Online Class: Economics 101

Although we have seen the words in print or heard them being broadcasted, do we really understand what, on a basic level, economics refers to or how the concept applies to our everyday lives?

In an attempt to help make sense of economics, what it does, how it works and, as a whole, and the sizable role it plays in shaping a society's infrastructure, this course will attempt to take complex ideas and present them in comprehensible, nugget size pieces of information. 

When we speak of broad topics with far ranging ramifications, we do better discussing them in very general terms. If we begin to isolate specific examples, we run the risk of losing sight of the bigger picture.

This then, is the case with the term economics.  Covering a most expansive subject area, we begin with an all encompassing definition from which we will later extrapolate to detailed themes and congruent ideas.

The purpose in studying economics leads to the formulation of principles. All of the following social elements: history, politics, and the social sciences, cannot be fully grasped without first coming to a basic understanding of economic principles.

Wants and Needs versus Scarcity 

In the previous definition, the notion of wants and needs enters into the equation. Due to the pivotal role each plays, it is important to separate the two by identifying wants as those thingsnot considered essential whereas needs are critical to continued survival. To discern the difference between the two, decisions with economic consequences must be made. 

Scarcity of resources is another factor that often comes into the economics spectrum. When items such as fuel sources, designer or luxury merchandise, or livestock products become less plentiful, decisions regarding the introduction of alternative products or the rate at which to increase prices need to be weighed.

As a whole, when the problem of scarcity, or limited resources, is part of the dynamics, then both manufacturers and buyers alike are confronted with an array of issues.

In subsequent lessons, we will explore, from both a macro and microeconomic mentality, the factors that play a part in determining how and why economic based decisions are made; metrics on which economic systems are evaluated, and the basic economic principles to employ as a business owner or as a person within the corporate sector. For the meantime, however, we will provide an overview of the term and its usage in the Twenty-First Century.

As a whole, principles of economics can be applied to all facets of life, from consumerism to politics. While classified as a social science, many argue that because it is difficult for economists to perform formalized experiments, establish hypotheses, or make predictions, economics does not qualify as an exact science. Unique in that sense, economics is plagued with practical and moral ambiguities that result in unpredictable outcomes based upon human behavior.

To gain a better understanding of the workings and connections between financial systems and markets, individuals study the principles of economics not only in school but also in business or in academic environments.

Due to constant changes and sweeping evolutionary arcs, economics certainly does make for a challenging subject to study. Based not only upon theoretical ideas, but also on multifaceted systems, using the principles is not always easy when considering real world applications of economics.

To gain a sense of the widespread use of economics, we provide a sampling of various subdivisions of economics that currently exist:  

·      Globalization. Also referred to as global economies, this is the process by which the people of the world become unified within one concentric system. It is often applied to practices that are brought from one culture and then applied on a broader, international scale. Aside from economics, the ideas of sociocultural, technological, and political forces also contribute to the concept of globalization.

·      Macroeconomic. This is the study of the overall system of economics.

·      Microeconomics. This is the study of how one component of the overall system affects a particular business or other parts of the system.

·      Socioeconomics. Study of the relationship that exists between economic activity and real life interactions. Due to the emergence of theories and methods from sociology, economics, history, and psychology, socioeconomics is considered to be a multidisciplinary field.

·      Urban economics. Considered to be a growing field, urban economics concentrates on the crossover areas between real estate or land use and legal tender. Going beyond the simple ideas of land placement and utilities, urban economics takes into account such city issues as crime, education, public transit, housing, and local government finance.

From banking and healthcare to government and civil service, a wide range of job opportunities exist in the field of economics. Examples include financial analysts, budget controllers, public policy administrators, market research facilitators, statisticians, and econometricians.