What is Economics?

About the lecture

In this module, we look at what economics is. In particular, we focus on: (i) the central problem of economics - scarcity; (ii) how different methods and institutions for making decisions about scarcity have different advantages and drawbacks; (iii) what economics is not; (iv) two prominent economic systems, including command economies and price mechanism economies; and (v) some qualifications and caveats when it come to studying economics, such as the contest between theory and practice.

About the lecturer

Avinash Dixit is the John J. F. Sherrerd '52 University Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University. He specialises in microeconomic theory, game theory, international trade, industrial organisation, growth and development theories, public economics, political economy, and new institutional economics. With this in mind, he has written widely, including The Art of Strategy (with Barry Nalebuff) and Investment Under Uncertainty (with Robert Pindyck).