Paper Comments: "On the Definition of Economics" (by Backhouse & Medema)
INTRODUCTION.- "Economists are far from unanimous about the definition of their subject. Here are some definitions of economics from contemporary principles of economics textbooks: "Economics is the study of economies, at both the level of individuals and of society as a whole "(Krugman and Wells, 2004, p. 2). "Economics is the study of how human beings coordinate their wants and desires, given the decision-making mechanisms, social customs, and political realities of the society" (Colander, 2006a, p. 4). "Economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources" (Mankiw, 2001, p. 4). "[Economics is the] social science that studies the choices that individuals, businesses, governments, and entire societies make as they cope with scarcity" (Bade and Parkin, 2002, p. 5). "[E]conomics is the study of human behavior, with a particular focus on human decision making" (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel, and MacPherson 2006, p. 5). Thus,...