Lionel Robbins (1932) developed implications of what has been termed "erhaps the most commonly accepted current definition of the subject": Įconomics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. Thus, it is on the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man. It enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Īlfred Marshall provides a still widely cited definition in his textbook Principles of Economics (1890) that extends analysis beyond wealth and from the societal to the microeconomic level:Įconomics is a study of man in the ordinary business of life. The science which traces the laws of such of the phenomena of society as arise from the combined operations of mankind for the production of wealth, in so far as those phenomena are not modified by the pursuit of any other object. John Stuart Mill (1844) defines the subject in a social context as: On the satirical side, Thomas Carlyle (1849) coined " the dismal science" as an epithet for classical economics, in this context, commonly linked to the pessimistic analysis of Malthus (1798). Jean-Baptiste Say (1803), distinguishing the subject from its public-policy uses, defines it as the science of production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. to supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue for the publick services. Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1776) defined what was then called political economy as "an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations", in particular as:Ī branch of the science of a statesman or legislator a plentiful revenue or subsistence for the people . There are a variety of modern definitions of economics some reflect evolving views of the subject or different views among economists. Cited to the Ancient Greek οἰκονομικός ( oikonomikos), "practiced in the management of a household or family" and therefore "frugal, thrifty", which in turn comes from οἰκονομία ( oikonomia) "household management" which in turn comes from οἶκος ( oikos "house") and νόμος ( nomos, "custom" or "law"). The earlier term for the discipline was ' political economy', Since the late 19th century, it has commonly been called 'economics'. 2.1 From antiquity through the physiocrats.It is also applied to such diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, feminism, law, philosophy, politics, religion, social institutions, war, science, and the environment.
Įconomic analysis can be applied throughout society, including business, finance, health care, engineering and government. 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. Macroeconomics analyzes the economy as a system where production, consumption, saving, and investment interact, and factors affecting it: employment of the resources of labour, capital, and land, currency inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Microeconomics is a field which analyzes what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Įconomics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Economics ( / ˌ ɛ k ə ˈ n ɒ m ɪ k s, ˌ iː k ə-/) is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
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