Economics

    • Economics is the study of what constitutes rational human behavior in the endeavor to fulfill needs and wants given a world with scarce resources.
    • Economics attempts to explain how and why we get the stuff we want or need to live. How much of it do we get? Who gets to have more? Who makes all this stuff? How is it made? These are the questions and decisions that economics concerns itself with.
    • The economy is part of our collective conscious and a buzzword that links personal finances to big business and international trade deals.
    • As an individual, for example, you constantly face the problem of having limited resources with which to fulfill your wants and needs. As a result, you must make certain choices with your money – what to spend it on, what not to spend it on, and how much to save for the future.
    • You'll probably spend part of your pay on relative necessities such as rent, electricity, clothing and food. Then you might use the rest to go to the movies, dine out or buy a smartphone.
    • Economists are interested in the choices you make, and investigate why, for instance, you might choose to spend your money on a new Xbox instead of replacing your old pair of shoes.
    • They would want to know whether you would still buy a carton of cigarettes if prices increased by $2 per pack.
    • The underlying essence of economics is trying to understand how individuals, companies, and nations as a whole behave in response to certain material constraints.