Inflation, in the ordinary sense, increase in the prices of goods and services. Some economists say inflation up to 5% is even desirable. Why is this so? When governments struggle to control inflation, why is desirable?
122912
Is inflation a good or bad thing? Why do governments want some inflation?
56692
Sorry if this is obvious but why does it seem that some papers/studies (usually in economics discipline) use utility theory as a basis for discrete choice models while others (often social science) do not? If what is being modelled is a binary choice, is a specification of the reasons why this choice is being made (as in, to maximise utility) and an accompanying utility model necessary? It just seems some use it and some don't, even when what is being modelled is essentially the same thing. Thanks
54299
Regarding s, I am wondering why $1$% and $5$% seem to be the gold standard for "statistical significance". Why not other values, like $6$% or $10$%?  Is there a fundamental mathematical reason for this, or is this just a widely held convention?
122025
One of the answers in a reading exercise in my class today was:   100,000,000,000,000,000,000   ... which was the value of the highest denomination note ever issued. It was a 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pengo note, issued by Hungary in 1946. The students in my class wanted to know how they could say that last sentence in words in English. So I told them that I didn't know. They pointed out to me that if they wanted to read this bit of writing to someone they'd want to be able to use the words. Fair point.  Can anyone help?  [In case you're interested, a 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pengo note was worth about $0.20!]
50195
What is the difference between Interest Rate and APY on savings accounts, CDs, etc?  Is there a simple formula to convert the two?
45229
I noticed at some point that different merchants don't all pay the same for what you're selling. Depending on the category, or even the specific item, some merchants simply pay significantly more.  Are there some general rules on which merchants pay better for which items?
119073
Should we take our excess cash at the end of the month and put it in savings or put it towards our mortgage payment? We've been in our home 3 years and we already have some emergency money saved up.  I would be paying towards the principal of my mortgage.  My mortgage interest rate 5.75 is the higher than our other debt (cars).  My saving account interest rate is about 1%-2%.
48409
First, my understanding is that the long-term capital gains tax rate is 0% for those whose marginal rate on ordinary income is 10% or 15%, and (ignoring the highest 39.6% bracket) the rate is 15% for everyone else. (See  and .)  My interest is in what happens at the crucial break between the 15% and 25% bracket, which is $73,800 for married/joint returns in 2013 (and presumably will be higher in 2014, though I haven't been able to find out what that is or if it has even been set yet). Let's say a household has $64,000 in wage income, and sells stock for a $10,000 profit.   Does their income for the purposes of establishing their tax bracket go to $74,000? If so, is the entire $10,000 profit subject to the 15% long-term capital gains rate? Is any part of the wage income subject to the higher marginal tax rate?   Since the amount of income subject to the higher marginal rate is, well, marginal, part 3 seems somewhat less important than part 2. The real issue is whether the capital gains rate hits the entire profit, since, in that case, it seems the household should only sell enough stock to generate a $9000 profit, and sell the remainder in a future year.
18306
Such phrases describing growth rate as in the above examples are very common, but sometimes I'm confused about how to read them correctly. My understanding is:  If our 2019 sales are up 120% (or has increased 120%) from year 2018, it means, for instance, US$ 100 million in 2018, and US$ 120 million in 2019  If our 2019 sales are up by 120% (or has increased by 120%) from year 2018, it means, for instance, US$ 100 million in 2018, and US$ 220 million in 2019   If the above understanding is correct, then how should I interpret &quot;..... is up 20% from last year&quot;? Is it different from &quot;up 120% from last year&quot;? Or maybe those expressions include some ambiguities?
115484
The various modern revolutions in physics, in psychology, in politics, even in literary style, have not escaped his intelligent notice, but they can scarcely be said to have influenced him deeply.    Could you please explain the following?  They can scarcely be said to have influenced him deeply.  Or, I can not understand such a structure like the following:  In contrast, prices set by a central planner are necessarily arbitrary, since there is no standard against which they can be said to be correct or incorrect. d'oh!
71355
Having a global dispersed circle of friend and family, it happened already twice that I needed to travel urgently because of serious personal circumstances. When I had to travel to the deathbed and subsequent funeral of a relative, I even paid twice the price of normal first class ticket for an economy ticket.   When you are confronted with an urgent situation in your family (death or serious illness) how can you find a more economical airfare? I don't mind paying more then normal, but the fares airlines charge you for very short and urgent trips are often outrageous.
95479
What is the name for the pricing strategy where the item price is just below a psychologically significant amount? For example $199 instead of $200, $2.95 instead of $3, $49,990 instead of $50,000.
69700
...on Finnis's view all distinct instances of basic goods are incommensurable — none is of more, less, or equal value with any other. &mdash;    I expect to see more or less than any other, but then equal shows up, and is followed by with. But since with any other cannot replace than any other, do you think this sentence illegitimately omits something?
73627
This is one of the major banks in Australia:   At present time, the variable rate is 7.80% but the fixed rate is 6.99% for one year.  And it seems most banks in Australia, if you fix the rate (at the moment), you will get a lower rate.  Is this an indication that in the eyes of the banks, that they believe the interest rates are going to down? I just ask because it seems most people in the media think the rates are going up and they've risen about 6 times in a row now.  Could it be that the banks are secretly preparing for rates to drop?
43256
“The authors of the study, one of the most closely watched overviews of the global high-end retail market, predicted that such expansion would drive up growth across the global luxury market by as much as 8 percent.”   My question: what does "by as much as 8 percent" mean? Does it mean "by 8 percent" or "by up to 8 percent"?
75179
Is money a countable noun?  We had a little/few money left, so we decided to have a meal in a cheap restaurant so that it costs us a few rupees.   Here rupees is the currency of India.  I wonder few rupees make sense. But why we can't use few money here?
43891
I have two particular questions regarding the inflationary scenario. They are:  What is the physical origin of the inflaton field?  Why has the potential of the inflation field its particular form?