Economics is the study of how individuals and societies manage their scarce resources—how much they work, what they buy, how much they save, and how they use their leisure time.

Most societies use decentralized markets as the primary means of allocating resources, so economics gives students insight into how markets function in coordinating the activities of many diverse buyers and sellers.

Economics also analyzes the trends and forces that affect the economy as a whole, including growth in average income, the portion of the labor force that cannot find work, and the rate at which prices are rising or falling.