Economics as a Social Science Flashcards
Term 1, Year 10
How is economics a social science?
- Deals with human society and behaviour.
- Uses the social scientific method.
Explain economists are model builders.
- Models: closely related to theories and laws.
- Theory: tries to explain why certain events happen and make predictions.
- Law: concise statement of an event which is supposed to have universal validity.
Explain ‘ceteris paribus’.
Means ‘other things equal’. Another way of saying that all other things are assumed to be constant or unchanging.
Explain ‘rational self-interest’.
Individuals are assumed to act in their best self-interest, trying to maximise the satisfaction (utility) they expect to receive from economic decisions.
Define ‘microeconomics’
Studies the behaviours of individuals within an economy; consumers and producers in particular markets.
Define ‘macroeconomics’
Studies the total effect on a nation’s people of all economic activity within that nation.