Definitions
There are a variety of modern definitions of economics. Some of the differences may reflect evolving views of the subject or different views among economists. The philosopher Adam Smith (1776) defined what was then called political economy as "an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations", in particular as:
- a branch of the science of a statesman or legislator a plentiful revenue or subsistence for the people ... to supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue for the publick services.
J.-B. Say (1803), distinguishing the subject from its public-policy uses, defines it as the science of production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. On the satirical side, Thomas Carlyle (1849) coined 'the dismal science' as an epithet for classical economics, in this context, commonly linked to the pessimistic analysis of Malthus (1798). John Stuart Mill (1844) defines the subject in a social context as:
- The science which traces the laws of such of the phenomena of society as arise from the combined operations of mankind for the production of wealth, in so far as those phenomena are not modified by the pursuit of any other object.
Alfred Marshall provides a still widely-cited definition in his textbook Principles of Economics (1890) that extends analysis beyond wealth and from the societal to the microeconomic level:
- 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.
Lionel Robbins (1932) developed implications of what has been termed "erhaps the most commonly accepted current definition of the subject":
- Economics is a science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.
Robbins describes the definition as not classificatory in "pick out certain kinds of behaviour" but rather analytical in "focus attention on a particular aspect of behaviour, the form imposed by the influence of scarcity."
Some subsequent comments criticized the definition as overly broad in failing to limit its subject matter to analysis of markets. From the 1960s, however, such comments abated as the economic theory of maximizing behavior and rational-choice modeling expanded the domain of the subject to areas previously treated in other fields. There are other criticisms as well, such as in scarcity not accounting for the macroeconomics of high unemployment.
Gary Becker, a contributor to the expansion of economics into new areas, describes the approach he favors as "combin assumptions of maximizing behavior, stable preferences, and market equilibrium, used relentlessly and unflinchingly." One commentary characterizes the remark as making economics an approach rather than a subject matter but with great specificity as to the "choice process and the type of social interaction that analysis involves." The same source reviews a range of definitions included in principles of economics textbooks and concludes that the lack of agreement need not affect the subject-matter that the texts treat. Among economists more generally, it argues that a particular definition presented may reflect the direction toward which the author believes economics is evolving, or should evolve.
Read more about this topic: Economics
Other articles related to "definition, definitions":
... A theoretical (or conceptual) definition gives the meaning of a word in terms of the theories of a specific discipline ... This type of definition assumes both knowledge and acceptance of the theories that it depends on ... An example of a theoretical definition is that of "Heat" in physics, which actually puts forth an entire theory of heat (involving accelerating molecules, etc.) ...
... precise terminology that cannot be confused with other words or definitions ... He gave emphasis on avoidance of words that have many definitions and compared the language of Scientology with the language of Math and other precise doctrines ... Scientology and Dianetics place a heavy emphasis on understanding word definitions ...
... Conceptual definition Operational definition Weight a measurement of gravitational force acting on an object a result of measurement of an object on a Newton spring scale Theoretical definitions ... The definitions of substances as various configurations of atoms are theoretical definitions, as are definitions of colors as specific wavelengths of reflected light ... In such cases one definition of a term is unlikely to contradict another definition based on a different theory ...
... Although topographic maps of the Chile and Argentina border region which contains the highest peaks are of notoriously poor accuracy, with elevation errors exceeding 100 metres (330 ft) in many cases, the current consensus based on the most recent measurements places Ojos del Salado as the 2nd highest peak and highest volcano in South America, significantly higher than Monte Pissis. ...
... Some definitions of language, such as early versions of Charles Hockett's "design features" definition, emphasize the spoken nature of language ... Mathematics would not qualify as a language under these definitions, as it is primarily a written form of communication (to see why, try reading Maxwell's ... However, these definitions would also disqualify sign languages, which are now recognized as languages in their own right, independent of spoken language ...
Famous quotes containing the word definitions:
“Lord Byron is an exceedingly interesting person, and as such is it not to be regretted that he is a slave to the vilest and most vulgar prejudices, and as mad as the winds?
There have been many definitions of beauty in art. What is it? Beauty is what the untrained eyes consider abominable.”
—Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)
“The loosening, for some people, of rigid role definitions for men and women has shown that dads can be great at calming babies—if they take the time and make the effort to learn how. It’s that time and effort that not only teaches the dad how to calm the babies, but also turns him into a parent, just as the time and effort the mother puts into the babies turns her into a parent.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)