Which should I study? Economics or accountancy?

[Kerwin]

I'm looking into doing a degree with the open university in business, but I have three options, and I'm unsure which one to take. I can do business, business and economics or business and accounting. I'm leaning towards economics, but I'd be interested in hearing people's views on the matter.

Here is a link for the business-only course:

Business Management Degree BA (Hons) | Open University | Q91

Study a flexible online business management degree with our triple-accredited business school and unlock your career potential for success in business.

www.open.ac.uk

Here is a link for the business and economics course:

BA (Hons) Business Management (Economics) | Open University | Q91

Develop interdisciplinary perspectives on managing organisations and build your economics knowledge with this Open University degree.

www.open.ac.uk

Here is the link for the business and accounting course:

BA (Hons) Business Management (Accounting) | Open University | Q91

This Open University degree combines studying business management practices with building skills in financial and management accounting.

www.open.ac.uk

 

[Mark T Jones]

Obviously it depends on what you are hoping to achieve, but one small regret I have is not studying economics in more depth. It's ****ing boring mind, but it truly is at the heart of everything (I belive it was once described as 'the dismal science')

I learned far more about accounts from credit people in a few months than in 3 years worth of business studies

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

If you want to be a money person then economics. If you want to go into business then I struggle to understand what you would gain from doing a business degree

 

[Deleted member 335660]

Well Kerwin,

I taught them all and universityy except economics. If business is your aim then the Business Management is best as this gives you insight into Marketing and Accounting both which are important.

Economics is more about worldly theories on supply, demand, balance of payments, exchange rates etc which might be helpful if you want to become a share trader or politician.

Certainly at first degree level Business Management is the best jones for business generally. You could do economics as a Masters.

 

[IanSuth]

Having studied economics as an undergraduate after coming from a strong maths & science background I would say if you like things black and white steer clear of economics as it s a lot more wishy washy with your initial assumptions totally changing the output for the same conditions. I am not convinced it should be called a science. Although econometrics was quite fun (basically stats for economists)

Accounting is NOT maths, it is much more about learning rules / laws and working through things in a methodical manner

(I did an economics & accounting degree - which was those 2 plus an end stop law course covering contract and tort)

 

[The Byre]

Online degree courses with the LSE are cheaper and held in far higher regard. The OU is looked upon as the housewife's degree. Unfair, I know, but that's the way it is!

I did the LSE BSc-Econ as a correspondence degree back in about 49BC and in the days when mastodons were bellowing across primeval swamps and I had hair and there was no Internet. Economics is an evolving study and still in its infancy. We are being drawn back into the fundamentals of the great masters such as Friedman and Laffer and politicians and central banks and corporations are having to relearn the basics and ween themselves off Pinocchio's Magic Money Tree.

I do not think that it is a dismal science at all. The only dismal aspect is that economics has to follow the same rules as any other aspect of the physical world. Intellectually, economics is by far-and-away the most exciting and interesting subject as it combines the laws of physics with human behavior.

But if all you want to do is earn money and lots of it, then don't study anything!

Just remember that when it comes to earning a living, there are four types of people - the frightened, the assertive, the organiser and the risk-taker. We call them employees, the self-employed, business people and the investor - and in that order. You do not need a degree to organise people into a business and you certainly do not need a degree to become an investor in other people.

My 30 cents worth - if you want to expand your mind, study economics at the LSE. If all you want is a lousy 9-2-5, shoot yourself now. It's cheaper!

Once the coroner has established that you are indeed dead, you will have all the qualities required of an accountant!

 

[Kerwin]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I appreciate it!

I honestly didn't know you could do distance learning courses with the LSE. The economics course there certainly does look good. As to my motivation, I'm mainly looking at improving myself rather than making loads of money, although being able to make a reasonable salary would be an advantage.

 

[The Byre]

I'm mainly looking at improving myself rather than making loads of money, although being able to make a reasonable salary would be an advantage.

In every study of post-graduate earnings, the LSE comes top, ahead of Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews and the rest.

But beware the study of economics as it will expand your mind and make you think about things in completely different ways! You will discover the difference between money and currency, between wealth and riches, between value and numbers.

Economics is the polar opposite of accounting. Accounting is a purely human construct - rules, regulations, conventions and laws governing something that does not exist - currencies. Economics exists in everything and with or without people. Wolves and beavers, trees and bees also have to behave economically.

Economics will start to make you think and, as Henry Ford said "Thinking is the hardest work of all, which is why so few people do it!"

 

[Mark T Jones]

In every study of post-graduate earnings, the LSE comes top, ahead of Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews and the rest.

But beware the study of economics as it will expand your mind and make you think about things in completely different ways! You will discover the difference between money and currency, between wealth and riches, between value and numbers.

Economics is the polar opposite of accounting. Accounting is a purely human construct - rules, regulations, conventions and laws governing something that does not exist - currencies. Economics exists in everything and with or without people. Wolves and beavers, trees and bees also have to behave economically.

Economics will start to make you think and, as Henry Ford said "Thinking is the hardest work of all, which is why so few people do it!"

You're tempting me now.

 

[Kerwin]

In every study of post-graduate earnings, the LSE comes top, ahead of Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews and the rest.

But beware the study of economics as it will expand your mind and make you think about things in completely different ways! You will discover the difference between money and currency, between wealth and riches, between value and numbers.

Economics is the polar opposite of accounting. Accounting is a purely human construct - rules, regulations, conventions and laws governing something that does not exist - currencies. Economics exists in everything and with or without people. Wolves and beavers, trees and bees also have to behave economically.

Economics will start to make you think and, as Henry Ford said "Thinking is the hardest work of all, which is why so few people do it!"

That sounds pretty awesome! I'll see if I can find some books to give me an introduction to economics before I jump into the deep end. If you have any suggestions for a book or two, I would appreciate it.

 

[The Byre]

The backbone of my first semester was 'An Introduction to Positive Economics' though I fear that it is fearfully dated - but it does cover the basics. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294295809317?epid=89377505&hash=item448565ad25:g:7rYAAOSwsfNg~TR2

There is also a workbook to accompany that publication.

Personally, I would start with the good old Interweb and Wikipedia.

Nearly all traditional economic studies deal only with human behaviour and today we are moving away from those conventional views to a more philosophical view of economics and looking at how other creatures and even plants behave in fundamentally economic ways.

We are also beginning to see how economics interacts and behaves in similar ways to the laws of physics. For example, the flow of money and currency can be compared to the flow of water in a river or the flow of electricity in a wire. i.e. volume times velocity = result. in electricity, it's VI=P (voltage x current = power) with money it is MV = GDPn (money supply x velocity = nominal GDP).

This determinative and coldly mathematical treatment of the subject is of course anathema to those taking a subjective and humanistic view. It supports the mathematical and market forces approach of people like Milton Friedman and opposes the humanistic approach of those who teach that the state should govern the economy and not the economy should govern the state.

Sadly, no books deal with this growing aspect of the study - perhaps I should write one! Somebody has to!

 

[UkAppCoder]

I'm looking into doing a degree with the open university in business, but I have three options, and I'm unsure which one to take. I can do business, business and economics or business and accounting. I'm leaning towards economics, but I'd be interested in hearing people's views on the matter.

Here is a link for the business-only course:

Business Management Degree BA (Hons) | Open University | Q91

Study a flexible online business management degree with our triple-accredited business school and unlock your career potential for success in business.

www.open.ac.uk

Here is a link for the business and economics course:

BA (Hons) Business Management (Economics) | Open University | Q91

Develop interdisciplinary perspectives on managing organisations and build your economics knowledge with this Open University degree.

www.open.ac.uk

Here is the link for the business and accounting course:

BA (Hons) Business Management (Accounting) | Open University | Q91

This Open University degree combines studying business management practices with building skills in financial and management accounting.

www.open.ac.uk

Perhaps you could do what I did and roll your own degree.

You could choose your own set of modules according to your own set of interests and requirements. I don't know about other universities, but the OU ensures that your choices provide credits towards an 'unnamed' degree which is of course recognised like any other degree.

The OU allows this because they recognise that their prescribed degrees may include modules which are redundant for many specialist requirements. They also ensure that your choices do not overlap with duplicate material. Doing it this way, you might be able to include a nice combination of business, economics and accountancy, or a subset thereof tailored to your particular interests and requirements.

But then again, what would I know? - I'm just a lowly "housewife"!

 

[Jeff FV]

That sounds pretty awesome! I'll see if I can find some books to give me an introduction to economics before I jump into the deep end. If you have any suggestions for a book or two, I would appreciate it.

A good question that I asked a few years ago (I’m a maths teacher and asked the Head of Department (Economics) at the school I was then teaching at. He suggested anything by Tim Hartford, The Undercover Economist would be a good primer. He wasn’t wrong: easy to read, amusing and informative

Here’s a link to one of his books on amazon:

Amazon.co.uk

 

[IanSuth]

That sounds pretty awesome! I'll see if I can find some books to give me an introduction to economics before I jump into the deep end. If you have any suggestions for a book or two, I would appreciate it.

this was my y1 economics text

Economics

Buy Economics By David Kh Begg. Available in used condition with free delivery. ISBN: 9780070841680. ISBN-10: 0070841683

www.wob.com

 

[Casually made]

I studied accounting for 3 years in my early 20's it was one of the worst and most boring experiences of my life

Unless you open your own practice which will take an extremely long time to establish ( people like going to generational accountants) the pay outside of the major metro city's is pathetic

I think some qualified accountants in my local area start on between 30 and 40K and that won't be a 40 hour week it will be expected you do 50-60 hours as this lack of work/life balance is glamourised in the industry.

You take the tax and NI out of that salary and usually the expectation to be driving a financed BMW or Mercedes on some sort of salary sacrifice and quickly you become the definition of overworked and underpaid

I wish i was joking when i say i make more than my accountant buying and selling online + a little arbitrage

I would not recommend a career in accounting but each to their own.

 

[Kerwin]

I studied accounting for 3 years in my early 20's it was one of the worst and most boring experiences of my life

Unless you open your own practice which will take an extremely long time to establish ( people like going to generational accountants) the pay outside of the major metro city's is pathetic

I think some qualified accountants in my local area start on between 30 and 40K and that won't be a 40 hour week it will be expected you do 50-60 hours as this lack of work/life balance is glamourised in the industry.

You take the tax and NI out of that salary and usually the expectation to be driving a financed BMW or Mercedes on some sort of salary sacrifice and quickly you become the definition of overworked and underpaid

I wish i was joking when i say i make more than my accountant buying and selling online + a little arbitrage

I would not recommend a career in accounting but each to their own.

Thank you. The more I read about this, the more I lean towards economics.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I studied accounting for 3 years in my early 20's it was one of the worst and most boring experiences of my life

Unless you open your own practice which will take an extremely long time to establish ( people like going to generational accountants) the pay outside of the major metro city's is pathetic

I think some qualified accountants in my local area start on between 30 and 40K and that won't be a 40 hour week it will be expected you do 50-60 hours as this lack of work/life balance is glamourised in the industry.

You take the tax and NI out of that salary and usually the expectation to be driving a financed BMW or Mercedes on some sort of salary sacrifice and quickly you become the definition of overworked and underpaid

I wish i was joking when i say i make more than my accountant buying and selling online + a little arbitrage

I would not recommend a career in accounting but each to their own.

You clearly know some very unmotivated, undynamic accountants.

 

[Casually made]

You clearly know some very unmotivated, undynamic accountants.

Nonsense it's an old fashioned blue chip boomer career that's main selling point is tax avoidance in this countries archaic and fallacious taxation system

You shouldn't have to pay someone to show you how to pay to the least amount of tax you can it's ludicrous ??

Yea some will do it well in areas like London which is overflowing with Russian blood money , but its a corrupt dirty profession at it's core.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Nonsense it's an old fashioned blue chip boomer career that's main selling point is tax avoidance in this countries archaic and fallacious taxation system

You shouldn't have to pay someone to show you how to pay to the least amount of tax you can it's ludicrous ??

Yea some will do it well in areas like London which is overflowing with Russian blood money , but its a corrupt dirty profession at it's core.

QED

 

[Nicola78]

While both types of study have their own advantages, the benefits of choosing accounting over economics include a more specialized curriculum, a more straightforward career path and clearer opportunities for advancement.

 

[IanSuth]

My brother is a qualified accountant with one of the big 4, they changed their rules just before he was promoted to now have "non equity" partners. He does get a decent salary (just into 6 figures) but that is after 14 years (he started sep 2009 in financial services audit as the world melted down around him), he does at least 60 hours a week so had higher outgoings to match (meals out or ready/takeaway meals etc)

 

[IanSuth]

While both types of study have their own advantages, the benefits of choosing accounting over economics include a more specialized curriculum, a more straightforward career path and clearer opportunities for advancement.

The only straightforward career path for accountants is if you get onto a grad scheme and they tend to be very ageist (dont look at mature grads) and elitist. My brother only got on his after a global partner intervened (they were on a charity board together) as the HR dept had set an arbitrary limit of only looking at 1st class degrees from Russell group uni's and his 2i in chemical physics where his thesis disproved a long term held physical law apparently wasn't good enough for them. When he was allowed to take their assessments (HR begrudgingly allowed that) he aced them as the 2nd highest scorer that year.

Otherwise you are looking at the CIMA route and quite honestly you might as well do what a mates son is - he is doing a degree apprenticeship whilst working for a private schools bursars office

 

[Casually made]

My brother is a qualified accountant with one of the big 4, they changed their rules just before he was promoted to now have "non equity" partners. He does get a decent salary (just into 6 figures) but that is after 14 years (he started sep 2009 in financial services audit as the world melted down around him), he does at least 60 hours a week so had higher outgoings to match (meals out or ready/takeaway meals etc)

This is the issue with a lot of stereotypical blue chip careers the big companies almost rely on the "race up the ladder"

They use it as leverage to justify and encourage ridiculous working hours and sure enough in them kinds of roles you dont even "switch off" after a 60 hour working week because you have such a ridiculous load of responsibility

The fat salary is completely pointless when you have less than 30 days a year to spend it ?

As i said above you are far better off leveraging a skill or trading a resource / commodity in exchange for money rather than your time which should never have an hourly rate attached to it.

 

[The Byre]

A good question that I asked a few years ago (I’m a maths teacher and asked the Head of Department (Economics) at the school I was then teaching at. He suggested anything by Tim Hartford, The Undercover Economist would be a good primer. He wasn’t wrong: easy to read, amusing and informative

It is sort of amusing, but it is not about Economics - he mentions all kinds of socio-political and marketing questions, but it is mainly about non-economic topics like predatory pricing and political costs of corruption. There's an entire chapter on the psychology of auctions, another on the psychology of stockmarkets (neither of which have much, if anything, to do with Economics) but subjects like money/currency or the study of Macro- and Microeconomics or even Econometrics get not one mention.

 

[Talay]

Amongst other things, I have A levels in economics, politics and law plus economics and finance degrees and post grad studies in business, finance and even CIMA. Didn't bother with the MBA as not much real need on the prop desk at old blue blood investment banks.

So what was useful and what wasn't ?

The CIMA was a waste of time. Widget this and that, some nonsense law and jack shit relevant to investment banking. Might be useful for bean counters but frankly, a huge effort in the evenings and just something the banks were looking at back then. Avoid.

Of the undergrad degree subjects, the one we laughed at was marketing. Of course, back then it was less scientific but in business, if you don't know how to market yourself, you will fail. Hence, I should have paid more attention to that one.

Law, yeah, useful all life through. Good if you're into it, as I was, would probably have been a good career move to simply do law as law for a big company, partnership, etc.

Economics, don't leave home without it because when you have it in your pocket and you know how shit works and others don't, the difference is 9/10 the fact that they have no concept of economics. It just joins the dots of life, finance, work, business, etc. plus overlays time, resources, choice and politics.

 

[Kerwin]

Amongst other things, I have A levels in economics, politics and law plus economics and finance degrees and post grad studies in business, finance and even CIMA. Didn't bother with the MBA as not much real need on the prop desk at old blue blood investment banks.

So what was useful and what wasn't ?

The CIMA was a waste of time. Widget this and that, some nonsense law and jack shit relevant to investment banking. Might be useful for bean counters but frankly, a huge effort in the evenings and just something the banks were looking at back then. Avoid.

Of the undergrad degree subjects, the one we laughed at was marketing. Of course, back then it was less scientific but in business, if you don't know how to market yourself, you will fail. Hence, I should have paid more attention to that one.

Law, yeah, useful all life through. Good if you're into it, as I was, would probably have been a good career move to simply do law as law for a big company, partnership, etc.

Economics, don't leave home without it because when you have it in your pocket and you know how shit works and others don't, the difference is 9/10 the fact that they have no concept of economics. It just joins the dots of life, finance, work, business, etc. plus overlays time, resources, choice and politics.

Awesome. Thank you for the insight. I'll certainly take your advice.

 

[Kerwin]

Just another quick question. Should I subscribe to The Economist to get a bit of a head start, or is there something else that I should spend my money on instead?

 

[The Byre]

I used to read The Economist just for the educational content, but they stopped that ages ago. (The Schools Briefs in the 70s and 80s were brilliant, but sadly they stopped that.) Altogether, it is today a general news magazine and not much to do with Economics. (I went on to work for the Economist Intelligence Unit ages ago, but that did not mean that I actually read the magazine, despite having free access to it!)

And there you have the problem with the modern study of Economics. Outside of the universities, discussion of the subject has fallen into the hands of non-economists. Tim Harford's book is a prime example of this problem - all about the psychology of crowds and the psychology of perception and very little to do with Economics.

When you begin to study the subject, you will be learning about simple supply and demand curves and what price elasticity of demand is and how to calculate it. You will learn that MV=PY=GDPn and what the implications of that equation are. You will learn about the costs and benefits of public goods like parks and roads and schools and how they compare with private goods such as factories. You will learn about the theories of Smith, Maynard Keynes, Laffer, Knapp, Ricardo, Friedman and all the others.

You will get to learn about the humanistic sides of Economics and you will learn about politics and society in general if you want to - you will get choices of which direction you want to take. But in my day, the LSE took a very empirical view of the subject.

Here are the five things that economists tend to be good at and great economists excel at -

1. Maths. I do not mean that you were good at maths at school - I was lousy! I mean the philosophy of Mathematics. So two plus two equals four - but why? Can 11 + 3 = 2? You like to play with mathematical concepts.

2. You are also keenly interested in the other social sciences such as Sociology, History and Politics.

3. You like to analyse situations and come up with solutions to problems.

4. You burn with curiosity and like to ask questions. You are that person that asks "But what if X does not equal Y, what happens then?"

5. You are academically inclined and thoughtful and you are also good on paper. You write fluidly and can communicate easily. An economist must be able to communicate complex concepts to others in a manner that they can understand. That also means being able to stand on your hind legs and speak in public. An economist that keeps her/his ideas to themself is totally useless!

The one thing I missed by studying as a correspondence course was contact with others to discuss the subject matter. So if you can set up or join a discussion group of some sort, that will go a long way to help you with your studies.

 

[Kerwin]

I used to read The Economist just for the educational content, but they stopped that ages ago. (The Schools Briefs in the 70s and 80s were brilliant, but sadly they stopped that.) Altogether, it is today a general news magazine and not much to do with Economics. (I went on to work for the Economist Intelligence Unit ages ago, but that did not mean that I actually read the magazine, despite having free access to it!)

And there you have the problem with the modern study of Economics. Outside of the universities, discussion of the subject has fallen into the hands of non-economists. Tim Harford's book is a prime example of this problem - all about the psychology of crowds and the psychology of perception and very little to do with Economics.

When you begin to study the subject, you will be learning about simple supply and demand curves and what price elasticity of demand is and how to calculate it. You will learn that MV=PY=GDPn and what the implications of that equation are. You will learn about the costs and benefits of public goods like parks and roads and schools and how they compare with private goods such as factories. You will learn about the theories of Smith, Maynard Keynes, Laffer, Knapp, Ricardo, Friedman and all the others.

You will get to learn about the humanistic sides of Economics and you will learn about politics and society in general if you want to - you will get choices of which direction you want to take. But in my day, the LSE took a very empirical view of the subject.

Here are the five things that economists tend to be good at and great economists excel at -

1. Maths. I do not mean that you were good at maths at school - I was lousy! I mean the philosophy of Mathematics. So two plus two equals four - but why? Can 11 + 3 = 2? You like to play with mathematical concepts.

2. You are also keenly interested in the other social sciences such as Sociology, History and Politics.

3. You like to analyse situations and come up with solutions to problems.

4. You burn with curiosity and like to ask questions. You are that person that asks "But what if X does not equal Y, what happens then?"

5. You are academically inclined and thoughtful and you are also good on paper. You write fluidly and can communicate easily. An economist must be able to communicate complex concepts to others in a manner that they can understand. That also means being able to stand on your hind legs and speak in public. An economist that keeps her/his ideas to themself is totally useless!

The one thing I missed by studying as a correspondence course was contact with others to discuss the subject matter. So if you can set up or join a discussion group of some sort, that will go a long way to help you with your studies.

Thank you so much! Very interesting.

 

[Talay]

I used to read The Economist just for the educational content, but they stopped that ages ago. (The Schools Briefs in the 70s and 80s were brilliant, but sadly they stopped that.) Altogether, it is today a general news magazine and not much to do with Economics. (I went on to work for the Economist Intelligence Unit ages ago, but that did not mean that I actually read the magazine, despite having free access to it!)

And there you have the problem with the modern study of Economics. Outside of the universities, discussion of the subject has fallen into the hands of non-economists. Tim Harford's book is a prime example of this problem - all about the psychology of crowds and the psychology of perception and very little to do with Economics.

When you begin to study the subject, you will be learning about simple supply and demand curves and what price elasticity of demand is and how to calculate it. You will learn that MV=PY=GDPn and what the implications of that equation are. You will learn about the costs and benefits of public goods like parks and roads and schools and how they compare with private goods such as factories. You will learn about the theories of Smith, Maynard Keynes, Laffer, Knapp, Ricardo, Friedman and all the others.

You will get to learn about the humanistic sides of Economics and you will learn about politics and society in general if you want to - you will get choices of which direction you want to take. But in my day, the LSE took a very empirical view of the subject.

Here are the five things that economists tend to be good at and great economists excel at -

1. Maths. I do not mean that you were good at maths at school - I was lousy! I mean the philosophy of Mathematics. So two plus two equals four - but why? Can 11 + 3 = 2? You like to play with mathematical concepts.

2. You are also keenly interested in the other social sciences such as Sociology, History and Politics.

3. You like to analyse situations and come up with solutions to problems.

4. You burn with curiosity and like to ask questions. You are that person that asks "But what if X does not equal Y, what happens then?"

5. You are academically inclined and thoughtful and you are also good on paper. You write fluidly and can communicate easily. An economist must be able to communicate complex concepts to others in a manner that they can understand. That also means being able to stand on your hind legs and speak in public. An economist that keeps her/his ideas to themself is totally useless!

The one thing I missed by studying as a correspondence course was contact with others to discuss the subject matter. So if you can set up or join a discussion group of some sort, that will go a long way to help you with your studies.

Couldn't have written it better myself

Separated at birth were we ?

 

[Blackford Biz]

I did a BA Accountancy and it had two economics semesters. I did a Warwick Business School MBA and it had three economics/international business units. With all that behind me, I'd never do an economics degree as it was all based on assumptions and theories which drove me nuts as it was in theory.
eg two people on a desert island, an economist & an accountant. The accountant says "we have £500, some water, no food and a palm tree". The economist says "let's assume we have $800, a forest of fruit trees and a lake of cold drinking water" Enough said.
It depends what you intend doing. A new career? Knowing business better? Career change?
My career made a quantum leap with a good quality MBA.

 

[Kerwin]

I did a BA Accountancy and it had two economics semesters. I did a Warwick Business School MBA and it had three economics/international business units. With all that behind me, I'd never do an economics degree as it was all based on assumptions and theories which drove me nuts as it was in theory.
eg two people on a desert island, an economist & an accountant. The accountant says "we have £500, some water, no food and a palm tree". The economist says "let's assume we have $800, a forest of fruit trees and a lake of cold drinking water" Enough said.
It depends what you intend doing. A new career? Knowing business better? Career change?
My career made a quantum leap with a good quality MBA.

I was considering doing an MBA after the business and economics degree (depending on my grades, obviously). From what I've read, I think economics is a subject that will interest me, and I have a bit of flexibility on what modules I take to make up the degree, so I'll have a better idea of what they all contain as I reach that level in the course.

 

[The Byre]

I'd never do an economics degree as it was all based on assumptions and theories which drove me nuts as it was in theory.

The trouble with Economics is that much of it is actually based on the laws of Physics (without economists really being aware of this!) and as such, can be absolute - and like Physics, many things are both fascinating and counter-intuitive. It really gets funky with Monetary Economics because money is both a statement of value and it is currency - and governments can create currency, but they think that they can use that to steer an economy when in reality, they achieve the opposite of what they wanted.

Also, so-called common sense often tells us that we should be doing something, but if we do that, we achieve the opposite. These are those instances where some politician or journalist (or banker!) will say "It stands to reason that is we . . ." and then they trot out some well-known economic fallacy of which there are many!

For example, QE when combined with stimulus handouts (IMO) panders to several dangerous fallacies. See here https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/byretorial-10-1-turtles.419321/

It depends what you intend doing.

THIS!

And let us know how you get on!