Economics is basically the understanding of how different economies

function. Economics is the study of how to best allocate scarce resources

among competing uses. Scarcity in the economy is the main problem. There
are not enough resources to keep up with the demand for them. Within the
discipline of economics, there are two areas of study: Micro and Macro
Economics.

Microeconomics is the study of an individual economy, or of the different

segments within the larger economy, while macroeconomics is the study of
aggregate economic behavior, or the economy as a whole(Madura 103). The
main goal of macroeconomics is to determine the impact of consumer
spending on total output, employment, and prices.

To fully understand economics as a whole, we must understand that there are

limitations set by the available resources that are used to produce goods and
services. These resources that are used in the manufacturization of goods
and services are called factors of production. Land, labor, capital, and
entrepreneurship. Land is the place used to produce the goods. Not only the
physical land, but also resources such as oil, air, and water. Labor refers not
only to the number of people on the workforce, but the quality of the workers
in the workforce (Mandura 115). Capital, the third factor of production refers
to the goods used in further production. And finally, entrepreneurship is
defined as the assembling of resources to produce new products.

A major area of concern among economists is opportunity costs. Opportunity

costs are the products that are given up for another product. Because we
have a limited amount of resources, we must find the most efficient way to
use them. Production possibilities are the alternative combinations of all final
goods and services that can be produced in a given time period with all
available resources and technology.

The main objective of economist is to maintain maximum output in

production. In order to reach maximum efficiency, there are three questions
that economists have to address. What to produce? Who are we going to
produce these goods for? And, how are we going to produce it? All of these
questions were answered by Adam Smith, a famous economist. Smith
believes that there is such a thing as an invisible hand of economics that
acts as the decider to all the basic three economic questions (Group

Presentation). He means that the market will decide for the manufacturers
how much of a product to produce. This idea stems from the concept of
laissez faire which means to leave alone, or to let happen. This refers to
government intervention of the economic process.

There are many available opportunities for jobs, for those with an economic
degree. The United States government is always willing to hire, but if that is
not for you: business firms, banks, and other financial institutions also hire.
There are also many other jobs at your fingertips, such as law, journalism,
teaching, politics, and financing. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
did a study that showed that jobs relating to economics are expected to grow
by twenty percent in the next ten years. The average starting salary for an
economist starts around $27,000, which is not as good at the salaries of
marketing and accounting.