Economics is the analytical study of the costs and benefits of producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. This tag should not be used for personal finance questions, nor for most questions about expensive items, e.g. exorbitantly priced houses, autos, jewelry. It can be used for current events, and in historical contexts.
- Macroeconomics concerns itself with behaviors, trends and efficiency at an economy-wide level.
- Microeconomics focuses on firm-level and specific industry-scale behavior, e.g. individual transactions, forces of supply and demand, competitive markets participants versus those who wield pricing power.
Economic concepts are applicable to business enterprises in the private sector, as well as in government. Economic systems vary, from laissez-faire to central planning. The scope of economic thought is broad, influencing social welfare programs, foreign trade, monetary policy, and much more.