Nature & Scope of Economics

Economics is a subject that is sought-after by Social Science students. Its main objective is to have a comprehensive view of production, distribution, and consumption.

Economics is a social science that studies the various facets of production, distribution, and consumer behavior. It has become one of the most important studies in modern times.

 

Intro to Economics?

Economics is a social science that studies the various factors that affect the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services. Macroeconomics and Microeconomics are two different disciplines that study the dynamics of the economy.

Nature of Economics 

Economics has a dual association with the fields of Science and Arts. Most think tanks are still trying to establish this aspect of the subject.

Economics as an Art

Economics as an art refers to the study of concepts and theories related to economics. It uses various graphical representations to explain the various theories related to economics. Others believed that economics could be viewed through the prism of Science.

Although some economists believe that economics should be considered as both a science and an art, they do not believe that this should be done without considering the practical difficulties involved in doing so.

Economics as a Science

Economics is a scientific discipline that studies the relationship between forces and causes.

There are two main types of scientific inquiry known as positive science and normative science. The former deals with the relationship between the cause and effect of a problem, while the latter deals with the prediction of future events.

 

Economics Positive or Normative Science:

A positive science is one that has a systematized knowledge concerning what is and what ought to be. A normative science, on the other hand, is one that has a systematized knowledge concerning what is and what ought to be. 

Economics as a Positive Science:

Robbins' An Essay on the Nature and the Significance of Economic Science sparked the debate about the ethics of economics.

Economics is a purely scientific branch concerned with the problems of scarce resources. Its goal is to find the optimal ends in relation to the needs of the people.

The sale and manufacture of cigarettes and wine are both morally unjustifiable, and their consumption may be injurious to health. Since they involve economic activity, the economist has no right to make such a judgment.

Economics is a positive science. Its goal is to explain what happens and not what should happen. This view was held by most leading economists during the 19th century.

Economics as a Normative Science:

Economics is a normative science that focuses on the evaluation of economic events. It is not a scientific field that investigates natural phenomena.

The assumptions on which economic theories and principles are based are related to man's problems.

Social factors are also influencing economic theories.

Laws are formulated in natural sciences through experiments. However, in economics, it is not possible to carry out experiments.

 

Scope of Economics

The scope of Economics can be understood as the area where something deals with. There are two main types of Economics, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Both of these classifications deal with the various aspects of Economics.                                

The scope of economics is a subject that has wide variety of views among economists. The divergent views of different experts have been observed in the way they respond to the different questions posed by the subject.

Microeconomics

The main objective of Microeconomics is to study the individual units of a firm, a household, or an industry. Various concepts like price, firm behavior, and factor pricing are studied in this field.

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is a major division of Economics. It mainly focuses on the overall production of goods and services. It provides a broad view of the various economic activities and their related factors.