Q6. Write short notes on
a) Economic Environment
b) Public Accountability
c) Industrial Policy of 1956
a) Economic Environment:
Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Current economic models developed out of the broader field of political economy in the late 19th century, owing to a desire to use an empirical approach more akin to the physical sciences.
A definition that captures much of modern economics is that of Lionel Robbins in a 1932 essay: "the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses." Scarcity means that available resources are insufficient to satisfy all wants and needs. Absent scarcity and alternative uses of available resources, there is no economic problem. The subject thus defined involves the study of choices as they are affected by incentives and resources.
Economics aims to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact. Economic analysis is applied throughout society, in business, finance and government, but also in crime, education, the family, health, law, politics, religion, social institutions, war, and science. The expanding domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism.
Common distinctions are drawn between various dimensions of economics: between positive economics (describing "what is") and normative economics (advocating "what ought to be") or between economic theory and applied economics or between mainstream economics (more "orthodox" dealing with the "rationality-individualism-equilibrium nexus") and heterodox economics (more "radical" dealing with the "institutions-history-social structure nexus"). However the primary textbook distinction is between microeconomics ("small" economics), which examines the economic behavior of agents (including individuals and firms) and macroeconomics ("big" economics), addressing issues of unemployment, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy for an entire economy.
The economic environment comprises of:
* Income and wealth: Income in an economy is measured by GDP, GNP and per capita income. High values of these factors show a progressiveeconomic environment.
* Employment levels: High employment represents a positive picture of the economy. However, there are many forms of unemployment, including partial employment and disguised unemployment.
* Productivity: This is the output generated from a given amount of inputs. High levels of productivity support the economic environment.
The economic environment can be classified into:
* Microeconomic environment: It includes the economic environment of a particular industry, firm or household and is primarily concerned with price determination of individual factors. The main consideration from a microeconomic perspective is the efficient allocation of resources. This is necessary to maximize total output.
* Macroeconomic environment: It includes all the economic factors in totality. The main consideration here is the determination of the levels of income and employment in the economy.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the focus has shifted from cities and countries to the global economy being the chief economic unit.
b) Public Accountability:
Accountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in both the public and private (corporation) worlds.
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