Forgot your password?  

Not What You Meant?  There are 23 definitions for Substitution.  Also try: Allocation or NBS or MOP or Normative.

Economics | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Print-Friendly   Order the PDF version   Order the RTF version
About 10 pages (2,956 words)
Economics Summary

Purchase our Economics


Economics

Economics is often described as a body of knowledge or study that discusses how a society tries to solve the human problems of unlimited wants and scarce resources. Because economics is associated with human behavior, the study of economics is classified as a social science. Because economics deals with human problems, it cannot be an exact science and one can easily find differing views and descriptions of economics. In this discussion, the focus is an overview of the elements that constitute the study of economics, that is, wants, needs, scarcity, resources, goods and services, economic choice, and the laws of supply and demand.

Every person is involved with making economic decisions every day of his or her life. This occurs when one decides whether to cook a meal at home or go to a restaurant to eat, or when one decides between purchasing a new luxury car or a low-priced pickup truck. People make economic decisions when they decide whether to rent or purchase housing or where they should attend college.

Wants, Needs, and Scarcity

As a society, and in economic terms, people have unlimited wants; however, resources are scarce. Don't confuse wants and needs. Individuals often want what they don't need.

This page contains 201 words.

Purchase our Economics article Economics article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 2,956 words (approx. 10 pages at 300 words per page).
Ask any question on Economics and get it answered FAST!
Answer questions in BookRags Q&A and earn points toward
discounted or even FREE Study Guides and other BookRags products!
Learn more about BookRags Q&A
Copyrights
Economics from Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. Copyright © 2001-2006 by Macmillan Reference USA, an imprint of the Gale Group. All rights reserved.

Join BookRagslearn moreJoin BookRags

Join BookRagslearn moreJoin BookRags