economics

[ ek-uh-nom-iks, ee-kuh- ]

noun

1. (used with a singular verb) the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind.
2. (used with a plural verb) financial considerations; economically significant aspects:

   What are the economics of such a project?

economics

/ ˌɛkə-; ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks /

noun

1. See microeconomics, macroeconomics
   functioning as singular the social science concerned with the production and consumption of goods and services and the analysis of the commercial activities of a society See also macroeconomics microeconomics
2. functioning as plural financial aspects

   the economics of the project are very doubtful

economics

1. The science that deals with the production, distribution , and consumption of commodities .

Notes

Economics is sometimes referred to as the “dismal science.”

Economics is generally understood to concern behavior that, given the scarcity of means, arises to achieve certain ends. When scarcity ceases, conventional economic theory may no longer be applicable. ( See affluent society .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of economics¹

First recorded in 1785–95; economic, -ics

Example Sentences

Levitt talks with her about the early days of Google, how her background in economics shapes the company’s products, and why YouTube’s success has created a range of unforeseen and serious issues.

From Freakonomics

This year’s winner for fresh thinking in economics, for example, went to Mariana Mazzucato, an economics professor at University College London, for “reimagining the role of the state and value in economics.”

From Ozy

Still, Nobel’s gold medals have become an international symbol of unassailable excellence in the fields of physics, medicine, chemistry, economics, literature and the pursuit of peace.

From Ozy

If the economics profession wants to respond in a more diverse manner, as many in the field have earnestly professed, one statistic to have come out of the pandemic gives cause for concern.

From MIT Technology Review

Its economics department includes someone you should all be familiar with, my Freakonomics friend and co-author.

From Freakonomics

That is decidedly not to say that politics and economics are irrelevant.

From The Daily Beast

Today many in the economics and urban planning professions consider such factors close to irrelevant.

From The Daily Beast

Even with my B.A. in English I can understand the economics involved: lots of cheap labor cheapens labor.

From The Daily Beast

It seems to me that we are dealing with more than bottom-line economics and bottom-squeezing ergonomics.

From The Daily Beast

The “stretched” cabins in new 737s and A320s transform their economics.

From The Daily Beast

The economics of war, therefore, has thrown its lurid light upon the economics of peace.

From Project Gutenberg

This, as a piece of pure economics, does not interest the individual employer a particle.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the one which is sometimes called in books on economics the case of an unique monopoly.

From Project Gutenberg

Professor Farnsworth, of the economics department, had invited me on a motor trip for the holidays.

From Project Gutenberg

Potlatch is a wonderful day for children, a glorious introduction to the science of economics.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• business
• finance
• social science