political economy

noun

1. a social science dealing with political policies and economic processes, their interrelations, and their influence on social institutions.

2. (in the 17th–18th centuries) the art of management of communities, especially as affecting the wealth of a government.

3. (in the 19th century) a social science similar to modern economics but dealing chiefly with governmental policies.

4. economics.

political economy

noun

1. the former name for economics

Other Word Forms

• political economist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of political economy¹

First recorded in 1605–15