Query: The claim that 2.2 conventional jobs are destroyed   for  every new job created in the alternative energy industry is based on a study which relies on incorrect numbers, cherrypicked dates, faulty theory, flawed methodology, and is disproven by real-world examples.

Relevant passages:
Minimum wage <=SEP=> A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers must legally pay their workers . Equivalently , it is the price floor below which workers may not sell their labor . Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many jurisdictions , differences of opinion exist about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage . Supporters of the minimum wage say it increases the standard of living of workers , reduces poverty , reduces inequality , and boosts morale . In contrast , opponents of the minimum wage say it increases poverty , increases unemployment ( particularly among unskilled or inexperienced workers ) and is damaging to businesses , because excessively high minimum wages require businesses to raise the prices of their product or service to accommodate the extra expense of paying a higher wage .

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience <=SEP=> This is a list of topics that have , at one point or another in their history , been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers . Discussion about these topics is done on their main pages . These characterizations were made in the context of educating the public about questionable or potentially fraudulent or dangerous claims and practices -- efforts to define the nature of science , or humorous parodies of poor scientific reasoning .   Criticism of pseudoscience , generally by the scientific community or skeptical organizations , involves critiques of the logical , methodological , or rhetorical bases of the topic in question . Though some of the listed topics continue to be investigated scientifically , others were only subject to scientific research in the past , and today are considered refuted but resurrected in a pseudoscientific fashion . Other ideas presented here are entirely non-scientific , but have in one way or another infringed on scientific domains or practices . Many adherents to or practitioners of the topics listed here dispute their characterization as pseudoscience . Each section summarizes the pseudoscientific aspects of that topic .

History of economic thought <=SEP=> The history of economic thought deals with different thinkers and theories in the subject that became political economy and economics , from the ancient world to the present day . It encompasses many disparate schools of economic thought . Ancient Greek writers such as the philosopher Aristotle examined ideas about the art of wealth acquisition , and questioned whether property is best left in private or public hands . In the Middle Ages , scholasticists such as Thomas Aquinas argued that it was a moral obligation of businesses to sell goods at a just price .   In the Western world , economics was not a separate discipline , but part of philosophy until the 18th -- 19th century Industrial Revolution and the 19th century Great Divergence , which accelerated economic growth . Long before that , from the Renaissance at least , economics as an intellectual discipline or science was dominated by Western thinkers and their academic institutions , schooling economists from outside the West , although there are isolated instances in other societies .

Alternative medicine <=SEP=> Alternative medicine -- or fringe medicine -- includes practices claimed to have the healing effects of medicine but which are disproven , unproven , impossible to prove , or are excessively harmful in relation to their effect ; and where the scientific consensus is that the therapy does not , or can not , work because the known laws of nature are violated by its basic claims ; or where it is considered so much worse than conventional treatment that it would be unethical to offer as treatment . Alternative therapies or diagnoses are not part of medicine or science-based healthcare systems . Alternative medicine consists of a wide variety of practices , products , and therapies -- ranging from those that are biologically plausible but not well tested , to those with known harmful and toxic effects . Contrary to popular belief , significant expense is paid to test alternative medicine , including over $ 2.5 billion spent by the United States government . Almost none show any effect beyond that of false treatment . Perceived effects of alternative medicine may be caused by placebo ; decreased effect of functional treatment ( and therefore potentially decreased side effects ) ; and regression toward the mean where improvement that would have occurred anyway is credited to alternative therapies ; or any combination of the above . Alternative treatments are neither the same as experimental medicine , nor traditional medicine -- although the latter , when used today may be considered alternative .   Alternative medicine has grown in popularity and is used by a significant percentage of the population in many countries . While it has extensively rebranded itself : from quackery to complementary or integrative medicine -- it promotes essentially the same practices . Newer proponents often suggest alternative medicine be used together with functional medical treatment , in a belief that it `` complements '' ( improves the effect of , or mitigates the side effects of ) the treatment . There is no evidence showing they do so , and significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatments , making them less effective , notably cancer therapy . Despite being illegal to market alternative therapies for cancer treatment in most of the developed world , many cancer patients use them .   Alternative medical diagnoses and treatments are not taught as part of science-based curricula in medical schools , and are not used in any practice where treatment is based on scientific knowledge or proven experience . Alternative therapies are often based on religion , tradition , superstition , belief in supernatural energies , pseudoscience , errors in reasoning , propaganda , fraud , or lies . Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies between and within countries .   Alternative medicine is criticized for being based on misleading statements , quackery , pseudoscience , antiscience , fraud , or poor scientific methodology . Promoting alternative medicine has been called dangerous and unethical . Testing alternative medicine that has no scientific basis has been called a waste of scarce research resources . Critics state `` there is really no such thing as alternative medicine , just medicine that works and medicine that does n't '' , and the problem with the idea of `` alternative '' treatments in this sense is that the `` underlying logic is magical , childish or downright absurd '' . It has been strongly suggested that the very idea of any alternative treatment that works is paradoxical , as any treatment proven to work is by definition `` medicine '' .

Economics <=SEP=> Economics ( UK English : -LSB- iːkəˈnɒmɪks -RSB- , -LSB- ɛkəˈnɒmɪks -RSB- US English : -LSB- ɛkəˈnɑːmɪks -RSB- , -LSB- ikəˈnɑːmɪks -RSB- ) is `` a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production , distribution , and consumption of goods and services '' .   Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work . Consistent with this focus , textbooks often distinguish between microeconomics and macroeconomics . Microeconomics examines the behaviour of basic elements in the economy , including individual agents and markets , their interactions , and the outcomes of interactions . Individual agents may include , for example , households , firms , buyers , and sellers . Macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy ( meaning aggregated production , consumption , savings , and investment ) and issues affecting it , including unemployment of resources ( labour , capital , and land ) , inflation , economic growth , and the public policies that address these issues ( monetary , fiscal , and other policies ) .   Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics , describing `` what is '' , and normative economics , advocating `` what ought to be '' ; between economic theory and applied economics ; between rational and behavioural economics ; and between mainstream economics and heterodox economics .   Economic analysis can be applied throughout society , in business , finance , health care , and government . Economic analyses is sometimes also applied to such diverse subjects as crime , education , the family , law , politics , religion , social institutions , war , science , and the environment .