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Contents
Teaching
and Learning Guide
Rationale
Economics,
as a social
science, studies the production,
distribution,
and consumption
of resources.
The
word "economics" is from the Greek
words οἶκος
[oikos], meaning "family, household, estate," and νόμος
[nomos], or "custom, law," and hence literally means
"household management" or "management of the state." An economist
is a person using economic concepts and data in the course
of employment.
The
field may be divided in several different ways, most popularly
microeconomics
(at the level of individual choices) vs macroeconomics
(aggregate results). It may also be divided in positive
(descriptive) vs. normative,
mainstream
vs. heterodox,
and by subfield. Economics has many direct applications in
business, personal finance, and government. Theories developed
as a part of economic theory have also been applied to non-monetary
choices in fields as diverse as criminal behavior, scientific
research, death, politics, health, education, family, dating,
etc. This is allowed because economics is fundamentally about
human decision making.
There
has been an increasing trend for ideas and methods from economics
to be applied in wider contexts. Economic analysis focuses
on decision making, and has been applied, with varying degrees
of success, to various fields where people are faced with
alternatives – education,
marriage,
health,
law,
crime,
war,
and religion.
This has sometimes been described as economic imperialism
by critics. Gary
Becker at the University of Chicago was one of the important
pioneers in this imperialistic endeavor. In a collection of
his early influential articles, he advanced the view that
economics is not to be defined by its subject matters, but
should be defined as an approach of explaining human behaviors.
Many
mainstream economists feel that the combination of rigorous
theory and empirical data ultimately gives the best understanding
of real-world phenomena. Towards this end, economics has undergone
a massive formalization of its ideas, concepts and methods
– according to critics, sometimes to the detriment of
its real-world relevance. This creates a tension in the profession
on what economists should do. The traditional Chicago School,
with its emphasis on economics being an empirical science
aimed at explaining real-world phenomena, has insisted on
the powerfulness of price theory as the tool of analysis.
On the other hand, some economic theorists have formed the
view that a consistent economic theory may be useful even
if at present no real world economy bears out its prediction.
Today's
Videos
Teaching
and Learning Resources
Click
on titles
Weeks
1 - 2
Introduction
to Economics. Introduction
to the Market System.
Lectures
and Tutorials
Readings
Larger
Map
Chapter
12
Activities
Week
3
Market
Structure and Pricing
Lectures and
Tutorials
Readings
 Week
4
Resource
Markets
Lectures and
Tutorials
Readings
Week
5
Market
Failure and Public Policy
Lectures and
Tutorials
Readings
United
States v. Microsoft
Week
6
The International Setting
Lectures and
Tutorials
Readings
Recommended
Text
Resources
Case
Studies
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