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In economics, a want is something that is desired. It is said that every person has unlimited wants, but limited resources (economics is based on the assumption that only limited resources are available to us). Thus, people cannot have everything they want and must look for the most affordable alternatives. Wants are often distinguished from needs.
The coincidence of wants (often known as double coincidence of wants) [1] [2] [verification needed] is an economic phenomenon where two parties each hold an item that the other wants, so they exchange these items directly. Within economics, this has often been presented as the foundation of a bartering economy. [3]
In economics, a utility function is often used to represent a preference structure such that () if and only if. The idea is to associate each class of indifference with a real number such that if one class is preferred to the other, then the number of the first one is greater than that of the second one.
The earlier term for the discipline was "political economy", but since the late 19th century, it has commonly been called "economics". [22] The term is ultimately derived from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomia) which is a term for the "way (nomos) to run a household (oikos)", or in other words the know-how of an οἰκονομικός (oikonomikos), or "household or homestead manager".
"Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses." [5] Robbins found that four conditions were necessary to support this definition: [14] The decision-maker wants both more income and more income-earning assets. The decision-maker does not have the means to ...
Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a safe, stable and healthy life (e.g. air, water, food, land, shelter) while a want is a desire, wish or aspiration.
James Stuart (1767) authored the first book in English with 'political economy' in its title, explaining it just as: . Economy in general [is] the art of providing for all the wants of a family, so the science of political economy seeks to secure a certain fund of subsistence for all the inhabitants, to obviate every circumstance which may render it precarious; to provide everything necessary ...
Economic welfare is created in a production process, meaning all economic activities that aim directly or indirectly to satisfy human wants and needs. [3] The degree to which the needs are satisfied is often accepted as a measure of economic welfare. In production there are two features which explain increasing economic welfare.