What is Economic: Definition and 86 Discussions

An economy (from Greek οίκος – "household" and νέμoμαι – "manage") is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services by different agents. In general, it is defined 'as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the production, use, and management of resources'. A given economy is the result of a set of processes that involves its culture, values, education, technological evolution, history, social organization, political structure and legal systems, as well as its geography, natural resource endowment, and ecology, as main factors. These factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions. In other words, the economic domain is a social domain of interrelated human practices and transactions that does not stand alone.
Economic agents can be individuals, businesses, organizations, or governments. Economic transactions occur when two groups or parties agree to the value or price of the transacted good or service, commonly expressed in a certain currency. However, monetary transactions only account for a small part of the economic domain.
Economic activity is spurred by production which uses natural resources, labor and capital. It has changed over time due to technology, innovation (new products, services, processes, expanding markets, diversification of markets, niche markets, increases revenue functions) such as, that which produces intellectual property and changes in industrial relations (most notably child labor being replaced in some parts of the world with universal access to education).
A market-based economy is one where goods and services are produced and exchanged according to demand and supply between participants (economic agents) by barter or a medium of exchange with a credit or debit value accepted within the network, such as a unit of currency. A command-based economy is one where political agents directly control what is produced and how it is sold and distributed. A green economy is low-carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. In a green economy, growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. A gig economy is one in which short-term jobs are assigned or chosen via online platforms. New economy is a term that referred to the whole emerging ecosystem where new standards and practices were introduced, usually as a result of technological innovations. The global economy refers to humanity's economic system or systems overall.

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  1. BenKlesc

    What will be the economic purpose of modular reactors?

    I'm been having a debate with a few of my colleagues about what we are witnessing with NuScale. A coworker of mine told me that the United States is never going to build a light water reactor ever again, and that Vogtle will be the last one. That is a pretty bold statement to make. He told me...
  2. FallenApple

    How often do economic bubbles happen?

    There was the dot.com bubble, the housing bubble etc where lots of people became really rich. Seems there is potentially a bitcoin bubble going on currently. So I suppose in my lifetime, there will be more of these opportunities to cash in on.
  3. BWV

    News The Economic Limits of Bitcoin and the Blockchain

    Interesting economic paper on the limits of bitcoin: The amount of computational power devoted to anonymous, decentralized blockchains such as Bitcoin’s must simultaneously satisfy two conditions in equilibrium: (1) a zero-profit condition among miners, who engage in a rent-seeking competition...
  4. ISamson

    News If I invest in AI companies, will I become rich?

    I have been reading a fool.com report on the AI financial BOOM: After clicking on the "No, I want to learn more." link on the bottom of the tease article and after entering your email, it will give you a video to watch on the topic and some more information by email. Do not hesitate to click...
  5. H

    Economics Price Elasticity of Demand

    Homework Statement So, my professor gave a test this weekend. I missed a problem concerning price elasticity of demand, but that's only because I assumed the opposite direction. Now, I'm considering challenging this question, because the price elasticity was listed as a positive number...
  6. S

    I don't understand how to turn my economic predictions into strategies

    investment/hedging strategies. Let me give you an example. Let's say I believe the following will happen Price of oil will go up at least 50% over next year DOW will dip under 15,000 by end of 2017 Median home price will drop 30% over next 2 years How do I actually turn these predictions...
  7. K

    Economics Homework -- Maximizing Profits....

    Hello, I need help with parts 4b-4d and to know if everything I've done is correct.A medical facility is faced with the following information concerning each MRI they provide. Q=2100-.5P MR=4200-4Q TC=400Q+5000 MC=$4001. Find profit maximizing level of output (Q*). Find P at Q*. MR = MC...
  8. gfd43tg

    Economic analysis: replace machine now or later

    Homework Statement I know it's not directly related to engineering, but its from an engineering economics course! Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Hello, I'm trying to solve this problem, and my first thought it to find the present value of each machine $$ PV =...
  9. Stephanus

    Fusion Power Economic Impact: An Overview

    Dear PF Forum, Can anyone give an idea. Supposed fusion power is available. With its limitless fuel source from the ocean. What would happen? How much would this energy cost in term of money compared to gasoline and electricity? In fission, the fuel is expensive (uranium).
  10. A

    Economic trends in the US

    Not to be a downer, but above I said median household income peaked in the late 90s. Turns out median net worth peaked in 1989. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/01/the-middle-class-is-poorer-today-than-it-was-in-1989/?hpid=z3
  11. S

    Looking for Economic data on oil exports and imports

    I was wondering if anyone could recommend a source for economic data where I can find a list of countries with where they export oil to, and how much per year. I use Mathematica, but their "CountryData" function doesn't have the functionality to do this.
  12. V

    Someone willing to help me understand this economic model?

    I have problems understanding the economic model. I need to write an introduction, but unfortunately cannot understand the main point. Will be grateful for any help! Thank you in advance!
  13. trollcast

    Simple Economic / Stock price model

    I'm trying to program a simple game with a handful of fictious companies on a virtual stock exchange that is semi realistic with price variations and trends over time. However I made a quick test using random functions and probabilities to produce the variations but I can't seem to strike a...
  14. K

    Schools Economic difficulties force me to restart college

    I'm a 3rd year major in physics. Unfortunately, I come from a pretty poor family and I study away from home, and we've been hit by an economic disaster that forces me to abandon college. I'm pretty good in my studies, I got a scholarship and I was at the top 10 of the best students of my...
  15. B

    Need a shopping list for building up a desktop for economic modeling

    Hi everyone, I am thinking of building up a new system to satisfy my need in scientific computing. My program usually involves with for-loop iterations written in Intel Visual Fortran 2013 on Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Some of my work need to perform numerical methods, like Amoeba...
  16. Greg Bernhardt

    How does deregulation mean more economic freedom for everyone?

    Does economic freedom = deregulation?
  17. A

    How do math and statistics play a role in economic speculation and hedging?

    My question/topic of discussion is, "Economic Speculation and Hedging". For many people this is just a mysterious thing that big bad Wall Street bankers do, and I want to find out about it. How does the calculus and the other maths apply to speculation and hedging? I understand that math is...
  18. Ivan Seeking

    Is the economic foundation of social media in jeopardy?

    Given the rather unimpressive public debut of Facebook, and the negative attitude towards Facebook that was evident in some of investment experts I heard, another story in the news, brought to my attention by George Will, on This Week, suggests a potentially serious problem for social media: GM...
  19. J

    Exploring Economics: Math, Philosophy, & Modeling

    Mod note: this thread was originally part of https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=601879 but has been split off due being off-topic. I would prefer the word understand, rather then model. Well a models serve both to illustrative and verify our understanding, from an instrumentalist...
  20. C

    Suggest me some economic concepts to learn

    Please suggest me some economic concepts to learn - the more important, the better. I'm self-teaching economics, and want to find more concepts to learn.Here are some of the ones I know as of now (might edit it as I learn more): Factors of production and final product (inputs and outputs) The...
  21. C

    What's the most famous academic economic journal?

    As the title says, what's the most famous academic and peer-reviewed economic journal? I know many journals, but I don't know which one could be classify as being the most famous and respected in the social science community.
  22. Greg Bernhardt

    MIT researchers forecast global economic collapse by 2030

    MIT researchers forecast "global economic collapse" by 2030 http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/next-great-depression-mit-researchers-predict-global-economic-190352944.htmlAnything we don't already know? Can anyone find the actual study?
  23. S

    Economic physical methods for surface treatment of plastics

    "economic physical methods" for surface treatment of plastics I am a material science student, working on a plastic based composite (reprocessed polyethylene solid form, mixed with cement). Initially, the mechanical strength of composite was lesser, probably because of the poor bond...
  24. G

    News Poll Economic future for the USA

    The folks on this forum seem quite smart and thoughtful. Please take the attached poll and discuss the reasons for your choice.
  25. L

    What book to read to understand the current economic situations better?

    Which books do you guys recommend reading which would help us to understand the current economic situations better? What book you think breaks down best the what went wrong and goes wrong with the economy? (World or domestic economy, financial markets, trade relations, developing countries...
  26. Pythagorean

    Peter Schiff's Economic Strategies

    I'm really just wanting to hear an analysis of Schiff strategies. Schiff is coined as the guy that predicted the crash (YouTube: Peter Schiff was right). What do our local economic experts think of Schiff's strategies in general? Would you throw in with him?
  27. BWV

    Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Financial Crises

    Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff did a landmark empirical study in 2008 of past financial crises and found the following, which has proved to be prescient in regards to our current situation: http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/2877 Figure 1. Past and ongoing real house price cycles and...
  28. BWV

    Are benevolent autocrats good for economic development?

    are "benevolent autocrats" good for economic development? As for example, Tom Friedman states: One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose...
  29. M

    Should the Government Invest More in Higher Education for Economic Growth?

    Everyone knows that education is important for economic growth, but does anyone have any ideas how much the government should use to rise the knowledge level(not necessary in dollars but maybe in how much free/cheep education) and if there are educations they should encourage more than others?
  30. rhody

    What U.S. Economic Recovery? Five Destructive Myths

    I am no economics expert but I think this http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2076568-4,00.html" [Broken] is fair IMO, however, you decide... and I am interested in what PFer's below the age of 30 have to say about the above paragraph, particulary the section I highlighted. What...
  31. T

    Why does economic growth have to happen?

    Why do economies need to grow? If a country has a narrow social inequality, a high GDP/capita, why does that country's economy need to keep growing? And isn't that insustentable? Do we have the resources necessary to keep increasing the production of goods every year?
  32. rootX

    News Russia and China role in Arab: political and economic policies

    Motivation from this post: https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3303488&postcount=4 What are current political and economic policies of both Russia and China in Arab? It is bit unstable and no one knows what will be in the future. But, I thought it will be interesting to explore topics...
  33. I

    Medical Expenses, Naive application of economic theory

    So I learned way back in economics 101, that when it's more profitable to produce/provide service A rather than B, more people will jump on the A band wagon, until the supply of A increases to the point that the price of A is no longer greater than B. Why does this not apply for medicine? Is...
  34. A

    The economic environment of China and Canada

    Hi folks, I am a first year MBA student taking an Economics course. My colleagues and I are having trouble learning by just poring over books, so instead I change my learning process by facilitating discussion online, incorporating business knowledge to my daily life. China, in my preception...
  35. K

    Best economic indicators for the economic health of a country?

    Hi all. Let me start by saying that I am not an economist, I just have a question about economics and I'm hoping some of you bright minds can help me out. I'm trying to understand how to evaluate the economic performance of a country over time. What metrics should I look at, and how can I...
  36. C

    News Germany's Economic Recovery Despite Lack of Stimulus

    Some interesting articles on this subject (they also point out that Germany's economy may in fact have recovered some from stimulus, but of a different kind (dealing with Germany's welfare state)): http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/germany-said-no_513319.html...
  37. J

    History GPD, GDP per capita, India's economic history

    Please reply in layman terms. Thanks. Gross Domestic Product, GDP, is the amount of goods and services produced in a year, in a country. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. I think it's the financial value (in other words...
  38. D

    Economic in calculation Questions Inquiry

    Qd = 3500-40P + 17.5Px + 670U + 0...9.A + 6500N P=monthly rental price of XY machine Px= monthly rental price of old town XY machine (Largest competitor) U = current unemployment rate in the 10 largest metropolitan areas. A=Advertising expenditures for XY machine N=fraction of the...
  39. I

    Solution to paid parental leave badness- economic crackpot or makes sense?

    Was thinking about the paid parental leave schemes. I have come under the impression that they are unfair (unfair under any system) as they stand now. The fact that it exists forces profit maximising firms to give lower wages to women - they incur a risk premium. This is because women, from...
  40. EnumaElish

    Weight Gain and Economic Insecurity

    I doubt that the people who gained weight had actually looked at their options and decided that gaining weight would be the optimal course of action that would minimize uncertainty. If, so how can it be an "optimal response"? Isn't it more like an "irrational response"?
  41. E

    The Unfortunate Reality of Economic Slavery

    I have to gain a real deep understanding of everything I'm learning in university and luckily for me I don't have to work to survive so I can put all day every day into learning which is what I like to do because I love learning about scientific fields. How do other people that aren't as...
  42. A

    In wich economic model this are more advanced: Space Exploration and Science.

    I really would like to suport the ideology that's helps science and space exploration. Capitalism, Socialism or a Mixed Economy, Socialist Market economy etc.
  43. A

    News Mixed Economy the only real and reasonable economic system?

    After watching socialism and capitalism, looks like they both fail in idealizing human beings, markets or goverment(in resume human beings). European countries are mixed economies and USA surpasses England implementing Mixed economy not capitalism. The American School (also known as the...
  44. N

    Quantum Economies: Phyisical Modeling of Economic Systems

    Hello, this article caught my attention: "Physical Modelling of Quantum Economies" http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1304630 It intents to develop dynamic economic models based on physical systems. So for example: it introduces the concept of "price-space"; substitutes...
  45. H

    Asteroid belt total economic value math question

    I'm working on a potential posting about the total economic value of all possible mined ores in the asteroid belt. This is something of an experimental draft to follow below. The total mass of the asteroid belt has a minimum and maximum estimate. What is 3.0Kg to the 1021st power Minimum...
  46. A

    Engineering Doing economic minor for engineering students

    Does economic minor means anything when you are at work ?
  47. Ivan Seeking

    What caused the 2008 Global Economic Collapse?

    One year ago this week, the failure of the banking and investment systems turned the global economy upside down. Apparently we define the beginning of the collapse to be the failure of Lehman Brothers. IIRC, by this time, Fannie and Freddie had already been bailed out. Late edit: Okay...
  48. N

    Stressing out over minor things losing possessions and economic downfalls?

    why do people get stressed out over things like plunging financially down the debt hole or the unemployment rate rising ? Those things are bad, but I would not considered suicide or sink into deep depression if I lost my job or all of my possessions like many people do . Things like losing a...
  49. T

    News Is economic collapse in the United States imminent?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/business/economy/26deficit.html http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2009/08/25/white-house-predicts-1-6-trillion-dollar-deficit-in-2009/ If you need more stories then google it. (I posted the New York Times article because they're notorious for liberal spin and...
  50. Phrak

    News What are the potential impacts of public confidence on the economy's recovery?

    The Economy Is Still at the Brink http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E2D6173DF934A35755C0A96F9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1"
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