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Defining Economics

24 April, 2015 - 09:26

Learning objectives

  • Define economics.
  • Explain the concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost and how they relate to the definition of economics.
  • Understand the three fundamental economic questions: What should be produced? How should goods and services be produced? For whom should goods and services be produced?

Economics is a social science that examines how people choose among the alternatives available to them. It is social because it involves people and their behavior. It is a science because it uses, as much as possible, a scientific approach in its investigation of choices.