1 Economics - Introduction.pptx

ECONOMICS INTRODUCTION

FOUNDER OF ECONOMCS

WEALTH DEFINITION OF ECONOMICS 

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1776, the book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth, and is today a fundamental work in classical economics. By reflecting upon the economics at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the book touches upon such broad topics as the division of labour, productivity, and free markets

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To him, wealth may be defined as those goods and services which command value-in- exchange. Economics is concerned with the generation of the wealth of nations. Economics is not to be concerned only with the production of wealth but also the distribution of wealth. The manner in which production and distribution of wealth will take place in a market economy is the Smithian ‘invisible hand’ mechanism or the ‘price system’. Anyway, economics is regarded by Smith as the ‘science of wealth.’

WELFARE ECONOMICS 

Alfred Marshall in his book ‘Principles of Economics published in 1890 placed emphasis on human activities or human welfare rather than on wealth

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Marshall defines economics as “a study of men as they live and move and think in the ordinary business of life.”

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“Political Economy or Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of individual and social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of the material requisites of well-being.”

SCARCITY ECONOMICS 

The most accepted definition of economics was given by Lord Robbins in 1932 in his book ‘An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science.

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According to Robbins, neither wealth nor human welfare should be considered as the subject-matter of economics. His definition runs in terms of scarcity: “Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.”

GROWTH ECONOMICS

1930 GREAT DEPRESSION 

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late-1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the world's economy can decline.

KEYNES

John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was a British economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. He built on and greatly refined earlier work on the causes of business cycles, and was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. Widely considered the founder of modern macroeconomics, his ideas are the basis for the school of thought known as Keynesian economics, and its various offshoots

KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS 

What is Keynesian Economics

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Keynesian economics is an economic theory of total spending in the economy and its effects on output and inflation. Keynesian economics was developed by the British economist John Maynard Keynes during the 1930s in an attempt to understand the Great Depression. Keynes advocated increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand and pull the global economy out of the depression. Subsequently, Keynesian economics was used to refer to the concept that optimal economic performance could be achieved -– and economic slumps prevented – by influencing aggregate demand through activist stabilization and economic intervention policies by the government. Keynesian economics is considered a "demand-side" theory that focuses on changes in the economy over the short run.