Economic+principles

=GDP = = = =Economics = Economics is a social science which examines the production, distribution and consumption of //goods and services// within society. By examining how individuals, households, and businesses allocate resources, economics increases our understanding of human action on both individual and communal levels. Importantly, economic understanding is not limited to business models or financial institutions; it encompasses the use of natural resources?like minerals, timber, and oil?the manufacture and distribution of material goods?like paper, clothes, and cars?and the provision of services?like roads, schools, restaurants, and hospitals. Indeed, economics should be thought of not as a mathematical science but rather as a philosophical study of human activity. The most basic premise upon which much of economics is based is that of limits or scarcity every decision requires **choices** and**trade offs**, and **incentives** determine how resources are allocated. This includes what is produced, how it is produced, how much will be produced, who it will be produced by, and how it will be distributed. The costs and benefits associated with producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services?values determined by both buyers and sellers in millions of independent, individual, and highly local decisions?structures economic action in free societies. Economists like scientists often use [|the scientific method] in order to establish theories, laws and principles within the field; economic analyses often include the following steps: observing real facts and/or data, formulating explanations (hypotheses) of cause and effect based on the facts, testing the hypotheses, and either accepting, rejecting or modifying the hypotheses. In this way, economists are able to establish laws and theories which provide insights into the nature of human action. However, it is important to remember that economics is an evolving discipline; humans and their societies are highly complex organisms and established methodologies are often challenged and overturned as new insights arise. //**Adam Smith**// (1723-1790)?the father of modern economic thought?demonstrated the fundamental connection between unrestricted trade and human prosperity in his revolutionary work, //An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.// Smith challenged the mercantilist logic of the European monarchies which maintained individual prosperity is maximized through the promotion of national economic interests. He instead demonstrated that trade between two or more individuals or groups brings benefits for both, and actually increases the size of the economic pie for everyone in society. Wealth is thereby created, rather than simply transferred. One of Smiths' most lucid and insightful observations was that social well being is promoted not by government direction but from individuals pursuing their own, unique self interests. Smith termed the effect the //invisible hand//; no single person or board controls economic decision-making, yet the actions of millions of uniquely self interested individuals creates benefits for all. For example, if a product shortage occurs, the price of the product will rise, which in turn creates an incentive for increased production, eventually eliminating the shortage. The increased competition among manufacturers and increased supply will later lower the price of the product to its production cost, the "//natural price//." Smith ridiculed government intervention in economic affairs, arguing that individual liberty was the most effective means for wealth generation.  [|Alfred Marshall], an influential economist of the 19th century, published //The Principles of Economics// in 1890 bringing the theories of supply and demand, marginal utility, and costs of production into a coherent whole. The Principles of Economics became a dominant economic textbook with worldwide acclaim. In it Marshall wrote that ?Political Economy or Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of individual and social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of the material requisites of wellbeing. Thus it is on the one side a study of wealth; and on the other, and more important side, a part of the study of man. Basing his study of economics in science and reason, Marshall solidified economic philosophy within established academia. In the second half of the twentieth century, two divergent schools of economic thought emerged. The first, led by **//John Maynard Keynes//**, advocated government intervention to mitigate the negative effects of recessions, depressions, and booms; Keynes encouraged government spending and regulation as a method of controlling and directing the economic activity of a nation. Known broadly as //Keynesian economics//, this philosophy was critiqued most directly by **//F.A. Hayek//**, of the Austrian School, who favored a more classical approach. According to Hayek, government regulators possess a fundamental ** [|knowledge problem] ** when regulating economic activity. Beyond the political factors which might bias certain regulations, Hayek argued it was impossible for regulators to access all the information needed to design and maintain a prosperous economy. In complex economies, knowledge is dispersed among the millions of individuals who make hundreds of economic decisions each day. Hayek showed that markets coordinate this information through the ** [|price mechanism] **, which quantifies the cost benefit assessments of each individual. Indeed, Hayek said, it is this unrestricted, decentralized market process, Adam Smith's invisible hand, or what Hayek termed the //spontaneous order//, which is responsible for the liberty, comfort, and health of citizens in free societies. In academia, the study of economics is often divided into two major areas: macroeconomics and microeconomics.**Macroeconomics** examines the performance of the economy as a whole, in terms of the total amount of goods and services produced, total income earned, level of employment, and pricing trends. **Microeconomics** studies particular components of the economy, such as individual consumers, households, companies, and other groups, and the distribution of production and income among these actors. Macroeconomics can be used to analyze how best to influence policy goals. However, since it also involves the analysis of the aggregate markets of goods and services, it draws on information that is examined in microeconomics, such as the behavior of producers and consumers. The study of economics?the examination of human behavior, social interaction, and resource allocation?provides meaningful insights into the nature of human prosperity and possibility. As our society continues to grow in complex and dynamic ways, economic knowledge reveals the myriad forces at work in our world //and// searches for solutions to the ever evolving problems we face. Fundamentally, economics raises //questions//, then provides the base upon which discussions of difficult social problems can be held. Climate change, energy and resource use, conservation and consumption, technological innovation, industrialization, pollution, poverty and prosperity, and indeed questions of fundamental human dignity demand economic understanding.  //Updated by Charles Fritschner//   CyberEconomics: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A comprehensive website on basic economics, CyberEconomics is the creation of Robert Schenk, a Professor of Economics at Saint Joseph's College in Indiana. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Essential Principles of Economics: A Hypermedia Text

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Roger A. McCain, Professor of Economics at Drexel University, compiled information in this website based on his lecture notes. He includes principles of both macroeconomics and microeconomics including discussions on division of labor, opportunity costs, diminishing returns and the components of market equilibrium. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Foundation for Teaching Economics

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Foundation for Teaching Economics is a nonprofit organization providing leadership in economic education to educators and to young people selected for their leadership potential. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> National Council on Economic Education

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) is a nationwide network that leads in promoting economic literacy with students and their teachers. Their mission is to help students develop the real-life skills they need to succeed: to be able to think and choose responsibly as consumers, savers, investors, citizens, members of the workforce, and effective participants in a global economy.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">FOR THE CLASSROOM
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> EconEdLink: K-12 Economics Resources

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A site created and maintained by the National Council on Economic Education to provide classroom tested, economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students. The site contains a library of lessons searchable by title, grade, standard, lesson type, or economic concept. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> EcEdWeb

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The University of Nebraska at Omaha's Center for Economic Education hosts this site to provide economic education resources in all forms and at all levels and allows for searching by grade level, standard, classroom lesson, web project, economic concept, or support resource. They also provide a useful quiz on basic economic concepts. []