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I am doing a paper on economics. I was told it could be on anything as long as it was relating to economics. So naturally I thought "ELDER SCROLLS!".

Though unfortunately I am having troubles finding much on trade, currency, economics etc. in Tamriel.

Anyone know where on UESP I can find things regarding this? Or on other wikis? Do you know of anything I could add to it?

As far as I know it's a single currency system based on precious metals and almost all trade in Tamriel is internal. As an economist I have to say the attention to economic details in the games are pretty poor. You may be able to find bits and pieces in the lore but it seems like that would be very labour intensive for very little information. If you do go forward with this and have some specific ideas you want to share I may be able to help you out but honestly I think pulling an economics paper out of TES would be a very hard thing to do.

It's not an incredibly long paper. 5 mins long or so max.

I know things such as the currency generally being called "Septims", except in Morrowind, where it is called "Drakes".

There really is a small amount of information on this, it's fairly upsetting that there is such little detail for something like that .-.

The political structure of TES games is pretty well defined and there are strong implications of how the economy would be shaped based on that. You could take the approach of choosing a specific game, identifying the characteristics of the political system and speculate on what the economy would be like based on real world examples that are similar but I'm not sure if an analysis like that would fit for your paper.

I would say Oblivion would be the best to go off of. It takes place in the capital and in Skyrim they are on the verge of getting taken over..

Maybe Morrowind, it has slavery.

Considering how heavily Tamriel is based off Rome (specifically, Cyrodiil/the Imperials.) I could compare it to that.

Things you would be looking for, is the type of government, land ownership privileges, existence of slavery, contact with other sovereign nations, class systems. The organization of the Empire as a whole is rather significant because they allow provinces a fair amount autonomy. The main obstacle I'm thinking of, is this a paper where you have to cite your sources. Because I could see you running into problems if you have to cite the wiki or the game itself.

Honestly I see no problem citing a wiki as a source. Maybe ten years ago when the internet and wikis were barely starting up, when things were often wrong. Now every wiki has 500 fact checking bots to where any mistakes are corrected within seconds.

Drakes is just another name for Septims. It's all the same gold coins with the same face.

The issue is whether whomever is grading the paper would consider this a legitimate wiki. I also have no idea what level you're writing this paper at. From what I remember from university seven years ago, the guidelines for online sources were pretty strict but high school was definitely more lax.

I know that, hence why I said "where it is called" instead of "where they use"

Well if you know that, then you would also know that using a wiki for a paper is a no-no. That means you'll actually have to go through the game yourself and find it. Only search the wiki for the sources, which you will then have to find in game.

Called them up to make sure wiki's were fine to use, they said yes. As I said maybe 10 years ago or so, but honestly at this point in time I would trust a wiki more then most other websites, or even some books. (Books can be outdated, wiki's are constantly updated.)

*The resident marxist disapproves of this capitalism*

Tamriel seems to be based in a semi-feudal system, so a long paper into modern economics would be impossible. That said, we can see a sort of early bourgeoisie in pretty much every game.

A few outstanding examples, such as Riften and Markarth, could perhaps be classified as capitalist in all but name (given the strength of the local bourgeoisie in these regions, and the presence of a proletariat). But I could be wrong.

There is such a thing as economic history and developmental economics both of which examine how economic systems evolve.

Touche.

Will the Tamreilic economy evolve any more?

From a logical perspective, it's unlikely without some sort of upheaval. Wealth and power are too centralized for type of class mobility necessary for economic growth. But since developers can do whatever they please, who knows.

Quite some time ago, I participated in a lively discussion about Cyrodiil's ability to become financially wealthy despite a dearth of any exotic resources.

I should think the economy of Tamriel would be extremely unstable, given the number of people running around manipulating prices with charm spells.

You know, if anything, merchants would be the ones working hardest to master Illusion spells. Both as defense against being exploited as well as a tool of exploitation.

The Resident Marxist agrees with the highlighted statements.

Also, its been like 3000 years. When is the Tamriellic Bourgeoisie going to reach the material conditions to overthrow feudalism?!

It is usually the new stuff which actually blinds people with the razzle-dazzle. In the plodding tedium of the 3000 years in Tamrielic history, folks should have developed some eye towards everyday chicanery.

Thus, balance. It's the balance between tricksters and thus who've seen so many tricks, but it's always a tug-of-war.

Revolution happens when someone pulls out a knife and heads straight for the rope... then they head for the people on the other side.

Sure, it's good fun for some. But it's not a game any more.







And when you stop playing games, nobody else wants to play with you any more.

Well, let us break the 'no Rl politics rule'. In this case theory.

Historically, the bourgeois revolution(s) occurred when the feudal system was unable to provide for the expanding interests of capitalism. The question was, when will that happen in tamriel (ignoring the whims of bethesda). Perhaps, for whatever reason, capital has stopped expanding in Tamriel.

You would have to fight against dogma. And magic colleges. And sixteen quasi-demonic lords of otherworldly power with an investment in manipulating the population to their own satisfaction.

I'm sorry, but those are Bethesda's whims. Frogmander has to wrestle those if he wants to make a paper that reflects this interpretation.

The items in Oblivion costed less (I think) than they did in Skyrim, and even more so in Morrowind (again, I think). Maybe you could mention that certain provinces may have to spend more money on the same goods, or perhaps there was inflation over the years prior to Skyrim.

Real estate was much more expensive in Daggerfall than in Oblivion or Skyrim (I haven't played Morrowind, so I can't compare). And Daggerfall had banks, unlike the other games. Banks that were willing to issue unsecured loans of up to a million gold.

I think it's clear that Hammerfell and High Rock went through a housing bubble, driven by banks willing to lend ridiculous sums to people who clearly weren't qualified, which spurred home sales and caused home prices to spike to outrageous levels.

Who's to say when the bubble would have burst, or if the Empire would have had to bail out the Bank of Daggerfall as "too big to fail?" The impending economic crisis was, well, not solved exactly, more like dissolved, by the Warp in the West.

This is the kind of extreme regulatory measure that doesn't have a parallel in real-world economies, but would make for a hell of an exciting economics paper.