History of Economics

Economics comes from two Greek words Oikos and Nomos, Oikos means house and
Nomos means rule or principle. Economics has primarily been concerned with the
income getting and income spending activities of the household.
Modern economics emerged from the broader field of political economy in the late
19th century.
These Renowned Personalities of Economics, who really found the basis for the
studies of Economics. As we know, that the early Economics is primarily been
concerned with the income getting and income spending activities of the households.

Sir Adam Smith is considered as the father of modern economics, (1723-1790) was
a Scottish philosopher and economist. He is the author of "An Inquiry into the Nature
and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). He explained economics as study
of wealth, as “Wealth definition”
Sir Alfred Marshal introduced “welfare definition” for the study of economics (1842
- 1924). His book, Principles of Economics (1890), was the leading economic
textbook for many years. His thoughts of supply and demand, marginal utility
analysis, and cost concepts were detailed in this book. He is recognized as one of the
founders of economics

Sir Lionel Robinson was the head of the economics department at the London School
of Economics.(1898 –1984) He is known for his definition of economics. In his essay
on the nature of economics, he defined economics as “the science which studies
human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have
alternative uses”
According to Sir Lionel Robinson, the "Scarcity definition of Economics" states that,
Economics is “the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between
ends and scarce means which have alternative uses” In the definition "ends" means
unlimited human wants, aim or objective and the "scarce means" refers to limited
resources, way or methods.
So we conclude that, Economics as a science, enable us to make use of the scarce
resources in such a way so as to make maximum satisfaction for our unlimited wants.
Economic Concepts
Economics aims to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact.
Economic analysis is applied not only in society, business, finance and government,
but also in crime, education, the family, health, law, politics, religion, social
institutions, war, and science. Common distinctions are drawn between various
dimensions of economics.
The primary distinction is between microeconomics, which examines the behaviour
of basic elements in the economy, including individual markets and agents (such as
consumers and firms, buyers and sellers), and macroeconomics, which deals with the
issues affecting an entire economy, including unemployment, inflation, economic
growth, and monetary and fiscal policy.
Other distinctions are between positive economics describing "what is" and
normative economics advocating "what ought to be".
Another division is between economic theory deals with theories of economics and
applied economics deals with its application in activities thereof.
Yet another classification is between mainstream economics which is more
"orthodox"; dealing with the "rationality-individualism-equilibrium nexus" and
heterodox economics more "radical" dealing with the "institutions-history-social
structure nexus"; and between rational and behavioural economics.