<ol>
<li><p>Economics is name of a scientific field (e.g. similar to biology, psychology, physics etc.). You probably meant to say <em>economy</em> which is the sum total of economic activity in some area.</p>
</li>
<li><p><strong>Economy</strong> is not generally zero-sum game because definition of zero-sum game is a game where gain of one agent comes at an expense of another agent <a href="https://www.richmondfed.org/-/media/RichmondFedOrg/publications/research/econ_focus/2005/spring/pdf/jargon_alert.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(e.g. see Nielsen, 2005)</a>. For example, the traditional cake cutting two player dictator game is a zero-sum game because one of the player can only get more cake when the other player looses cake.</p>
<p>Some interactions in economy can be zero-sum e.g. playing poker on some tournament is a zero-sum game that is part of the broader economy. However, most interactions empirically cannot be zero-sum, since we can for example observe poverty decreasing over time, thanks to economic growth, even when accounting for changes in population size (see <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/poverty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Our World in Data 2024</a>), which would not be possible if economy would be zero-sum game. Moreover, more broadly, observing economic growth would not be possible at all if an economy would be zero-sum, since in the last 200 years we can observe massive economic growth it shows that the economy is clearly not zero-sum game.</p>
<p>This does not mean that economic activity is not &quot;difficult&quot; in terms of effort. Trivially, one can produce for example novel without some other person losing anything, yet producing good novel can be very difficult in terms of effort.  Positive-sum game does not mean that rewards just fall down from heaven like mana, it means that after all benefits and costs are netted there are more benefits than costs.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T16:54:36.223Z
nice answer just don't close the question
quanity
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T17:37:52.377Z
@quanity I didn't close the question, I answered before it got closed. Users on this site can vote to close question without any mod intervention. In your case none of the mods voted
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T23:47:20.273Z
but economy is based on debt/credit not  just with productivity goods/services
quanity
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-17T00:27:13.537Z
@quanity 1. Economy is not based on debt/credit per se. That without any qualification does not make sense. You might as well say economy is based on wheat. Debt and credit is a part of financial sector of an economy. 2. Lending, provision of debt, is a service and is not zero sum. Businesses typically borrow so they can expand production without the need to wait to accumulate sufficient capital on their own. These loans benefit both the lender and borrower and has second order positive effects on consumers
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T14:20:32.190Z
2024-04-16T14:20:32.190Z
1muflon1
<p>If economics is not a zero sum game then why its difficult to earn money. I mean just increase the size of the cake and distribute it.
Are all models of economics zero sum ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T12:26:03.880Z
1. You are talking about the economy, not economics the discipline.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T12:26:55.210Z
2. If baking is real, how come the baker does not sell cakes for free. I mean just increase the size of the cake and distribute it.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T15:17:00.060Z
The size of the cake is indeed increased gradually by producing more goods and services.
Nicolas Torres
<macroeconomics><microeconomics><philosophy-of-economics>
Economics as non zero sum game
quanity
# Economics as non zero sum game

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-16)

If economics is not a zero sum game then why its difficult to earn money. I mean just increase the size of the cake and distribute it.
Are all models of economics zero sum ?

**Tags:** macroeconomics, microeconomics, philosophy-of-economics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 1. You are talking about the economy, not economics the discipline.  
> **username_1**: 2. If baking is real, how come the baker does not sell cakes for free. I mean just increase the size of the cake and distribute it.  
> **username_2**: The size of the cake is indeed increased gradually by producing more goods and services.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-04-16. Score: 2

1. Economics is name of a scientific field (e.g. similar to biology, psychology, physics etc.). You probably meant to say *economy* which is the sum total of economic activity in some area.
2. **Economy** is not generally zero-sum game because definition of zero-sum game is a game where gain of one agent comes at an expense of another agent [(e.g. see Nielsen, 2005)](https://www.richmondfed.org/-/media/RichmondFedOrg/publications/research/econ_focus/2005/spring/pdf/jargon_alert.pdf). For example, the traditional cake cutting two player dictator game is a zero-sum game because one of the player can only get more cake when the other player looses cake.

   Some interactions in economy can be zero-sum e.g. playing poker on some tournament is a zero-sum game that is part of the broader economy. However, most interactions empirically cannot be zero-sum, since we can for example observe poverty decreasing over time, thanks to economic growth, even when accounting for changes in population size (see [Our World in Data 2024](https://ourworldindata.org/poverty)), which would not be possible if economy would be zero-sum game. Moreover, more broadly, observing economic growth would not be possible at all if an economy would be zero-sum, since in the last 200 years we can observe massive economic growth it shows that the economy is clearly not zero-sum game.

   This does not mean that economic activity is not "difficult" in terms of effort. Trivially, one can produce for example novel without some other person losing anything, yet producing good novel can be very difficult in terms of effort. Positive-sum game does not mean that rewards just fall down from heaven like mana, it means that after all benefits and costs are netted there are more benefits than costs.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: nice answer just don't close the question  
> **username_3**: @username_0 I didn't close the question, I answered before it got closed. Users on this site can vote to close question without any mod intervention. In your case none of the mods voted  
> **username_0**: but economy is based on debt/credit not  just with productivity goods/services  
> **username_3**: @username_0 1. Economy is not based on debt/credit per se. That without any qualification does not make sense. You might as well say economy is based on wheat. Debt and credit is a part of financial sector of an economy. 2. Lending, provision of debt, is a service and is not zero sum. Businesses typically borrow so they can expand production without the need to wait to accumulate sufficient capital on their own. These loans benefit both the lender and borrower and has second order positive effects on consumers  

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