why is economics is called social science. what is its relationship to economics?

Answer 1

Economics is about the behavior of people, given incentives. While money is important to the study of economics, at it's core, it is about people and their interactions, and this is why it is considered a 'social' science. Of course, social sciences are very different from the hard sciences, and for this reason, we can't make mathematical calculations that determine human behavior. This is a key difference from the predictability of physics or chemistry. People don't always behave exactly the way we might predict. Nonetheless, making predictions about the choices we might make can help decision-makers in their efforts to plan.

Answer 2

Economics is a social science.

Economic science, at its basis, is trying to explain how individuals react to different stimulus from the environment, of course concentrating to economic stimulus.
For example is trying to explain how and why the consumption of a person will change in a change to his/hers income. This is also what social sciences trying to do.

Moreover economics are a social science because its results can not be strictly proved by repeated experiments and in different environments. A European will react differently to an increase of his income to an American and that difference comes form their different backgrounds and traditions. Instead in physics you can make one experiment as many times as you like, where-ever you like and the result will be the same.

One other aspect is the use of mathematics. Physics, chemistry, engineering etc can use mathematics to get rigid results. Social sciences use mathematics only as a tool to get indications and trends of a phenomenon or even make predictions. That is the reason that mathematics in all social sciences, including economics, are considered the medium to understand something (show that there is a distinct patern) and not necessarily to prove it.

Another argument to classify economics to social sciences is the fact that the conclusions that you reach using economic theories are not stable but depend on the interpreter and his environment (social, political etc). That is the reason that economics have many schools (protectionism, monetarism, Keynesian school, Neoclassical school etc.) Each school has determined its thought and believes according to its own observations. For example Adam Smith believed that the wealth was only coming from labor. Others considered the source of wealth to be trade (especially when England was an empire dominating all sea trade routs), others the land (mostly in medieval ages). Think about that today in Africa many tribes consider the source of wealth to be cattle because they can not cultivate the land or make any short of trade. The perception of economics there are obviously influenced by the environment and the society’s beliefs.

Nevertheless this is the classical way to see economics and there are many new trends. The most important thing is that economics have been divided to many disciplines like environmental economics, industrial economics, monetary economics, socioeconomics etc. This is because on the one hand the knowledge has increased and on the other the economic phenomena have become more complex. This tendency does not alter the main philosophy of economics and the fact that is a social science.

Answer 3

Economics is a social science which studies human behaviour faced with unlimited wants and limited resources.

Answer 4

Social sciences use the scientific method of inquiry, but focus on human society (as opposed to humans physically) instead of the 'natural sciences' that have to do with the fundamental structure of non-manmade things.

Economics is rapidly developing in the social science direction, much to the chagrin of the Krugmans in the field who wanted a more pure, theoretical and math-based curricula.

Answer 5

economics is a science coz like science,casual relationship is thr in economics.a systemmatic data collection, classification and analysis is undeertaken in economics. it studies what is?it gives prime importance to hypothesis.it is neutral between ends.it utilizes both inductive and detuctive methods of analysis and draws some specific principles. economics is science coz it imparts knowledge. alsoalferd marshal terming weaLTH as a means and human welfare is at end.

Answer 6

economics is not a hard science like chemistry or physics, but is based on assumptions and observations of human interactions with each other, institutions, and environments otherwise known as BS

Answer 7

b/cos economics studies societies.