Economics is a social science concerned with the factors that determine the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek οἰκονομία from οἶκος (oikos, pronounced eekos, „house”) and νόμος (nomos, „custom” or „law”), hence „rules of the house (hold for good management)”.’Political economy’ was the earlier name for the subject, but economists in the late 19th century suggested „economics” as a shorter term for „economic science” to establish itself as a separate discipline outside of political science and other social sciences.


Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing „what is”, and normative economics, advocating „what ought to be”; between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and behavioural economics; and between mainstream economics and heterodox economics.