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Is this an Economics SE or an economy SE?

  1. Doest the government have a role to play in certifying people's abilities for the labor market?
  2. The independence of Central Banks [Bitcoin yet again]


1. Question on normative, asking for, at most "qualified" opinion. Economics-related still, but this shouldn't be a discussion forum, I guess. And replying yes, no or anything else will actually be wrong as this question has no answer. Shouldn't it be suggested to reframe it as a question for references?
2. The same as above, but not even normative, just asking an opinion. Again: is this a forum?

  1. I don't for the LIFO me understand inventory valuation

Is this to be allowed as an admitted question [if it was posed here and not getting dumped into EconSE from other SE sites]

  1. Cost function and short run supply

Ok, get the policy of helping in HW if nicely put. Here it is such a case and I get why it deserves an answer

  1. Can a Discount Rate be Inferred within a Solow-Swan Growth Model?

Great question. Very good answer. With a caveat: too extensive. I think answers bigger than the screen height should be avoided. It's begging a TLDR. Wouldn't it make sense just pointing out a paper where it is concisely explained and add what is left instead of detailing everything?

[This is an example of what a question is not supposed to be but where it is appropriate: a meta forum]

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    $\begingroup$ Hi! And thank you in advance! [Just making fun; anti-greetings people can edit if they want] $\endgroup$
    – user_newbie10
    May 20, 2016 at 20:39
  • $\begingroup$ (+1). It is an easily detectable tendency of mine to provide "long answers". I guess I am a follower of TSDR (Too Short - Didn't Read). $\endgroup$
    – Alecos Papadopoulos
    May 23, 2016 at 3:45

2 Answers 2

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Asking about the economy can fit under macroeconomics, if asked properly.

1+2.) Asking for an opinion is perhaps not the best way to ask a question, but it seems that these questions are really asking what sort of canonical answer exists, and if so, what math/literature backs it up.

3.) Yeah that question seems pretty legit.

4.) Yummy homework questions...sometimes they are okay, sometimes they suck.

5.) Math intensive answers are my favorite answers. A lot of us are academics. Citing something is an acceptable answer, but so is explaining it in our own words as rigorously as possible, especially wherever our specialties lie.

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  • $\begingroup$ 1)-2) Science should have no canonical opinion, IMHO, that was my concern with these sort of questions. Making a statement filled with technicalities that, in the end, is nothing but a very unwarranted opinion. 3) Accounting is, I assume, not economics. 5) I am not criticizing ``math intensive'' questions. Just asking whether this is the sort of replies one should seek. This is the internet, not a classroom. TLDR is a reality and if the question is properly answered to elsewhere and demands long proofs, maybe just point to where it was answered. Just a thought. $\endgroup$
    – user_newbie10
    May 21, 2016 at 16:56
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  1. Doest the government have a role to play in certifying people's abilities for the labor market?

Normative question and one give the theories economists have to this regard (information provision, is more information better, signaling, different game theoretical equilibria). Not perfectly put question (0 upvotes to date), but definitely ontopic.

  1. The independence of Central Banks [Bitcoin yet again]

How does a affect b? is a perfectly put question that can receive unopinionated answers. The answer is "obviously not at all", but just because the answer is obvious to those who know it, doesn't mean it's not a valid question (this is a general principle).

If your point is that one can give out personal opinions on how something affects the central bank, well, one can always give out personal opinions to any question - test me!

  1. I don't for the LIFO me understand inventory valuation

Terrible title, terrible question. Renamed, downvoted and suggested for closing. History of accounting is definitely off topic here.

  1. Cost function and short run supply

Ok, get the policy of helping in HW if nicely put. Here it is such a case and I get why it deserves an answer

What's your point?

  1. Can a Discount Rate be Inferred within a Solow-Swan Growth Model?

Great question. Very good answer. With a caveat: too extensive. I think answers bigger than the screen height should be avoided.

Again, what's your point? I agree that the answer is extensive - but not too extensive, if that means you want it to be downvoted or deleted. If it doesn't mean that, and warrants no more action on our side - so what?

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  • $\begingroup$ Yes, the question on LM is ontopic, but I wanted to know how normative can questions actually be. The same for homework. How long should an answer be? Should we just refer to papers? $\endgroup$
    – user_newbie10
    May 28, 2016 at 22:52
  • $\begingroup$ @dugo I think that anything you could see written in an economics paper is on-topic here. Perhaps hardcore philosophical questions on what type of social welfare function we ought to use are off-topic, but it's hard to come up with something less extreme that'd be. $\endgroup$
    – FooBar
    May 29, 2016 at 7:49
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think we need to set up hard-written rules for answers, as long as they contain value. Individual votes - rather than centralized rules - should determine what's what. You can always - and I sometimes do - ask for a tl;dr if the answer gets out of hand. $\endgroup$
    – FooBar
    May 29, 2016 at 7:51

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