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UU Introduction to Economics and Business Economics - Summary for Samuelson Text 'Basic Economic Concepts and National Income' / 'Economics, an Introductory Analysis (Introduction)'
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Summary – Basic Economic Concepts and National Income (Introduction) – Samuelson:Economics, an Introductory Analysis (1948). Paul Samuelson.
This is an introduction to an influential principles textbook, Economics. This textbook helped
to popularise the insights of Keynes. The book brought the term neoclassical synthesis into
life a mix of neoclassical economics and Keynesian economics. Samuelson is seen as an
extremely influential and important economist of the 20th century.
Studying economics understanding the laws of supply and demand, it is seen as the queen
of social sciences, it is new science (two and a half centuries old) and most importantly,
economics is everywhere in daily life.
Adam Smith the Wealth of Nations (1776) founding father of the social science or
discipline of economics.
John Maynard Keynes the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936)
new ideas about economics.
Karl Marx das Kapital (1867) critique on capitalism.
Economics (or Political Economy) has gone through many stages of development.
Economics is the study of activities which involve exchange transactions among people;
It is the study of how people and society choose to employ limited resources (that could have
alternative uses) to produce commodities and distribute these goods to society for
consumption;
Economics is the study of how human beings go about the business of organising
consumption and production activities (wealth / improvement of society / development in
costs and benefits of improving patterns).
GNP / GDP (Gross National / Domestic Product) = a measure of the total of all goods and
services produced each year in a nation.
Another, more realistic, measure is the Net Economic Welfare, which focuses on quality
rather than quantity improving the quality of (economic) life.
Economics as a subject or discipline is not satisfied by only describing, but also helps society.
Political Economy shows how people can trade off quantity of goods for quality of life
(e.g. more taxes and less cars, but less pollution in return) political economy responds to
the new concerns and the quality of life describe, analyse, explain, correlate
(inter)connected patterns analysis.
Samuelson agrees with scientist Snow that economics is part of two cultures with attractive
features, namely the humanities and the sciences.
Economics is studied for the light it sheds to understand economics and its analysis, many
more sub disciplines have to be understood (sociology / psychology / political science /
history social sciences AND natural sciences mathematics / statistics), because the
subject borders on these disciplines.
As a social science, economics cannot be as precise as the natural sciences, because no
controlled experiments can be performed observation is important.
Control, improvement, progress, efficiency.
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