What is Economics?

Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyzes the economy as a system where production, consumption, saving, and investment interact, and factors affecting it: employment of the resources of labour, capital, and land, currency inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements.

Economics allows us to understand resources, production of goods and services, growth over time and other issues that impact society.  Microeconomics is the study of individual agents such as buyers, sellers and households.  Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole system and the factors that affect it.