Got loads of economics homework? Here are a few things about economics that can serve you as your economics homework helper.
What is Economics?
Lionel Robbins, a British economist, and a prominent member of the economics department at the London school of economics defines economics as “a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses”. There are many modern economists who also give the definition of economics. We have Stonier and Hague who says, “Economics is fundamentally a study of scarcity and of the problems to which scarcity gives rise to!”
If we analyze the definitions above, we can understand economics as the study of scarcity and how it affects the production of goods and services, use of resources and the growth of production and well-being.
What is the scope of Economics?
The scope of economics and its subject matter changes from time to time with its scope much wider in today’s time than what it was in the past. Economics does not only study principles and theories but also includes trade, public finance, demography and population studies, currency and banking, money and financial markets, transportation, development problems etc.
To make it more systematic and intensive for the students, all these concepts have been developed as different branches of economics. However, the core theme of economics remains as principles of economics and these themes are also divided into Micro and Macro economics.
Branches of economics
There are two main branches of economics: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
Microeconomics
To put it simply, microeconomics is the study that deals with the choices that people make, the factors that affect their choices and how their decisions affect the market by affecting the price, demand and supply. It is that branch of economics that studies individual units in an economy. We study an individual consumer, seller, producer or the market for a particular commodity.
Macroeconomics
In macroeconomics, we study the economy of a country as a whole. MAcroeconomics deals with the economy-wide phenomena such as inflation, price levels, rate of economic growth, national income, gross domestic product (GDP), and changes in unemployment. MAcroeconomics attempts to understand how well an economy is performing, what are the forces that drive it and how its performance can improve.
Methods of Economic Studies
There are two methods of economic studies and they are known as Deductive Method and Inductive Method. These terms are really common which are used not only in economics but in other subjects too.
Deductive Method
The Deductive Method is the traditional way of studying economics in which classical and neo-classical economists like Adam Smith, R.S. Mill, Ricardo, Marshall etc conducted studies and gave various theories of economics.
In this method, we conduct our study from ‘general to particular’. We start with a fact and proceed to analyze it under different conditions. Under this process, we do not use any tool like a laboratory or statistical data but use our logic and reasoning. If we take the example of the law of demand, we can easily use our logic and reasoning to understand that an increase in the price decreases demand and vice versa.
Inductive Method
The use of the Inductive Method is increasing in modern times and it is also a very important method of economic study. As the availability of statistical data increases, the use and scope of this method also increases.
This method is the opposite of the deductive method. In the deductive method we study from general to particular but here we conduct our study from ‘particular to general’. In this method, we study a fact based on specific observations and then we arrive at a general rule. We collect data from various situations and then analyze the collected data and derive general conclusions. Here also, we can take the example of the law of demand. For an inductive analysis, we collect data from different markets, on quality demanded at different prices. It is from this data that we draw certain conclusions and come to the common rule which is that there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity, where if one one increases, the other decreases.
Career as an Economist
Economists are professionals who study demand and supply of resources. They collect and analyze data to study goods and services. They also research trends and evaluate economic issues.
As an economist, you will have to do the following:
- Collection and assembling of data.
- Understanding the many sampling techniques
- Analyzing and interpreting the collected data to check the current policies.
- Examining the past and present economic issues.
- Giving good advice to stakeholders
- Designing methods and procedures for obtaining data.
There are many fields where an economist can be employed and even get paid very highly. Here are a few places where an economist is needed and is employed
- Personal financial advisor: personal financial advisors, as the name suggests are experts who help individuals make important financial decisions. The need for a financial advisor is very essential in today’s time and these experts make a lot of money.
- Financial manager: here is another career path for an economist which will give them a very high and valuable paycheck. Financial managers help an organization keep track of their revenue, expenses and investments. They also help a corporation look at the bigger picture in their finance to help them achieve long-term financial goals.
- Financial Analyst: financial analysts are also known as investment analysts. Financial analysts specialize in a specific type of analysis. There are ratings analysts, fund managers, portfolio managers and risk analysts.
- Actuary: Actuaries are economic and financial specialists. They analyze a potential risk like a natural disaster for instance or maybe an illness. They then help organizations and business plans to minimize the risk of the risk.
- Management Analyst: Management Analysts are also commonly referred to as management consultants. The main job of a management analyst is to advise business managers different strategies to gain profit by reducing cost and increasing revenue for a company. They also look at how the process of production or manufacturing is going and look for ways to cut expenses.
As discussed above, an economist has a lot of scope and they also earn lots of money. So if you have been thinking about what you should do by taking up a degree in economics, here, you have your answer. If you are not interested in any of these and just want a job where you could stay home and earn, then an online economics tutor is also not a bad idea.
Where to get help for Economics
As we have seen, there are many benefits to studying economics yet there are a lot of students who find the subject challenging. It can be mainly because of how it is taught. Economics is a subject where one needs the skills of math and statistics and most of the students usually hate both these subjects.
With the help of the right guidance, every student can boost their grades on the subject. Recently, I did some research on different websites that provide economics online homework help to students. There were tons of websites but the best one I found was TutorChamps.
TutorChamps is a service provider that provides online homework help to students. They have a team of experts who help and cater to the needs of students. It is like a personal tutor for students. It is very beneficial and students should surely register for it.
