Economics is divided into two broad categories:
Microeconomics considers how individual people decide what goods they are willing to buy or not buy based on maximising their personal ‘utility’ (getting as much benefit as possible from their money), and how firms and businesses will try to take advantage of consumers’ habits to maximise profit. It also examines how multiple businesses in a market will price their goods based on their competitors and their various costs.
Macroeconomics then considers how governments handle the economy as a whole, and how they select policies which meet their goals, such as stable economic growth (avoiding recessions), minimising the national debt, and encouraging employment. How the government handles issues such as fiscal policy (how much money flows in the economy), international trade, and banking all have implications for economics stability and growth.
Economics may appear to be the study of complicated tables and charts, statistics and numbers, but, more specifically, it is the study of what constitutes rational human behavior in the endeavor to fulfill needs and wants.
Adam Smith (1723 – 1790), the “father of modern economics” and author of the famous book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, spawned the discipline of economics by trying to understand why some nations prospered while others lagged behind in poverty. Others after him also explored how a nation’s allocation of resources affects its wealth.
To study these things, economics makes the assumption that human beings will aim to fulfill their self-interests. It also assumes that individuals are rational in their efforts to fulfill their unlimited wants and needs. Economics, therefore, is a social science, which examines people behaving according to their self-interests.
Subject content
The subject is concerned with understanding the workings of a modern economy from both Macro and Micro level. The main topics covered are:
Demand, Supply, Consumer, Cost of Production, Elasticity, Market Structures, Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Price Discrimination, Imperfect Competition and Oligopoly and Factors of Production – Land, Labour, Capital and Enterprise. Macro consists of Money & Banking, National Income, Government & Economy, International Trade, Economic Growth & Development and History of Economic Thought.
It helps students to develop a clear understanding of the role of economics, to encourage the development of appropriate learning skills, and to generate in students a positive and ethical attitude to economics in personal, business and public life.
A degree in economics provides you with a wide array of both subject-specific and transferable skills. All these skills are highly sought after by employers…
Job options
Jobs directly related to your degree include:
- Chartered accountant
- Chartered certified accountant
- Chartered public finance accountant
- Economist
- Financial risk analyst
- Investment analyst
- Statistician
- Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Actuary
- Civil Service fast streamer
- Diplomatic Services operational officer
- Local government officer
- Management consultant
- Quantity surveyor
Useful Websites:
www.investopedia.com
www.economishelp.org
www.economics.about.com
www.basiceconomics.info