Q.(a) Elaborate on the nature and scope of Economics.

(a) Economics is both a science and an art with positive and normative sides, and its scope covers consumption, production, exchange and distribution under micro and macro branches. (b) ICT — computers, internet, software and mobile technology — is widely applied in economics for data analysis, e-commerce, digital banking, e-governance, forecasting and learning.

PART (a): Nature and scope of Economics

Nature of Economics — the nature of economics is discussed in two ways:

• Economics as a science or an art: As a science it studies systematic cause-and-effect relationships and frames laws (e.g. law of demand). As an art, it applies these principles to solve real economic problems. Economics is therefore both a science and an art.
• Positive vs. normative economics: Positive economics describes 'what is' (facts, e.g. prices rose by 5%); normative economics deals with 'what ought to be' (value judgements, e.g. the poor should be helped). Economics has both aspects.

Scope of Economics — the scope covers:

• Subject matter: economics studies human economic activities, grouped into four divisions — consumption (satisfaction of wants), production (creation of goods and services), exchange (buying and selling), and distribution (sharing of income among factors — rent, wages, interest, profit).
• Branches: economics is divided into micro economics (study of individual units — a consumer, a firm, a market) and macro economics (study of the economy as a whole — national income, employment, general price level).

PART (b): Ideas of ICT used in Economics

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) — computers, the internet and mobile devices — is widely used in modern economics:

1. Data collection and analysis — large economic data (census, surveys, national income) are gathered, stored and processed using computers and databases.
2. Econometrics and statistical software — tools such as spreadsheets and statistical packages are used to build and test economic models and forecasts.
3. E-commerce and online trading — buying, selling and stock/commodity trading now take place online, widening markets. …