ECO 1102 Lecture 1: LECTURE 1

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Economics
• Course: ECO 1102
• Professor: Octavian Strimbu

Document Summary

When getting a job it is important to signal (ex. Dress nicely, done x amount of things, diploma) Economists play two roles: scientists: try to explain the world. In the first, economists employ the scientific method, the dispassionate development and testing of theories about how the world works. As scientists, economists make positive statements, which attempt to describe the world as it is. As policy advisors, economists make normative statements, which attempt to prescribe how the world should be. Positive statements can be confirmed or refuted, normative statements cannot. The govt of canada, like other governments, relies on the advice of economists. Many government agencies and departments, including the bank of canada employ economists. How can you tell the difference: prices rise when the government increases the quantity of money. Positive describes a relationship, could use data to confirm or refute: the government should print less money.