Economics

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Under economies , human economic activity that understand economics the systematic and efficient decision over scarce resources in order to best possible satisfaction of needs . It is an essential basic term or starting point for various economic fields , in particular microeconomics and business administration .

Causes and requirements of economic activity

Business is initially very closely linked to people's needs and the resources to satisfy them - one also speaks of a tension. In contrast to other branches of science such as human sciences , economics assumes that

  1. human needs infinite and
  2. the means available to satisfy needs are limited.

In textbooks, these assumptions are often adopted axiomatically at the beginning without a critical discussion. The fact that economic activity is inherent in people is seen, among other things, as a "system-independent fact". The importance of economic activity finds its strongest emphasis in the description that it is the "expression of the unconditional need for life and the will to live".

There are comparisons to the land of milk and honey , in which an economic view or the economy and budgeting would be unnecessary. But since our world is marked by scarcity , the problem of household arises .

Connections

The rational principle is intended to serve as the basic benchmark for economic activity . It is somewhat broader and includes something like: People want to achieve their goal with the least possible effort.

Derived from this, but also often viewed as a synonym, is the economic principle - the economic principle . A rationality of human action and a purposefulness are assumed in economic activity. Later considerations, for example on limited rationality, are seldom traced back to economic activity. In the context of economic action as decision-making and weighing between alternatives, it is close to the concept of opportunity costs (lost benefit that arises from an unselected alternative).

Classical economics describes the decisive behavior of Homo oeconomicus (utility maximizer), a theoretical model for the abstraction and explanation of elementary economic relationships.

If one assumes that all people follow the principle of economic activity and that people organize themselves in groups or form a community, one finds the entirety of all institutions and actions that serve the planned coverage of human needs - the economy .

Critical appraisal

A critical examination of economics as a behavioral determinant rarely takes place within mainstream economics. But there are more interdisciplinary approaches that try to combine anthropology or sociology ( gift economy ), psychology ( cognitive distortion , need , motivation : behavioral economics ) or philosophical considerations on the specific image of man , the goals ( teleology ), the state of nature or religious approaches ( asceticism ) to be included.

Ethical approaches often deal with sustainable management, responsibility towards other people (see also intergenerational contract ) or the environment.

In individual cases, the need for economic activity can be greatly reduced by social security systems.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b William D. Nordhaus , Paul A. Samuelson : Economics: The international standard work of macro and microeconomics . mi business book; Edition: 4th, updated edition (November 3, 2010). ISBN 3868800891 , page 21
  2. ↑ Werner Lachmann: Economics 1: Basics . Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Edition: 5th, revised. u. exp. 2nd edition (June 2, 2006). ISBN 3540300864 , page 9
  3. ↑ a b Joachim Paul: Introduction to General Business Administration , Gabler, 1st edition, 2006, ISBN 3834903361 , page 34
  4. ↑ Paul Engel Kamp, Friedrich L. Sell: Introduction to Economics . Jumper; Edition: 5th, revised. u. exp. Edition (March 22, 2011). ISBN 3642184545 , page 12
  5. ↑ a b Lothar Wildmann: Introduction to Economics, Microeconomics and Competition Policy: Modules in Economics Volume I: Modules in Economics 1 . Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag; Edition: 2 (March 10, 2010). ISBN 3486591118 , page 3
  6. ↑ Werner Rothengatter: Macro Compact: Basics of Macroeconomics . Physica-Verlag HD; Edition: 2nd, updated and exp. Edition (April 8, 2008). ISBN 3790820075 , page 1
  7. ^ Gerhard Graf: Fundamentals of Economics . Physica-Verlag HD; Edition: 2nd, completely revised. 4th edition (April 4, 2002). ISBN 3790814849 , page 5

Web links

Wikibooks: Business Administration / Basics / Economy and Business Administration  - learning and teaching materials