I have an economics degree, but the following is simply my perspective, resulting as much from academic investigation as personal and professional experience. Mine is an unapologetically biased opinion – economics is one of the most fascinating, and endlessly entertaining subjects of study. Once you move beyond introductory theory into more applied inquiry, it will forever change the way you analyze not just the world around you, but the catalysts for your own actions, making you question things you may have always taken for granted. Caveat emptor: it may dispel or disfigure your notion of “luck”.
Economics is not finance, despite a general perception toward that effect – it is a purely objective branch of behavioral science. It seeks to explain and predict what people do and why, according to the priorities and values of each. In more mathematically-driven applications, it aims to quantify and/or determine the correlation of results or outputs from one or many actions, events, or strategies.
“Value” is a subjective measurement. Ideally, value would be emotionally agnostic, and much of economics assumes as much because of its arithmetic underpinnings – emotional value is nigh-impossible to quantify. The vast majority of people find it extremely difficult to judge actions or events dispassionately, and I would argue that a similar proportion of people cannot act of their own volition based on logic alone. Additionally, little in this world either objective or emotional is held constant, which adds seemingly infinite complexity and some degree of variability in any large-scale or extrapolated analysis. Herein lies the reason why economics, like physics, is an ever-evolving science.
For what it’s worth, my course of study proceeded in the following way. Of note, I also studied higher-level calculus as well as probability and statistics courses before delving into the more advanced economics courses. I also took ancillary courses in finance and monetary policy..
Introduction to Economics: the basics of the basics. Supply, demand, scarcity, elasticity, etc.
Microeconomics: cause, effect, value determination and transactional behavior between individuals. I might recommend taking micro before macro… theories therein may be easier to grasp for some, as the scope of study is limited to individuals and smaller entities, and the concepts are somewhat scalable for macro considerations
Macroeconomics: cause, effect, value determination and transactional behavior of a large group or multiple interdependent entities (e.g. the national or global economy).
Game Theory: behavioral prediction and risk. Source of the famous Prisoners’ Dilemma, Monty Hall problem, and the foundation of Nash equilibrium.
Econometrics: quantifying correlation and magnitude of effects on relationships or events based on specific triggers, causes, and empirical data. Basis for every single automatically executed computer trade on worldwide stock exchanges, as well as actuarial and other types of risk analysis.
“We are on strike, we, the men of the mind. We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma that the pursuit of one's happiness is evil. We are on strike against the doctrine that life is guilt.”
martyg 4 years, 2 months ago.
