Questions tagged [economy]
For questions regarding wealth, trade, or financial concepts.
4
votes
2answers
117 views
Medieval Windmills and Milling
The Millers' Guild needs all aspiring Mathemagicians!
Medieval Damascus has been expanding its crop-growing land because all these European Crusaders are eating too much bread. Unfortunately the ...
4
votes
5answers
190 views
What are some reasons an employer could legitimately require your voting rights as part of your employment?
In accordance with Citizens United and with the acceptance that the real wealth creation of this nation is created by corporations, we hereby declare that the voting rights of corporations have been ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
Basing an economy around Coal, Slaves, and War Industry. Does it seem practical?
So right now I've been tasked to come up with a world for a story that centers around what we could probably describe as post-civil war era. Coal is a resource needed for fueling machines and modes of ...
2
votes
4answers
124 views
How to make non-tradable sector unattractive for ambitious entrepreneurs?
I'm writing a story about a government of a former colony who wants to industrialize the country and build its manufacturing base. However too many entrepreneurs prefer to invest into non-tradable ...
22
votes
8answers
3k views
Insurance in a world with Superheroes
The less likely an event is, the easier it is to insure against it, as the risk is low. Meteor insurance, if it exists, is probably cheap, and still pretty profitable for the company, as the number of ...
1
vote
7answers
333 views
Would it be realistic to have a world with no currency, just trade?
In the world I’m creating, there’s no specific form of currency. People trade for goods- you could buy clothes from a merchant and in return, they could get food, valuable items, things that could be ...
9
votes
7answers
1k views
Can a kingdom be destabilised by an influx of enemy gold?
A few years ago I read a role-playing game supplement that described a cold war between kingdom Good and kingdom Bad. Both kingdoms used metal coins with silver as the most common followed by gold. ...
4
votes
5answers
148 views
Hypothetical: Could living standards improve in a zero economic and population growth society?
This is a hypothetical question, with the intention of exploring the nature of wealth and standard of living.
By zero growth, I mean that the output of goods and services produced per person does not ...
1
vote
0answers
91 views
How to explain US economic collapse? [closed]
I'm creating a world where US collapsed as the largest economy in the world, shrinking by more than half of its annual GDP. The new congress slashes all the foreign spending, defense spending goes to ...
1
vote
3answers
162 views
Markets for the forfeit lives of convicted domestic abusers
A free-market solution to preventing domestic-abuse
A society of normal humans have constructed a socio-economic system where victims of violent domestic abuse are given a murder-right over their ...
2
votes
6answers
169 views
What methods might a government employ to stay wealthy?
I currently have a world-spanning empire doing great deeds such as supporting the poor while creating massive pieces of machinery and swimming in art and lavish decoration. Surely they have a ...
-4
votes
11answers
250 views
The Emperor bans the number seven on pain of death. Does this inevitably disrupt a medieval society? (trade and commerce) [closed]
The medieval Emperor is up to his tricks again. He has decided that the number seven is unlucky. Despite advice from his courtiers that it can't be done, he bans its use on penalty of death by any of ...
5
votes
3answers
113 views
How can I make magical projectiles cost effective enough to be practical?
For many centuries, magical armor has outpaced projectiles in warfare. Armor is enchanted with runes in order to make it more effective, as well as proscribed certain abilities to it. Runes are ...
5
votes
2answers
163 views
Minimum percentage of immune when epidemic lowers IQ in the 80's?
I have an epidemic of unknown origin spreading across the earth. The effects are decrease in cognitive ability to around 80+ IQ. So we have a surgeons who don't know how to operate, engineers who don'...
2
votes
2answers
156 views
Creating a scientist-only country in our world [closed]
Wanting to innovate humanity, a multi-billionaire decided to start a new country. He was able to convince a country in Europe to sell a large portion of their land to him.
He then constructed ...
-1
votes
0answers
50 views
Universal Intergalactic Currency [duplicate]
This might be totally opinion based but I really need all the help I can get because I have serious writers block. I’m writing a story where the world is vastly advanced, set in the 24th century and ...
6
votes
7answers
350 views
Would this scheme be profitable?
In the not so distant 2040s the world is heading towards a devastating energy crisis, climate change is slowly beginning to take its toll, and unemployment is on the rise globally. But one corporation ...
1
vote
6answers
317 views
Ways to somewhat balance a gem based magic system so as to avoid total oligarchy
Problem
In my world, the magic system depends on access to a certain type of gem. This gem is plentiful, but only found in a single place, with 6-8 mines. My magic system is totally skewed in favor ...
2
votes
5answers
307 views
With an impending cataclysmic event, when would the economy break down?
Motivational musings:
If there was an impending, unavoidable, and universally accepted cataclysmic event that will absolutely destroy everything, how long would it take for the economy to break down? ...
25
votes
24answers
6k views
Why would magic wane? It's so useful [closed]
It's a fairly common theme that magic was a more powerful force in the past but as we come into modern times it has got weaker and maybe extinct.
But why? The ability to use magic would be a huge ...
25
votes
17answers
5k views
How can I encourage responsible business practices among necromancers?
I am DONNA TRUMPET, the first female President of the United states reborn, and one of the greatest leaders in world history. I have managed to recently pass the 103rd amendment to our Constitution ...
6
votes
6answers
394 views
How can resurrecting dead employees be made profitable for a company?
Doanaldin Trumpet, the first female president of the Corporate States of America, has passed a revolutionary bill called the D.E.D (despicable exploitation of the dead) act. This allows employers ...
5
votes
6answers
2k views
How can you build a secure, pre-digital distributed ledger?
A distributed ledger is a 'database' without a central administrator or central storage. Instead, each copy of the database replicates and saves an identical copy of the data and updates itself ...
23
votes
12answers
8k views
How does a super-power salesman not get shut down for legal reasons?
I am in trouble: my boss, a multi-millionaire, has just come up with a scheme, but it has problems and he wants me to solve them.
The whole thing started when he saw this picture:
This gave him an ...
0
votes
2answers
148 views
How to steal money if you have a quantum computer? [closed]
I'm writing about whistle blower who discovers that his employer, huge profitable corporation is just a front operation. All their diverse products and services are a sham, and the company is ...
4
votes
3answers
120 views
Ideal Place For Kenya Spaceport?
Its 20 seconds in the future. The space age is truly dawning this time. And I the CEO of a wealthy aerospace company, am looking for the perfect place to set up shop with my new spaceport. I've ...
9
votes
2answers
519 views
How long could scavenging be economically feasible in the post apocalyptic world?
So, the world has come down to a crashing halt. Nukes rain down from the sky, after the Cold War finally became a Hot War. Now, humanity is left with a wasteland.
After the big one, cities have been ...
4
votes
7answers
209 views
Most cost-effective way to fence in an alien wildlife preserve
As a linguist aboard a terraforming mission, you arrive at a new planet. The planet, orbiting a G2V star, has copious amounts of wildlife and some sentient lifeforms. However, you, interpreting an old ...
1
vote
2answers
97 views
What would be the day-to-day ramifications of a post-encryption digitally-connected cyberpunk society? [closed]
If any encrypted data could be decoded within a day (or shorter, to the point of hours, given enough computing power and weak encryption), all wireless transmissions may be intercepted, and all copper/...
0
votes
1answer
137 views
What sort of expenses apply to governments in D&D? [closed]
I’m working on creating a “balance sheet” of sorts for my new campaign world and have calculated out tax income but I’m having trouble figuring out what expenses a mayor/lord/duke/King would have in ...
66
votes
11answers
12k views
The first McDonald's restaurant on Mars
The McDonald's fast food company is the world's largest restaurant chain which prides itself with offering (almost) the same standardized menu all around the globe...
...this globe.
When humanity ...
21
votes
12answers
6k views
How could a goverment sell prisoners as slaves (without giving advantage to richs)?
Imagine a society (medieval, but that isn't very important here) that has approved slavery. You can trade, buy, sell and hire slaves at will in the market.
Introduction
Slaves are usually "harvested"...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What did shipping/storage crates look like in the Middle-Ages? [closed]
If you search "medieval crate" on google you get 2 things: 3D crates that look suspiciously modern or you get real, chest-like boxes. I'm wondering if the latter is the norm for the time period?
8
votes
5answers
2k views
Rings as a monetary system
Can rings be used as a monetary system? are there any flaws?
I took inspiration from Celtic ring money, ring made from different metals- the value of a ring dependent on the material its made out of. ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
What is a reasonable size for the elite of a dictatorial, neofeudalist superpower?
The Medwedian Democratic Federation is a dictatorship that occupies the northernmost part of Eurasia (roughly northern half of Russia) in an alternative world. Due to a better climate and slightly ...
4
votes
0answers
63 views
What are ways to destroy a country's government/monarchy by using the underground/black market/illegal doings? [closed]
I'm creating a story in which the main characters want nothing more than the complete and absolute downfall of an entire country, starting from the top and its royalty all the way to the corruption of ...
5
votes
5answers
180 views
Consequences to the region near single battle front
Scenario
Medieval technology and warfare.
There's a war between two sides of a continent.
Said Continent has a large mountain range crossing the whole land.
At the north, there's and opening to this ...
-4
votes
1answer
75 views
World with 2 billion people [closed]
How much would fertility rate need to drop for the world to stabilise at 2 billion people in 200 years time?
Would the world with this amount of people be vastly more peaceful and prosperous?
2
votes
3answers
112 views
What would an industry do with a microbe on Titan? [closed]
The setting would be on Titan in the 2200s. Because the institute preventing intrusions on new worlds that have possible organisms has very little money, they scan Titan on the surface, they don't see ...
11
votes
12answers
3k views
Country at constant war - Is a permanent powerful economy possible?
In the fantasy novel I am writing, there is a world-wide war going on. The war spans several continents and has many fronts, but the actual fighting is very similar to that of WWI - mostly waiting in ...
8
votes
9answers
7k views
Using fire as currency?
Long ago, modern humans died off. Only a few people remained, and they made all sorts of GMO plants, like moss that grows extremely quickly and can be dried into flour. Houses are made out of wood......
4
votes
5answers
433 views
Medieval gem values
I'm working on developing a realistic economy for my setting, but one thing my research has failed at is finding numbers that I can use to create a gem system that can be used to price gems of various ...
4
votes
5answers
267 views
How could the government not prevent a medical company from helping terrorists? [closed]
Recently, the government has found out that the biggest medical corporation (responsible for plenty of technological progress) has been financing and providing material aid to an organization ...
15
votes
15answers
3k views
Fastest way for an invincible young immortal to make $1 million USD?
So, I gave a $100 bill to a homeless person a few months ago who gave me "God's blessings" in return. Apparently, that conveyed immortality and invincibility upon me as I no longer age (I think) and ...
3
votes
2answers
256 views
What would a recession look like in medieval times?
I'm working on a fantasy setting for a game, the gameplay of which includes trading and government in a fantasy world that is experiencing a negative trend in trade.
The setting is outwardly ...
1
vote
4answers
174 views
What would happen if the quantities of silver and gold mined by humans were switched in a fantasy world?
Basically the title. What would happen if, in the world I'm writing, people have thus far found considerably more gold deposits than silver?
Specifically, I'm wondering how this might affect their ...
0
votes
3answers
173 views
How could a hacktivist group punish the political elite of a country? [closed]
In what ways could a group of hackers punish the political elite of country (like russia) so disastrously that its economy and politics will take decades to recover? The answer should lean more on ...
4
votes
5answers
310 views
Maximally Non-Geographic States
Imagine a world in which a household can choose which Commonwealth to be a part of, much the way that you might choose a cell phone provider or a religious denomination or a health insurance company.
...
5
votes
3answers
165 views
What pre-information age jobs benefit from running at a higher speed?
Chronopolis is a city built on modern time-technology ("chronology") and is split into three sectors, slowtown, midtown, and fasttown, whose residents function at 1/2, 1, and 2 times natural speed, ...
-2
votes
4answers
75 views
Regime instability of a government [closed]
Why would it be in the interest of the elites of certain country, which is an oligarchy or some form of an authoritarian regime to transition to democracy?
