In many disciplines, including
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
and
philosophy, a normative statement expresses a
value judgment
A value judgment (or value judgement) is a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of something or someone, or of the usefulness of something or someone, based on a comparison or other relativity. As a generalization, a value judgment can refer ...
about the desirability of a situation. Whereas a
descriptive statement (also known as a positive statement) is meant to describe the world ''as it is'', a normative statement is meant to talk about the world ''as it should be''. For instance, "the world would be a better place if
the moon were made of green cheese" is a normative statement because it expresses a judgment about what ought to be. Normative statements are characterised by the modal verbs "should", "would", "could" or "must". In economics, normative statements form the basis of
normative economics Normative economics (as opposed to positive economics) is the part of economics that deals with normative statements. It focuses on the idea of fairness and what the outcome of the economy or goals of public policy ''ought to be''. Paul A. Samuel ...
.
See also
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Norm (philosophy)
Norms are concepts ( sentences) of practical import, oriented to affecting an action, rather than conceptual abstractions that describe, explain, and express. Normative sentences imply "ought-to" types of statements and assertions, in distinction ...
*
Normative
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
**
Normative science
In the applied sciences, normative science is a type of information that is developed, presented, or interpreted based on an assumed, usually unstated, preference for a particular outcome, policy or class of policies or outcomes. Regular or tradit ...
**
Normative ethics
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Is–ought problem
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Opinions in epistemology
References
External links
Economae: An Encyclopedia
Philosophy of economics
Statements
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