Economics
Economics is the study of how individuals, families, businesses, and societies deal with the problem of unlimited wants in a world of limited resources. Like all social sciences, it asks questions that go to the heart of our existence as individuals and as societies. How do resource distributions affect our decisions about where we live or what professions we pursue or whom we marry? How much is the quality of our lives affected by global economies? How can a government promote the efficient use of a society's resources? What are the consequences of a large national debt? Economics brings to these questions-and many others-analytic methodologies and critical theories that can help to explain why, and frequently predict, when and how such phenomena occur. The theory of micro-economics, for example, seeks to explain market conditions of supply and demand; it studies why things cost what they do, why people earn the wages they do, and what it costs to borrow money or rent an apartment or own a home. Macro-economics, on the other hand, examines large patterns of income distribution and consumer demands for goods and services. It studies how businesses operate and how they are affected by governmental, national, and international fiscal policies.
Cognate Requirements (PDF: opens in a new window)
Please see the current IDS Handbook for additional information.
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