EconomicsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchThis article is about the social science. For other uses, see Economics (disambiguation).The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability and demand.EconomicsEconomics (/ɛkəˈnɒmɪks, iːkə-/) is the social science that studies how people interact with value; in particular, 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 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.Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing what is, and normative economics, advocating what ought to be; between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and behavioural economics; and between mainstream economics and heterodox economics.Economic analysis can be applied throughout society, in real estate, business, finance, health care, engineering and government. Economic analysis is sometimes also applied to such diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, law, politics, religion, social institutions, war, science, and the environment.