Economics

Economics (/ˌɛkəˈnɒmɪks, ˌiːkə-/)^[1]^[2] is a social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.^[3]^[4]

Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses what is viewed as basic elements within economies, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyses economies as systems where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact, and factors affecting it: factors of production, such as labour, capital, land, and enterprise, inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements. It also seeks to analyse and describe the global economy.

Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing "what is", and normative economics, advocating "what ought to be";^[5] between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and behavioural economics; and between mainstream economics and heterodox economics.^[6]

Economic analysis can be applied throughout society, including business,^[7] finance, cybersecurity,^[8] health care,^[9] engineering^[10] and government.^[11] It is also applied to such diverse subjects as crime,^[12] education,^[13] the family,^[14] feminism,^[15] law,^[16] philosophy,^[17] politics, religion,^[18] social institutions, war,^[19] science,^[20] and the environment.^[21]

^ "economics". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ "ECONOMICS | Meaning & Definition for UK English". Lexico.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ Krugman, Paul; Wells, Robin (2012). Economics (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1464128738.
^ Backhouse, Roger (2002). The Penguin history of economics. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-026042-0. OCLC 59475581. The boundaries of what constitutes economics are further blurred by the fact that economic issues are analysed not only by 'economists' but also by historians, geographers, ecologists, management scientists, and engineers.
^ Friedman, Milton (1953). "The Methodology of Positive Economics". Essays in Positive Economics. University of Chicago Press. p. 5.
^ Caplin, Andrew; Schotter, Andrew, eds. (2008). The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532831-8.
^ Dielman, Terry E. (2001). Applied regression analysis for business and economics. Duxbury/Thomson Learning. ISBN 0-534-37955-9. OCLC 44118027.
^ Kianpour, Mazaher; Kowalski, Stewart; Øverby, Harald (2021). "Systematically Understanding Cybersecurity Economics: A Survey". Sustainability. 13 (24): 13677. doi:10.3390/su132413677. hdl:11250/2978306.
^ Tarricone, Rosanna (2006). "Cost-of-illness analysis". Health Policy. 77 (1): 51–63. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2005.07.016. PMID 16139925.
^ Dharmaraj, E. (2010). Engineering Economics. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House. ISBN 978-9350432471. OCLC 1058341272.
^ King, David (2018). Fiscal Tiers: the economics of multi-level government. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-64813-5. OCLC 1020440881.
^ Becker, Gary S (January 1974). "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (PDF). In Becker, Gary S.; Landes, William M. (eds.). Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment. National Bureau of Economic Research. pp. 1–54. ISBN 0-87014-263-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^ Hanushek, Eric A.; Woessmannr, Ludger (2007). "Economics of Education". Policy Research Working Papers. The World Bank. doi:10.1596/1813-9450-4122. hdl:20.500.12323/2954. S2CID 13912607. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
^ Becker, Gary S. (1991) [1981]. A Treatise on the Family (Enlarged ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-90698-5. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^ Nelson, Julie A. (1995). "Feminism and Economics". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 9 (2): 131–148. doi:10.1257/jep.9.2.131. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022. Ferber, Marianne A.; Nelson, Julie A., eds. (October 2003) [1993]. Feminist Economics Today: Beyond Economic Man. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226242071. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^
- Posner, Richard A. (2007) [1972]. Economic Analysis of Law (7th ed.). Wolters Kluwer – Aspen Publishers. ISBN 978-0735563544. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- Posner, Richard A. (1983). The Economics of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674235267. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^
- Smith, Adam (1982) [1759]. Raphael, D. D.; Macfie, A. L. (eds.). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Indianapolis: Liberty Classics 1976. ISBN 978-0-86597-012-0. Introduction only.
- Boulding, Kenneth E. (1969). "Economics as a Moral Science" (PDF). American Economic Review. 59 (1): 1–12. JSTOR 1811088. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- Heilbroner, Robert L. (1999) [1953]. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (7th ed.). Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-86214-X. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- Sen, Amartya (2009). The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674036130.
^ Iannaccone, Laurence R. (September 1998). "Introduction to the Economics of Religion" (PDF). Journal of Economic Literature. 36 (3): 1465–1495. JSTOR 2564806. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^ Nordhaus WD (2002). "The Economic Consequences of a War with Iraq" (PDF). In Kaysen C, Miller SE, Malin MB, Nordhaus WD, Steinbruner JD (eds.). War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Academy of Arts and Sciences. pp. 51–85. ISBN 978-0-87724-036-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
^ Diamond, Arthur M. Jr. (2008). "Science, economics of". In Durlauf, Steven N.; Blume, Lawrence E. (eds.). The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (2nd ed.). pp. 328–334. doi:10.1057/9780230226203.1491. ISBN 978-0-333-78676-5. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. (Note the page is broken in some browsers but is still readable through the source.)
^ Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (PDF) (Report). United Nations Environment Programme. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[OED-1] "economics". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[2] "ECONOMICS | Meaning & Definition for UK English". Lexico.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2024.

[3] Krugman, Paul; Wells, Robin (2012). Economics (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1464128738.

[4] Backhouse, Roger (2002). The Penguin history of economics. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-026042-0. OCLC 59475581. The boundaries of what constitutes economics are further blurred by the fact that economic issues are analysed not only by 'economists' but also by historians, geographers, ecologists, management scientists, and engineers.

[5] Friedman, Milton (1953). "The Methodology of Positive Economics". Essays in Positive Economics. University of Chicago Press. p. 5.

[6] Caplin, Andrew; Schotter, Andrew, eds. (2008). The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532831-8.

[7] Dielman, Terry E. (2001). Applied regression analysis for business and economics. Duxbury/Thomson Learning. ISBN 0-534-37955-9. OCLC 44118027.

[8] Kianpour, Mazaher; Kowalski, Stewart; Øverby, Harald (2021). "Systematically Understanding Cybersecurity Economics: A Survey". Sustainability. 13 (24): 13677. doi:10.3390/su132413677. hdl:11250/2978306.

[9] Tarricone, Rosanna (2006). "Cost-of-illness analysis". Health Policy. 77 (1): 51–63. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2005.07.016. PMID 16139925.

[Dharmaraj2010-10] Dharmaraj, E. (2010). Engineering Economics. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House. ISBN 978-9350432471. OCLC 1058341272.

[11] King, David (2018). Fiscal Tiers: the economics of multi-level government. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-64813-5. OCLC 1020440881.

[12] Becker, Gary S (January 1974). "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (PDF). In Becker, Gary S.; Landes, William M. (eds.). Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment. National Bureau of Economic Research. pp. 1–54. ISBN 0-87014-263-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[13] Hanushek, Eric A.; Woessmannr, Ludger (2007). "Economics of Education". Policy Research Working Papers. The World Bank. doi:10.1596/1813-9450-4122. hdl:20.500.12323/2954. S2CID 13912607. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

[14] Becker, Gary S. (1991) [1981]. A Treatise on the Family (Enlarged ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-90698-5. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[15] Nelson, Julie A. (1995). "Feminism and Economics". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 9 (2): 131–148. doi:10.1257/jep.9.2.131. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022. Ferber, Marianne A.; Nelson, Julie A., eds. (October 2003) [1993]. Feminist Economics Today: Beyond Economic Man. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226242071. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[16] 
Posner, Richard A. (2007) [1972]. Economic Analysis of Law (7th ed.). Wolters Kluwer – Aspen Publishers. ISBN 978-0735563544. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
Posner, Richard A. (1983). The Economics of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674235267. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[17] Posner, Richard A. (2007) [1972]. Economic Analysis of Law (7th ed.). Wolters Kluwer – Aspen Publishers. ISBN 978-0735563544. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[18] Posner, Richard A. (1983). The Economics of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674235267. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[17] 
Smith, Adam (1982) [1759]. Raphael, D. D.; Macfie, A. L. (eds.). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Indianapolis: Liberty Classics 1976. ISBN 978-0-86597-012-0. Introduction only.
Boulding, Kenneth E. (1969). "Economics as a Moral Science" (PDF). American Economic Review. 59 (1): 1–12. JSTOR 1811088. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
Heilbroner, Robert L. (1999) [1953]. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (7th ed.). Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-86214-X. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
Sen, Amartya (2009). The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674036130.

[20] Smith, Adam (1982) [1759]. Raphael, D. D.; Macfie, A. L. (eds.). The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Indianapolis: Liberty Classics 1976. ISBN 978-0-86597-012-0. Introduction only.

[21] Boulding, Kenneth E. (1969). "Economics as a Moral Science" (PDF). American Economic Review. 59 (1): 1–12. JSTOR 1811088. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[22] Heilbroner, Robert L. (1999) [1953]. The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (7th ed.). Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-86214-X. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[23] Sen, Amartya (2009). The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674036130.

[18] Iannaccone, Laurence R. (September 1998). "Introduction to the Economics of Religion" (PDF). Journal of Economic Literature. 36 (3): 1465–1495. JSTOR 2564806. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

[19] Nordhaus WD (2002). "The Economic Consequences of a War with Iraq" (PDF). In Kaysen C, Miller SE, Malin MB, Nordhaus WD, Steinbruner JD (eds.). War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Academy of Arts and Sciences. pp. 51–85. ISBN 978-0-87724-036-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.

[20] Diamond, Arthur M. Jr. (2008). "Science, economics of". In Durlauf, Steven N.; Blume, Lawrence E. (eds.). The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (2nd ed.). pp. 328–334. doi:10.1057/9780230226203.1491. ISBN 978-0-333-78676-5. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. (Note the page is broken in some browsers but is still readable through the source.)

[21] Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (PDF) (Report). United Nations Environment Programme. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

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