performances
which can be consumed or enjoyed only at the instant they are produced. In
exceptional circumstances, society may find
that some of the questions
about
what, how, and for whom to produce have already been answered; until the
arrival of Man Friday, Robinson Crouse need not worry about the “for
whom” question. In general, however, society
must answer all three
questions.
By emphasizing the role of society, the definition places economics
within
the social sciences, the sciences that study and explain human
behavior. The subject matter of economics is that part of human behavior
which
relates to the production, exchange, and use of goods and services.
The central economic problem for society is how to reconcile the conflict
between people’s virtually limitless desires for goods and services, and the
scarcity of resources (labor,
machinery, and raw materials) with which
these goods and services can be produced. In answering the questions
what, how, and for whom to produce, economics explains how scarce
resources are allocated between competing claims on their use.
Economics is about human behavior.
Economists analyze problems, not
the subject matter of economics. Economists aim to develop theories of
human behavior and to test them against the facts.
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