The question of all time! Well, maybe not so dramatic. 'Economics' is a word used very frequently, but not always so well understood. Why is this so? Perhaps because economics is such a broad term, covering many abstract ideas. What's more, to understand economics, one must first understand the idea of an economy. 

So let's ask again: What is an economy? Is it a shoe, a book, an emotion? No, you can't touch the economy. You can't smell, see, taste, or hear it either. So what is it? 

The economy is essentially the product interaction between buyers and sellers in a market.  The economy encompasses everything: the market itself, the buyers, the sellers, and the government that controls parts of the market. So when you go to the store and buy oranges from the supermarket, you are participating, and actually a part of the economy!

Alright then, let's get back to our question; what is economics? Economics is the study of the economy and how it functions. You can think of economics as a "school of thought" or "theory." Economics predicts how economies behave, and tell us why they behave like that. Economics also tells us what will result if certain factors of the economy or market is disturbed or changed. 

Many people think of economics as a mixture of other subjects. For example, economics is like a science because its theories can predict certain outcomes. However, it's not exactly a science because we really can't "experiment" with the economy. It's like history in that economists study history and reason why or how something happened. Yet the economy is constantly changing, so economics is not very focused on the past. Economics also uses math and psychology to help with its analysis! 

All in all, economics is a very powerful tool to describe the many, many interactions between both nations around the world, and interactions between you and your neighbor! Here at A Borderless World, we'll use economics as a tool to understand why there is trade, and how it works!