Ökonomikas

Ökonomikas, in Finnish usage equivalent to the discipline typically called economics in English, is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It investigates how individuals and groups make choices under scarcity, how markets coordinate decisions through prices, and how institutions shape incentives. The field seeks to understand efficiency, welfare, and the trade-offs that societies face.

Core subfields include microeconomics, which analyzes behavior of households and firms and market mechanisms; macroeconomics, which studies aggregate phenomena such as inflation, unemployment, and growth; econometrics, which applies statistical methods to test theories and estimate relationships; and applied branches such as behavioral economics, development economics, international economics, environmental economics, and welfare economics.

Methods combine theoretical modeling with empirical analysis. Theoretical work uses mathematical models to derive predictions about supply, demand, market equilibria, and policy effects. Empirical work uses data, statistical inference, natural experiments, and randomized trials to measure causal relationships.

Historically, economics developed from moral philosophy and trade theory in the 18th century, with classical political economy leading to marginalism, the Keynesian revolution, and the later neoclassical synthesis. In the 20th century and beyond, pluralist approaches incorporated psychology, institutions, and computational methods.

Applications of ökonomikas include policy evaluation, business strategy, financial analysis, and public debate on taxation, regulation, and social welfare. The field continues to evolve with new data sources and methods challenging traditional assumptions about rationality and markets.