Economics as a social science
Economics is a social science — a subject that studies how people make decisions about scarce resources. It uses evidence and reasoning rather than laboratory experiments to build its conclusions.
Real World
When the Bank of England raised interest rates in 2022, economists studied how households actually changed their spending — they could not run a lab experiment, so they analysed real consumer data instead.
Exam Focus
Distinguish 'social science' from 'natural science' explicitly; examiners reward precise methodological contrast, not vague description.
Price Elasticity of Demand
PED = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price
How well did you know this?