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I, personally, think this question has good value for the site and asks a good economic question (or else I would not have asked this question to begin with).

What does everyone think about reopening "Are there any long-term benefits of inflation"? How can the question be made more narrow?

Also, please state why it is a good/bad question. Don't simply say "It is a bad question." Elaborate and give specific reasons as to why you think it is a bad question.

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    $\begingroup$ I always perceived on-line words in full UPPERCASE letters as BEING YELLED AT ME. Is it just me? $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 5:14
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    $\begingroup$ @AlecosPapadopoulos I did not mean to be rude; I merely meant uppercase letters for emphasis. But, I shall change it just the same. $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 14:59

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Problems I see:

1) In the first paragraph, it is not mentioned clearly that the unemployment-reduction effect rests crucially on the money supply increase being unanticipated (this is what theory says, and it has been confirmed in practice). It will also be good if "Phillips Curve" was inserted in the text, and in the tags.

2) The title asks for "long-term" benefits of inflation, the text includes one short-term and one long-term supposed benefit, and the last line asks for "either short-term or long-term".

3) The phrase "possible benefits" does not convey clearly that a decrease in unemployment due to lower real wages is not considered a "benefit" by all (we could reduce unemployment even more by setting the wage to zero) -rather, it appears more to refer to whether the alleged effects truly materialize or not.

That the two phenomena more or less are observed is generally accepted. Whether they constitute "benefits" or not is much more heavily debated, due to the obvious political/philosophical aspect (the unemployment issue touches on distributional issues, the "demand effect" on rationality issues).

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  • $\begingroup$ I have addressed some of your concerns in my most recent edit. Please take a look. $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 22:09
  • $\begingroup$ @Mathematician I have voted to re-open. $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 22:43
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It falls far short of the standards that we set by consensus. I'm not saying you haven't researched it - you seem like a diligent and thoughtful poster who would understand a very concise technical answer. It's just that this question doesn't reflect that - it reads as though there's very little grounding there in macroeconomics to build on.

Asking for "benefits" is vague, and looks like normative rather than positive economics.

Despite all the editing, the question remains very broad. A good answer would take up a book's worth of text, or at least a chapter in a macroeconomics textbook. That makes it unsuitable for this format.

Questions are put on hold so that they can be edited up to the standard required. If that happens, the question should be reopened. If it doesn't, it should be deleted. This question has been on hold for more than a week, and does not seem to have been raised to the standard we've agreed to maintain.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for your comments, critiques, and encouragement. But, I do have some questions. First, can you explain what standards are not met? I read through everything at the link and, to my eyes, I still do not see how the standards aren't met. Sorry. Second, I still don't see how the question lacks research effort. What does the question still lack? Could you please elaborate? Third, I understand why questions are put on hold, but, in my case, I had no idea what to edit to make it better. I ask for these questions to be reopened so that I find the root reason for closure and fix the problems. $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 21:49
  • $\begingroup$ Also, I have addressed some of your concerns in my most recent edit. Please take a look. $\endgroup$ Dec 16, 2014 at 22:10

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