Positive vs. Normative Analysis

Positive vs. Normative Analysis While economics is largely an academic discipline, it is quite common for economists to act as business consultants, media analysts, and advisers on government policy. As a result, its very important to understand when economists are making objective, evidence-based statements about how the world works and when they are making value judgments about what policies should be enacted or what business decisions should be made. Positive Analysis Descriptive, factual statements about the world are referred to as positive statements by economists. The term positive isnt used to imply that economists always convey good news, of course, and economists often make very, well, negative-positive statements. Positive analysis, accordingly, uses scientific principles to arrive at objective, testable conclusions. Normative Analysis On the other hand, economists refer to prescriptive, value-based statements as normative statements. Normative statements usually use factual evidence as support, but they are not by themselves factual. Instead, they incorporate the opinions and underlying morals and standards of those people making the statements. Normative analysis refers to the process of making recommendations about what action should be taken or taking a particular viewpoint on a topic. Examples of Positive vs. Normative The distinction between positive and normative statements is easily shown via examples. The statement: The unemployment rate is currently at 9 percent. is a positive statement, since it conveys factual, testable information about the world. Statements such as: The unemployment rate is too high.The government must take action in order to reduce the unemployment rate. are normative statements, since they include value judgments and are of a prescriptive nature. Its important to understand that, despite the fact that the two normative statements above are intuitively related to the positive statement, they cannot be logically inferred from the objective information provided. (In other words, they dont have to be true given that the unemployment rate is at 9 percent.) How to Effectively Disagree With an Economist People seem to like disagreeing with economists (and, in fact, economists often seem to enjoy disagreeing with one another), so its important to understand the distinction between positive and normative in order to disagree effectively. To disagree with a positive statement, one must bring other facts to the table or question the economists methodology. In order to disagree with the positive statement about unemployment above, for example, one would have to make the case that the unemployment rate isnt actually 9 percent. One could do this either by providing different unemployment data or by performing different calculations on the original data. To disagree with a normative statement, one can either dispute the validity of the positive information used to reach the value judgment or can argue the merits of the normative conclusion itself. This becomes a more murky type of debate  since there is no objective right and wrong when it comes to normative statements. In a perfectly organized world, economists would be pure scientists who perform only positive analysis and exclusively convey factual, scientific conclusions, and policymakers and consultants would take the positive statements and develop normative recommendations. In reality, however, economists often play both of these roles, so its important to be able to distinguish fact from opinion, i.e. positive from normative.

Copying Files On, To, or Onto

Copying Files On, To, or Onto Copying Files On, To, or Onto Copying Files On, To, or Onto By Maeve Maddox Preposition use is not easy to formulate. In this post I will focus on incorrect- or at least ambiguous- uses of on, to, and onto in the context of electronic file transfer. First, some definitions: to: expressing motion directed toward and reaching a place. Ex. I took the book to the library. I copied the file to a jump drive. on: expressing a position above and in contact with; at rest on the upper surface of. Ex. She laid the book on the counter. I saved a copy of my dissertation on a CD. onto: indicating physical motion to a position on. Ex. The clerk dropped the book onto a moving conveyor belt. I copied a movie onto a DVD.    Here are examples of questionable preposition usage: Incorrect: Embed the HD videos you  create onto  your personal or professional websites to help bolster your reputation. Correct : Embed the HD videos you  create in  your personal or professional websites to help bolster your reputation. The use of onto with embed appears to be very common in the context of transferring files from one medium to another, but this usage disregards the meaning of embed: â€Å"to fix firmly in a surrounding mass of some solid material.† For example, a fossil may be found embedded in a layer of rock. A YouTube video may be embedded in a web page, but not on one. Incorrect: If you  want to copy on  the same volume, use the Finder  File.   Correct : If you want to copy to (or onto) the same volume, use the Finder File. Movies are copied to tape or disk. Once copied, they are on the tape or the disk. Incorrect: I am hoping to save a font from one computer onto my USB drive and transfer it to another computer. Correct : I am hoping to save a font from one computer on my USB drive and transfer it to another computer. Or: I am hoping to copy a font from one computer onto my USB drive and transfer it [from there] to another computer. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business Letter3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation15 Idioms for Periods of Time