A Project Report on Definition of Economics

Economics-I

Submitted by:Aaditya Vasu

2013001
SEMESTER 3rd
DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
VISAKHAPATNAM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Writing a project is one of the most significant academic challenges I have ever faced. Though
this project has been presented by me but there are many people who remained in veil, who gave
their all support and helped me to complete this project.
First of all I am very grateful to my subject teacher Prof. Ramchandradrudu Sir, without the kind
support of whom and help the completion of the project was a herculean task for me. He donated
his valuable time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project and suggested me
from where and how to collect data.
I am very thankful to the librarian who provided me several books on this topic which proved
beneficial in completing this project.
I acknowledge my friends who gave their valuable and meticulous advice which was very useful
and could not be ignored in writing the project. I also owe special thanks to my parents for their
selfless help which was very useful in preparing the project & without whose support this project
wouldnt have been prepared.

Aaditya Vasu
2013001
3rd Semester

CONTENTS
1. Introduction (4).
2. Definitions of Economics... (4).
3. Adams Smith Definition.. (5).
4. Main Characteristics of Wealth Definition... (5).
5. Alfred Marshall Definition... (6).
6. Main Characteristics of Welfare Definition. (6).
7. Lionel Robbins Definition (6).
8. Scarcity Definition (7).
9. Main Characteristics of Scarcity Definition......................... (7).
10. Samuelson Definition (7).
11. Features of Modern growth oriented Definition.. (8).
12. Branches of Economics... (8).
12.1 Microeconomics (9).
12.2 Macroeconomics....................... (11).
13. Broad Scope of Economics (13).
13.1 Economics Problems (13).
13.2 Causes of Economics Problem. (14).
13.3 Three main Economic Problem (14).

INTRODUCTION
Any discussion on a subject must start by explaining what the subject is all about i.e., by defining
the subject. In this work, we shall define Economics. The questions which Economics actually
discusses will then be taken up in the subsequent chapters. The principal fact about Economics
that we must always remember is that it is a social science. If we forget this, we tend to get
bogged down with questions that are not relevant to Economics and are best left to other
disciplines.
The word Economics originates from the Greek work Oikonomikos which can be divided into
two parts:
(a) Oikos, which means Home, and
(b) Nomos, which means Management.
Thus, Economics means Home Management. The head of a family faces the problem of
managing the unlimited wants of the family members within the limited income of the family. In
fact, the same is true for a society also. If we consider the whole society as a family, then the
society also faces the problem of tackling unlimited wants of the members of the society with the
limited resources available in that society. Thus, Economics means the study of the way in which
mankind organises itself to tackle the basic problems of scarcity. All societies have more wants
than resources. Hence, a system must be devised to allocate these resources between competing
ends.

Definitions of Economics.
We have now formed an idea about the meaning of Economics. This at once leads to a general
definition of Economics. Economics is the social science that studies economic activities.

This definition is, however, too broad. It does not specify the exact manner in which the
economic activities are to be studied. Economic activities essentially mean production, exchange
and consumption of goods and services. However, with the progress of civilisation, the
complexity of the production, exchange and consumption processes in society have increased
manifold. Economists at different times have emphasised different aspects of economic
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activities, and have arrived at different definitions of Economics. We shall now discuss some of
these definitions in detail.
These definitions can be classified into four groups:
1. Wealth Definitions,
2. Material Welfare Definitions,
3. Scarcity Definitions and
4. Growth Centered Definitions.

Adam Smiths Definition.

Adam Smith, considered to be the founding father of modern Economics, defined Economics as
the study of the nature and causes of nations wealth or simply as the study of wealth.
The central point in Smiths definition is wealth creation. Implicitly, Smith identified wealth
with welfare. He assumed that, the wealthier a nation becomes the happier are its citizens. Thus,
it is important to find out, how a nation can be wealthy. Economics is the subject that tells us
how to make a nation wealthy. Adam Smiths definition is a wealth-centered definition of
Economics.

Main Characteristics of Wealth Definition

1. Exaggerated emphasis on wealth: These wealth centered definitions gave too much
importance to the creation of wealth in an economy. The classical economists like Adam Smith,
J.S. Mill, J.B. Say, and others believed that economic prosperity of any nation depends only on
the accumulation of wealth.

2. Inquiry into the creation of wealth: These definitions show that Economics also deals
with an inquiry into the causes behind the creation of wealth. For example, wealth of a nation
may be increased through raising the level of production and export.

3. A study on the nature of wealth: These definitions have indicated that wealth of a
nation includes only material goods (e.g., different manufactured items). Non-material goods
were not included. Hence, non-material goods like services of teachers, doctors, engineers, etc.,
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are not considered as wealth.

ALFRED MARSHAL DEFINITION

Alfred Marshall also stressed the importance of wealth. But he also emphasised the role of the
individual in the creation and the use of wealth. He wrote: Economics is a study of man in the
ordinary business of life. It enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Thus, it is on
the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study
of man. Marshall, therefore, stressed the supreme importance of man in the economic system.
Marshalls definition is considered to be material-welfare centered definition of Economics.

Features of Material Welfare Definition.

The main features of material welfare-centered definitions are as follows:

1. Study of material requisites of well-being: These definitions indicate that Economics

studies only the material aspects of well-being. Thus, these definitions emphasise the
materialistic aspects of economic welfare.
2. Concentrates on the ordinary business of life: These definitions show that
Economics deals with the study of man in the ordinary business of life. Thus, Economics
enquires how an individual gets his income and how he uses it.
3. A stress on the role of man: These definitions stressed on the role of man in the
creation of wealth or income

LIONEL ROBBINS DEFINITION

The next important definition of Economics was due to Prof. Lionel Robbins. In his book
Essays on the Nature and Significance of the Economic Science, published in 1932, Robbins
gave a definition which has become one of the most popular definitions of Economics.
According to Robbins, Economics is a science which studies human behavior as a
relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. A long line of
economists after Robbins, including Scitovsky and Cassel agreed with this definition and carried
on their analysis in line with this definition. It is a scarcity-based definition of Economics.

Main Features of Scarcity Definition

The principal features of scarcity definitions are as follows:

1. Human wants are unlimited: The scarcity definition of Economics states that human
wants are unlimited. If one want is satisfied, another want crops up. Thus, different wants appear
one after another.

2. Limited means to satisfy human wants: Though wants are unlimited, yet the means
for satisfying these wants are limited. The resources needed to satisfy these wants are limited.
For example, the money income (per month) required for the satisfaction of wants of an
individual is limited. Any resource is considered as scarce if its supply is less than its demand.
3. Alternative uses of scarce resources: Same resource can be devoted to alternative
lines of production. Thus, same resource can be used for the satisfaction of different types of
human wants. For example, a piece of land can be used for either cultivation, or building a
dwelling place or building a factory shed, etc.

4. Efficient use of scarce resources: Since wants are unlimited, so these wants are to be
ranked in order of priorities. On the basis of such priorities, the scarce resources are to be used in
an efficient manner for the satisfaction of these wants.

5. Need for choice and optimisation: Since human wants are unlimited, so one has to
choose between the most urgent and less urgent wants. Hence, Economics is also called a
science of choice. So, scarce resources are to be used for the maximum satisfaction (i.e.,
optimisation) of the most urgent human wants.

SAMUELSON DEFINITION
In relatively recent times, more comprehensive definitions of Economics have been offered.
Thus, Professor Samuelson writes, Economics is the study of how people and society end up
choosing, with or without the use of money, to employ scarce productive resources that could
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have alternative uses to produce various commodities over time and distributing them for
consumption, now or in the future, among various persons or groups in society. It analyses
costs and benefits of improving patterns of resource allocation. A large number of modern
economists subscribe to this broad definition of Economics.

Features of the Modern Growth Oriented Definition.

1. Growth-orientation: Economic growth is measured by the change in national output
over time. The definition says that, Economics is concerned with determining the pattern
of employment of scarce resources to produce commodities over time. Thus, the
dynamic problems of production have been brought within the purview of Economics.
2. Dynamic allocation of consumption: Similarly, under this definition, Economics is
concerned with the pattern of consumption, not only now but also in the future. Thus, the
problem of dividing the use of income between present consumption and future
consumption has been brought within the orbit of Economics.
3. Distribution: The modern definition also concerns itself with the distribution of
consumption among various persons and groups in a society. Thus, while the problem of
distribution is implicit in the earlier definitions, the modern definition makes it explicit.
4. Improvement of resource allocation: The definition also says that, Economics analyses
the costs and benefits of improving the pattern of resource allocation. Improvement of
resource allocation and better distributive justice are synonymous with economic
development. Thus, issues of development of a less developed economy have also been
made subjects of the study of Economics.

To put it summarily, the modern definition of Economics is the most comprehensive of all the
definitions. All the issues that were highlighted in the earlier definitions are included here. In
addition, the issues of development of a backward economy, as well as those of growth in a
mature capitalist economy, form part of this definition. Economics as it stands today, is built on
the basis of this comprehensive definition.

BRANCHES OF ECONOMICS: NATURE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE

Economic theory, as it stands today, has several branches. Of these, two are most important.
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These are microeconomics and macroeconomics. We shall now briefly mention the major
features of these two branches to have an idea regarding the nature of economics.

Micro-Economics
Microeconomics is that branch of economics which is concerned with the decision-making of a
single unit of an economic system. How does an individual (or a family) decide on how much of
various commodities and services to consume? How does a business firm decide how much of
its product (or products) to produce? These are the typical questions discussed in
microeconomics. Determination of income, employment, etc. in the economic system as a whole
is not the concern of microeconomics. Thus, microeconomics can be defined as the study of
economic decision-making by micro-units.

Usefulness of Microeconomics.
1. Determination of demand pattern: The study of microeconomics has several uses. It
determines the pattern of demand in the economy, i.e., the amounts of the demand for the
different goods and services in the economy, because the total demand for a good or service
is the sum total of the demands of all the individuals. Thus, by determining the demand
patterns of every individual or family, microeconomics determines the demand pattern in the
country as a whole.

2. Determination of Pattern of Supply: In a similar way, the pattern of supply in the country
as a whole, can be obtained from the amounts of goods and services produced by the firms in
the economy. Microeconomics, therefore, determines the pattern of supply as well.

3. Pricing: Probably the most important economic question is the one of price determination.
The prices of the various goods and services determine the pattern of resource allocation in
the economy. The prices, in turn, are determined by the interaction of the forces of demand
and supply of the goods and services. By determining demand and supply, microeconomics
helps us in understanding the process of price determination and, hence, the process of
determination of resource allocation in a society.

4. Policies for improvement of resource allocation: As is well-known, economic

development stresses the need for improving the pattern of resource allocation in the country.
Development polices, therefore, can be formulated only if we understand how the pattern of
resource allocation is determined. For instance, if we want to analyse how a tax or a subsidy
will affect the use of the scarce resources in the economy, we have to know how these will
affect their prices. By explaining prices and, hence, the pattern of resource allocation,
microeconomics helps us to formulate appropriate development policies for an
underdeveloped economy.

5. Solution to the problems of micro-units: : Finally, it goes without saying that, since the
study of microeconomics starts with the individual consumers and producers, policies for the
correction of any wrong decisions at the micro-level are also facilitated by microeconomics.
For example, if a firm has to know exactly what it should do in order to run efficiently, it has
to know the optimal quantities of outputs produced and of inputs purchased. Only then can
any deviation from these optimal levels be corrected. In this sense, microeconomics helps the
formulation of policies at the micro level.

LIMITATIONS OF MICRO ECONOMICS

However, microeconomics has its limitations as well:

1. Monetary and fiscal policies: Although total demand and total supply in the economy is the

sum of individual demands and individual supplies respectively, the total economic picture
of the country cannot always be understood in this simplistic way. There are many factors
affecting the total economic system, which are outside the scope of microeconomics. For
example, the role of monetary and fiscal policies in the determination of the economic
variables cannot be analysed completely without going beyond microeconomics.

2. Income determination: Microeconomics also does not tell us anything about how the

income of a country (i.e., national income) is determined.

3. Business cycles: A related point is that, it does not analyse the causes of fluctuations in

national income. The ups-and-downs of national income over time are known as business

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cycles. Microeconomics does not help us in understanding as to why these cycles occur and
what the remedies are.

4. Unemployment: One of the main economic problems faced by an economy like India is the

problem of unemployment. This, again, is one of the areas on which microeconomics does
not shed much light. Because, if we are to find a solution to the unemployment problem, we
must first understand the causes of this problem. For that, in turn, we must understand how
the total employment level in the economy is determined. This is difficult to understand from
within the confines of microeconomics.

MACROECONOMICS
Macroeconomics is that branch of economics which is concerned with the economic magnitudes
relating to the economic system as a whole, rather than to the microeconomic units like
individuals or firms. It has, therefore, been called aggregative economics. In the picturesque
language of Kenneth Boulding, Macroeconomics deals not with individual income but with
national income, not with individual prices but with the price level, not with individual outputs
but with national output.

Importance of Macroeconomics

Why is the study of macroeconomics important? To put it briefly, macroeconomics deals with
some of the questions untouched by microeconomics. The study of economics is, therefore, left
incomplete, if we do not study macroeconomics. Some of the important issues analysed in
macroeconomics are the following:

1. Income and employment determination: The determination of national income and

of total employment in the country are vital concerns of macroeconomics. Since the volume of
unemployment is simply population minus the number of people employed, unemployment is
determined as soon as the employment level is known.

2. Price level: The determination of the general price level is discussed in macroeconomic

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theories. Upward movement of the general price level is known as inflation. Thus, if we want to
understand the process of inflation and find ways of controlling it, we must resort to the study of
macroeconomics.

3. Business cycles: The economic booms and depressions in the levels of income and
employment follow one another in a cyclical fashion. While income rises and employment
expands during boom periods, they shrink during depressions. Since depressions bring business
failures and unemployment in their wake, economists have sought remedies to depressions.
Discussion of business cycles in general and anti-depression policies in particular, fall within the
scope of macroeconomics.

4. Balance of payments: The balance of payments theory is also a part of

macroeconomics. The difference between the total inflow and the total outflow of foreign
exchange is known as the balance of payments of a country. When this balance is negative (i.e.,
outflow exceeds inflow), the country faces a lot of economic hardships. The causes and remedies
of such balance of payments problems are discussed in macroeconomics.

5. Government policies: The effects of various government policies on the economic

variables like national income or the general price level are also studied in macroeconomics. [It
should be noted that, we are talking of the macroeconomic effects of government policies. The
effects of these policies on the micro-units (for instance, the effects of taxes on the output of an
individual firm), are the subject-matter of microeconomics.] Since, the Government occupies an
important position in any modern economic system, the analysis of these effects is of obvious
importance.

Interrelations between markets: Probably, the most important contribution of macroeconomic

theories is to show that different markets of the economic system (for example, the commodity
market, the labor market, the bond market, the money market, etc.) are interrelated. Any
disturbance in one of these markets affects all the others. (Again, it should be noted that, it is the
interrelation between the macroeconomic markets that we are talking about here. The
relationship between the markets of the individual commodities is the subject-matter of general

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equilibrium theory, which is a part of microeconomics). Thus, we see that the study of
microeconomics and that of macroeconomics are complementary to each other. The limitations
of microeconomics are covered by macroeconomics. On the other hand, macroeconomics does
not make a detailed study of the individual consumer or producer. This is taken care of by
microeconomics. One can hope to form a comprehensive notion of what economics is all about
only when one is acquainted with both microeconomics and macroeconomics.

BROAD SCOPE OF ECONOMICS

The scope of economics entails the identification of basic economic problems before any society
and find out different possible ways to solve those problems.

Economic Problem
The main economic problems faced by every society are:

1. Unlimited human wants,

2. Limited availability of resources to satisfy those wants, and

3. Fulfillment of unlimited wants with limited resources.

In any society, human wants are unlimited. If one want is satisfied, the other appears soon. For
instance, if the basic needs of human being (e.g., food, clothing and shelter) are satisfied then
some secondary needs appear very soon. These secondary needs may be social needs, i.e. need
for attaining a social function, need for fulfilling some social obligations, etc. However, in
comparison with this unlimited human wants, the resources required to satisfy such wants
remain limited.
Thus, the main problem before any society is to satisfy the unlimited wants with limited
resources. Here arises the problem of choice or selection. It implies that every society has to
arrange its requirements in order of priority. Then, with its limited resources, the society has to
satisfy the human wants in order of priority. In Economics, we try to analyse the causes behind
these basic economic problems and find out possible ways to solve the said problems.

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Causes of Economic Problem

The main causes behind the economic problems of any society are:

1. Unlimited human wants: Every human being requires varieties of goods and services
for maintaining and improving his or her standard of living. Whenever the basic needs of food,
clothing and shelter are fulfilled then the people feel that they want and need education, book,
pen and pencil, eraser, chair, table, television, tape-recorder, CD-player, computer, travel, sports,
finer clothes, washing machine, and thousands of such items. In a modern society, these wants
are increased further in response to the pressures of fashion and advertising. These wants appear
one after another like untiring waves of the sea.

2. Limited resources for satisfying these wants: Production of various goods and
services require resources like land resources, mineral resources, forest resources, physical
capital (e.g., machines, factory sheds, etc.) and money capital, human resources (e.g., skilled
man power), etc. However, compared to the unlimited wants for various goods and services,
these resources seem to be insufficient. It implies that even if all these available resources are
fully employed for producing various goods and services, only a small part of human wants can
be satisfied. So, scarcity of resources is an important reason behind the economic problem in any
society.

Three Main Economics Problems.

In recent times, economists have analysed economic systems from a broad perspective. These
modern economists talk about three main economic problems: (1) What to produce; (2) How to
produce and (3) for whom to produce. In short, these are called the What, How and for whom
questions.

What to Produce?

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The very first question that any economic system must answer is: What goods and services are to
be produced in a society and in what quantities?

This question arises from the fact that human wants are unlimited, while resources are limited.
The satisfaction of human wants requires the consumption of goods and services. Human beings,
therefore, wish to consume goods and services. But, since resources are limited, the economic
system cannot produce all types of goods and services. Even any particular good or service
cannot be produced in an infinitely large quantity. Only finite amounts of a limited number of
goods and services can be produced. Therefore, there arises this decision problem. The economy
must decide which goods and services to produce and which goods and services to exclude from
production.

How to Produce?
The second basic problem that every economy must solve is that of deciding how to produce the
goods and services (that the economy has decided to produce). A particular quantity of a
particular good or service can be produced in many different ways. The economy must choose a
particular way of producing the specified amount of the good. Moreover, this must be done for
each of the different goods and services that the economy wants to produce.

Choice of Techniques
In the language of the economists, a particular way of producing a particular good or service (or
a set of goods and services) is called a technique of production. For instance, in some cases, a
particular amount of a particular good can be produced by different combinations of inputs.
Thus, it may be that 10 tons of wheat can be produced either on 2 hectares of land by 5
agricultural workers or on 4 hectares of land by 2 workers. Here, there are two techniques for
producing 10 tons of wheat: (2 hectares of land, 5 workers) and (4 hectares of land, 2 workers).
An economy which has decided to produce 10 tons of wheat must choose between these two
techniques. There is a similar problem for every good (or every set of goods). Therefore, the
question how to produce is also known as the problem of choice of techniques.

For Whom to Produce?

Suppose now that the first two basic problems have been solved i.e., the economy has decided
the amounts of production of various goods and services and has also chosen the appropriate
techniques for producing them. There still remains the problem of deciding the manner in which

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the produced goods and services will be used. That will, obviously, be used to satisfy human
wants. But among the members of society, who will receive how much of the produced
commodities? In other words, after the commodities have been produced, there remains the task
of deciding how they will be distributed. Who will get (to consume) the produced commodities?
This is known as the question: For whom to produce? It is also known as the problem of
distribution.

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