What are the economic sciences?

We explain what are the so-called economic sciences, and who use them. Branches, objectives, importance and examples.

1. What are the economic sciences?

It is called economic sciences or simply economics to social science that studies the ways of organizing societies to meet their needs over time, through the set of goods and resources always scarce and finite.

In other words, it is the study of the production, extraction, exchange, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a given society and time, as well as the contexts that accompany any economic activity, such as the government , the administration , society, finance, culture , etc. All areas in which the economy has more or less applications.

We can say that the economy is interested in the different dynamics of the movement of goods in society , so it presents a very broad and diverse approach, which incorporates knowledge of different disciplines , such as psychology , sociology , accounting, philosophy , politics , law and mathematics.

2. Objectives of the economic sciences

The fundamental objective of the economy is always to improve the living conditions of societies , through the understanding of their financial and consumption processes , which can thus become more efficient and democratic.

This happens, obviously, both for an “experimental” economy, which seeks concrete solutions, and for a more philosophical and more historical one, which addresses the issue from a more general perspective.

3. Importance of economic sciences

The economy is one of the main fields of study of modern society , as we have said, given the importance of the organization and control of productive dynamics in a world that promises to be increasingly complex from a financial and social perspective.

The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century and then the economic globalization of the late twentieth century, generated an important emphasis on economic sciences, given the need to think methods of production and distribution of wealth in a world increasingly populated by beings humans.

4. Examples of economic sciences

Possible examples of economic sciences are each of its many applications, such as:

• Economic geography . The study of the processes of extraction and commercialization of natural resources and raw material, or of elaborated goods and services, from a geographical perspective.
• Political economy . Study of the reciprocal relationships between the financial market processes and the political, anthropological and social dynamics of a nation or region or of humanity.
• Business administration . The discipline in charge of promoting and understanding the dynamics of control and conduction of the productive processes of the different human, public or private organizations.
• Philosophy of the economy . Branch of philosophy that studies the principles and moral aspects of economic activity, and proposes theories for its ethical and adequate approach.

5. Types of economic sciences

There are important distinctions in the economic sciences, which constitute specialized approaches to their knowledge, such as:

• Economic theory . He studied as a system of economics, comparing abstractly its dynamics, philosophical principles and behavioral theories.
• Applied Economics . It seeks to use the tools of the economy to solve specific problems in nations.
• Macroeconomics . Study the economy of nations and the entire globe, understanding it as a chain system that is reciprocally affected.
• Microeconomics . Study the performance of different economic actors, such as companies , the State , individuals, etc. on a scale below the nation.
• Normative economics . Study economic processes as a rule, that is, as “should be.”
• Positive economy . Study the economic processes as they currently are, that is, as they are.

6. Who uses the economic sciences?

Economists are the ones who undertake the study of this knowledge and handle the greatest amount of theories and references in the area. However, the economy provides a fundamental service to other academic disciplines and analytical perspectives such as politics, history, administration, finance and even sociology.

The economic aspect is always one of the usual dimensions of analysis of human reality , as well as cultural, historical or biological. In fact, the Marxist philosophy school , heiress of Karl Marx’s postulates and his dialectical materialism, considers that economics is the elementary factor for the study of history , since it would be mobilized towards change by the class struggle , that is, the tension between the strata of society to control the dynamics of production of goods and services at its convenience.