Economics is the social science that studies the choices that individuals, businesses, governments, and entire societies make as they cope with scarcity and the incentives that influence and reconcile those choices. Economics examines the choices made by individuals and the factors affecting those choices. Of particular importance are the price and output decisions of firms as well as the impact of price on consumption by individuals. This course includes two parts: Microeconomics is the study of the choices that individuals and businesses make, the way these choices interact in markets, and the influence of governments. Some examples of microeconomic questions are: Why are people downloading more movies? How would a tax on e-commerce affect eBay? Macroeconomics is the study of the performance of the national economy and the global economy. Some examples of macroeconomic questions are: Why is the national unemployment rate so high? Can the Central Bank make our economy expand by cutting interest rates?

Economics, by Michael Parkin