Subject of economic theory. Economic categories and laws.

In every science has its own subject, that is, its main research topic. The focus of economic theory - economic, industrial life of society, economic linkages and relationships between people in the creation, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods.

There are many definitions of economics. One of them was formulated by Paul Samuelson, a prominent American economist and the author of textbooks on economics which have been used by economics students all over the world for decades: Economics is the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable commodities and distribute them among different people.

Economics serves as the general theoretical and methodological basis for all economic sciences, since of develops basic concepts, definitions, terms as well as general directions and methods of scientific research.

Sections of the economy:

- Microeconomics - is taken as a basis for analyzing the smallest economic unit - the firm, association, etc.

- Mezoekonomika studies the laws and the behavior of specific subsystems of the national economy (agriculture, military-industrial complex, regional economics, etc.)

- Macroeconomics examines the economy as a whole, the objects of analysis are the income of society, unemployment, inflation, etc.

- Megaekonomika studies the laws and behavior of the world economy as a whole.

All sciences are careful to distinguish between two types of statements: statements about what is or was or will be – positive statements; and statements about what ought to be – normative statements. Thus, positive economics investigates the ways in which economic agents seek to achieve their goals. It deals with facts and is free from subjective opinions. For example, ‘The unemployment rate is 7%’.

Normative economicsmakes suggestions about the waysin which society’s goals might be more efficiently realized. For example, ‘The unemployment should be lowered’.

Economic categories - the basic concepts of an economic science: work, the price, the goods, money, etc. The aim of economic theory is to define laws and essence of economic phenomena.

Nature and essence of economic laws.

a) Nature of economic laws. Economic phenomena and processes are subordinated to the objective laws, which are commonly called economic ones. They are of the objective character, i.e. they don’t depend on human will and consciousness, but at the same time they are not historically eternal, they change with the change of conditions of economic life.

b) Essence of economic laws. Economic laws express the essence of phenomena and the level of their cognition by a person. They reflect stable, causal relationship between these phenomena or processes. They are typical and variable, that’s why they form a definite system of economic laws that correspond to this or that way of production.

c) Classification of economic laws:

- general – the laws, typical of all ways of production of all epochs;

- special – the ones, typical of the ways of production of the same type;

- specific – the laws, typical of definite ways of production with definite economic conditions.

d) Functions of economic laws. The objective nature of economic laws presupposes not only the necessity, but also the possibility of taking into account their demands in economic practice. It allows to elaborate a scientific mechanism of regulation of social production and to use the knowledge of economic laws while decision-making. Thus, the functions of economic laws are:

- to reflect the objective state of economy;

- to anticipate the necessity and possibility to use them in economic practice;

- to promote the elaboration of a scientific mechanism of social production management;

- to use the knowledge of economic laws while decision-making.