Politics and Coupon Business

Economics and politics are not always easy to understand if facts and values ​​are not recognizable at first glance. They are not presented transparently and explicitly, or both levels are interwoven in public discourse as if they were one.

In order to make, help shape or assess political or economic decisions, however, an understanding of the relationship between the two aspects. This is just as necessary as the ability to understand and classify the available evidence in terms of its relevance. Political decisions can help businesses. This way, it can increase the economic growth of any country.

The importance of numbers for economic and political decisions

Evidence-oriented decisions in business or politics are very often based directly or indirectly on numbers.

The evidence-orientation of political decisions has become the focus of attention in recent years and has itself become a political issue. In disputes about measures to contain the economic crisis, it is currently becoming particularly impressive how figures and parameters determine the political and social discourse. At the same time, it also becomes clear that political decisions cannot be derived directly from these figures and parameters. Evidence-oriented political decisions are also based on considerations that have to include different factual and value perspectives.

In social science lessons, the meaning of numbers is primarily associated with classic economic subjects, as the following selection can show by way of example:

Basics of business accounting: balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, cost and performance accounting, planning calculations, and others.

Price mechanisms in different markets and the mathematical modelling of markets: supply and demand functions, equilibrium, and others.

Basic structure and importance of the national accounts: GDP calculation, input-output calculation, asset calculation, etc.

Government income and expenditure: taxes, government debt, basics of social security, stability-oriented use of government income and expenditure, etc.

Income and wealth distribution: primary and secondary income distribution, Gini coefficient for measuring inequalities, etc.

Business cycle: business cycle indicators, quantitative-mathematical preparation of economic forecasts, etc.

Economic and business cycle forecasts are taken up in numerous, above all economic policy, teaching topics and relevantly discussed in public without their calculation methods being widely known.