2

An econometrician and an astrologer are arguing about their subjects. The astrologer says, «Astrology is more scientific. My predictions come out right half the time. Yours can't even reach that proportion.» The econometrician replies, «That's because of external shocks. Stars don't have those.»

3

An economist is a trained professional paid to guess wrong about the economy. An econometrician is a trained professional paid to use computers to guess wrong about the economy.

4

Economic statistics are like a bikini, what they reveal is important, what they conceal is vital.

5

Forecasting is like trying to drive a car blindfolded and following directions given by a person who is looking out of the back window.

argue – спорить, аргументировать

astrologer – астролог

astrology – астрология

bikini – бикини (тип дамского купального ансамбля)

blindfolded – с завязанными глазами

charm – очарование, чары

doorframe – дверная рама

external – внешний

guess – догадываться, строить догадки

horseshoe – лошадиная подкова

luck – успех, удача

prominently – на видном месте

proportion – пропорция

shock – удар, потрясение, шок

superstition – предрассудок

vital – жизненно необходимый

good luck charm – талисман, притягивающий удачу

come out right – «получаться», «выходить»

guess wrong – строить неверные предположения, догадки

Exercise 7

Answer the questions:

1. What did the forecaster have the horseshoe displayed for?

2. How often are the astrologer's forecasts correct?

3. Why can't econometrics reach that proportion of correctness?

4. How do econometricians use computers in their guesswork about economy?

5. What do bikini… Well, I never…

Engineers and scientists will never make as much money as business executives. Now a rigorous mathematical proof has been developed that explains why this is true:

Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.

Postulate 2: Time is Money.

As every engineer knows,

Work = Power х Time

Since Knowledge = Power, and Time = Money, we have:

Work = Knowledge х Money

Solving for Money, we get:

Money = Work / Knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge decreases, Money increases, regardless of how much Work is done.

Conclusion: The Less you Know, the More you Make.

conclusion – заключение

decrease – уменьшаться

executive – исполнительный

increase – увеличиваться

postulate – условие (постулируемое условие)

rigorous – строгий

solving – здесь: преобразовывая математическое выражение

business executives – управляющий производством

regardless of – вне зависимости от

Karl Marx remains so far one of the most controversial figures in the field of economics. His criticism of capitalism, and his promise of a harmonious socialist future, inspired a revolution of global proportions which brought some economic and political systems to disaster. But, despite the collapse of socialism in the Eastern Europe it is evident that the Marxist dream had firm roots in reality. To understand those one has to look through general characteristics of Marxism – its economics, social theory, and overall vision.

The core of Marxian economics is the labour theory of value elaborated in Capital (1867). Its general issue is rather simple: the value of a commodity can be measured by the amount of labour hours that are necessary to produce that commodity.

To illustrate this Marxists usually employ pretty simple examples. If a watch usually takes twice as long to produce as a pair of jeans, for example, then watches are twice as valuable as jeans. In the long run the competitive price of watches will be twice the price of jeans, no matter what the value of the physical inputs is.