If the subject of science is characterized by What she studies, then the method - How this is being investigated. The reality of the results and the correctness of the conclusions drawn depend on the correctly adopted method.

The term “method” comes from the Greek word and translated means “way”, “path”. Method- this is a set of techniques, methods, principles with the help of which ways to achieve a goal are determined.

The doctrine of methods, the theoretical justification of the methods of cognition used in science is usually called methodology. Literally, the term “methodology” means the study of methods of cognition.

Currently, all the variety of methods for studying economic phenomena and processes is usually combined into the following groups:

• 1) general philosophical;
• 2) general scientific;
• 3) private scientific (special).

General philosophical methods serve as the basis on which economic science develops. Historical experience has given rise to various economic approaches to the study of human economic activity, various scientific schools, which were based on different philosophical ideological foundations, such as metaphysics, dialectics, materialism.

Metaphysics literally translated as what comes after physics. This term denotes a part of philosophical teaching

Aristotle, exploring the highest, inaccessible to the senses, only speculatively comprehended and unchangeable principles of everything that exists in the world.

Dialectics is the science of the universal laws of development of nature, society, man and his thinking. It requires the study of reality in the interconnection of phenomena and their constant change and development.

Materialism is a philosophical direction that proceeds from the fact that the world is material and exists objectively, i.e. outside and independent of human consciousness; matter is primary, not created by anyone and exists forever. Consciousness, thinking is a property of matter. The knowability of the world and its laws is affirmed.

General scientific methods are methods that are used in all or many areas of scientific knowledge. Among them it is customary to distinguish: historical, logical and the method of scientific abstraction.

Historical The method requires that economic phenomena be studied not just in development, but taking into account the specific conditions of existence of individual peoples, countries, regions, including taking into account historical traditions, cultural characteristics, and customs.

Logical The method is abstract and theoretical and is based on the use of techniques such as analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction.

Analysis- This is the mental division of the phenomenon being studied into its component parts and the study of each of these parts separately. By synthesis economic theory recreates a single holistic picture. Induction and deduction are widely used. Through induction(guidance) ensures a transition from the study of individual facts to general provisions and conclusions. Deduction(derivation) makes it possible to move from general conclusions to specific ones.

Analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction are applied in unity by economic theory. Their combination provides a systematic, integrated approach to complex (multi-element) phenomena of economic life.

It is especially necessary to pay attention to one of the key methods used in economic theory - this method of scientific abstraction(from lat. abstractio- distraction). The researcher abstracts from the secondary aspects of phenomena in order to identify what is essential and constantly repeated in them. This is how general concepts arise: production, needs, distribution, exchange, etc.

Historical and logical methods occupy an important place in the study of economic phenomena and processes. They do not oppose each other, but are applied in unity, since the starting point of historical research coincides, in general, with the starting point of logical research. However, the logical (theoretical) study of economic phenomena and processes is not a mirror reflection of the historical process. In the specific conditions of a particular country, economic phenomena may arise that are not obligatory for the prevailing economic system. If they actually (historically) take place, then they can be ignored in theoretical analysis. We can take our minds off them. A historian cannot ignore this kind of phenomenon. He must describe them.

Using the historical method, economics studies economic processes and phenomena in the sequence in which they arose, developed, and were replaced by one another in life itself. This approach allows us to concretely and clearly present the features of various economic systems.

The historical method shows that in nature and society development comes from simple to complex. In relation to the subject of economics, this means that in the entire set of economic phenomena and processes it is necessary to highlight first of all the simplest ones, those that arise earlier than others and form the basis for the emergence of more complex ones. For example, in market analysis this is an economic phenomenon such as the exchange of goods.

Private scientific methods represent the use of economic theory of scientific achievements of technical, natural, and related social sciences.

Let's look at some of them.

Economic processes and phenomena are characterized by qualitative and quantitative certainty. Therefore, economic theory widely uses mathematical and statistical techniques and research tools that allow us to identify the quantitative side of processes and phenomena of economic life, their transition to a new quality. In this case, computer technology is widely used. Plays a special role here method of economic and mathematical modeling. This method, being one of the systematic research methods, allows us to formally determine the causes of changes in economic phenomena, the patterns of these changes, their consequences, opportunities and costs of influence, and also makes forecasting economic processes realistic. Using this method, economic models are created.

Economic model - This is a formalized description of an economic process or phenomenon, the structure of which is determined by its objective properties and the subjective target nature of the study.

In connection with the construction of models, it is important to note the role functional analysis in economic theory.

Functions - these are variable quantities that depend on other variable quantities.

Functions occur in our daily lives, and we most often do not realize it. They take place in technology, physics, geometry, chemistry, economics, etc. In relation to economics, for example, we can note the functional relationship between price and demand. Demand depends on price. If the price of a product increases, the quantity demanded for it, other things being equal, decreases. In this case, price is an independent variable, or argument, and demand is a dependent variable, or function. Thus, we can briefly say that demand is a function of price.

Economic-mathematical modeling as a method of economic theory became widespread in the 20th century. However, the element of subjectivity in constructing economic models sometimes leads to errors. Nobel Prize winner, French economist Maurice Allais wrote in 1989 that for 40 years economic science has been developing in the wrong direction: towards completely artificial and divorced from life mathematical models with a predominance of mathematical formalism, which is, in fact, a big step back.

Most models and principles of economic theory can be expressed graphically, in the form of mathematical equations, so when studying economic theory it is important to know mathematics and be able to draw up and read graphs.

it is a representation of the relationship between two or more variables.

Rice. 1.5.

For example, in Fig. Figure 1.5a shows an inverse linear relationship (demand curve - as the price decreases, the volume of demand for a product increases), and in Fig. 1.56 - direct linear relationship (supply curve - as the price increases, the volume of supply of the product increases).

Within the framework of the graphical approach, they are widely used diagrams- drawings showing the relationship between indicators. They can be circular, columnar, etc. (Fig. 1.6).

Rice. 1.6.

When studying the economic life of people, their groups and the entire society, economic experiments are possible, reasonable and necessary, although it is not always possible to foresee all the probable results of these experiments.

Economic experiment- is an artificial reproduction of an economic phenomenon or process with the aim of studying it under the most favorable conditions and further practical application. Conscious mass economic experimentation at the micro level is associated with the activities of the English utopian socialist Robert Owen (1771-1858), French socialist Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), American researcher and practical manager Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), industrialist , the owner of the automobile plant Henry Ford (1863-1947) and the founder of the school of “human relations” Elton Mayo (1880-1945), and at the macro level - with the names of John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Large-scale experiments at the macro level were also carried out in the USSR.

Recently, a new one for economic science has been highlighted separately. synergistic method. The term "synergetics" comes from the Greek word synergetikos and means the effect of interaction between various systems capable of self-organization and self-regulation. Synergetics brings new visions of the problem to economic problems. This interdisciplinary approach, based on the results of the exact natural sciences, makes it possible to make the argumentation of conclusions from economic analysis more reliable and conclusive, to separate key factors from secondary ones. The significance of synergetics lies in its unifying role. The progress of each branch of specialized knowledge now increasingly depends on its “union” with philosophical and general scientific consciousness. As the Soviet scientist, founder of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology, Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863-1945) rightly noted, “the growth of scientific knowledge of the 20th century. quickly erases the boundaries between individual sciences. We are increasingly specializing not in sciences, but in problems. This allows, on the one hand, to go extremely deep into the phenomenon being studied, and on the other, to expand its coverage from all points of view.”

Thus, the methodology of economic theory has diversity, a wealth of techniques and ways of understanding economic phenomena. Depending on the goals of the study, it is possible to use one or another method.

Positive and normative analysis in microeconomics. Microeconomics methodology

For a long time, economic thought, and then political economy, included the study of what exists, the construction of what should be, and the development of economic policy. Only at the end of the 19th century. With the formation of pure economic theory, each of these directions became isolated. “Positive science,” wrote J. N. Keynes, “may be defined as the body of systematic knowledge relating to what exists; normative or regulatory science - as a body of systematic knowledge related to what should be, and therefore having as its subject the ideal, as something different from the real; art is a system of rules for achieving a given goal.”

Positive science, Keynes believed, deals with the study of “uniformities” (English), or, as we would say now, patterns, normative science - with the definition of ideals, art - with the formulation of prescriptions. He emphasized that “it is both possible and desirable to study economic uniformities independently of economic ideals and without formulating economic prescriptions (but not vice versa).”

The difference between them can be illustrated by the already familiar example of the forced industrialization of Schwambrania. The normative approach involves answering the question: “Should Schwambrania carry out accelerated industrialization?” Positive - the answer to the questions: “What can be and, most likely, will be the consequences of such industrialization? What will be the “cost” of industrialization for society?

Economics is a positive science that studies what is, or what can arise as a result of making certain decisions, although it is forced in some of its sections to take into account problems arising from differences in the value orientation of people. As a person and citizen, an economist can, of course, have his own, personal opinion about what should be done, but his task as a professional is different.

“To denote positive science, the terms economics are more convenient for economics than political economy, because it is not so easy to put a dual meaning into them” (Keynes J.N. Subject and Method... P. 41).

As a human being, the Schwambranian economist can agree with K. Marx that “production for the sake of production is nothing other than the development of the wealth of human nature as an end in itself. If we contrast this goal with the good of individual individuals - he can continue following K. Marx - then this means asserting that the development of the entire human race must be delayed in order to ensure the good of individual individuals... which, therefore, is a higher development of individuality is bought only at the price of a historical process in which individuals are sacrificed. Or, on the contrary, he may agree with Ivan Karamazov that it is impossible to either build or accept happiness paid for by a child’s tears.

But as a specialist, an economist must determine, firstly, by what means the goal can be achieved, and, secondly, what consequences the use of certain means will have in addition to and along with the achievement of the goal. “Then we give the actor the opportunity to weigh what the relationship of these unintended consequences will be with the intended consequences of his behavior, that is, we give an answer to the question, at what “cost” will the goal be achieved, what blow can presumably be inflicted on other values... Well Regarding the decision made on the basis of such weighing, this is no longer the task of science, but of the person himself, acting in accordance with his desires; he weighs and makes a choice between the values ​​in question, as his conscience and his worldview tell him.” And disputes between economists are caused precisely by differences in their personal value orientation, worldview, and not by the imperfection of economic tools as such. Economists do not remove the burden of choice from people, but can, to a certain extent, ease it and make the choice more responsible.

True, their capabilities may remain unclaimed, and advice or warnings may be left unheeded. The fact is that major decisions of national importance are necessarily based on incomplete and, at the same time, extremely expensive information, as well as on political interests and ethical standards about which there are fundamental disagreements in society.

The main research method used by economic theory is the modeling of economic phenomena and processes, that is, the study of objects of knowledge not directly, but indirectly, through the analysis of some auxiliary objects, which are called models. Unlike many natural and especially technical sciences, in economics, as a rule, ideal modeling predominates, based not on a material analogy of the object of study and the model, but on an ideal, conceivable analogy. Ideal modeling can be divided into two classes: iconic and intuitive.

In economic theory, sign modeling is usually used, in which the models are sign formations, usually formulas and graphs. In this case, sign formations and their elements are specified along with the rules by which one can operate with them. Note that iconic models also include words and sentences in some natural (for example, Russian or Chinese) or artificial language.

Economic models must, in principle, meet a number of requirements - meaningfulness and realism of the accepted premises and assumptions, predictive ability, the possibility of information support and verification, generality and a number of others. There is no consensus among economists about which of these requirements is “more important.” Some consider the main requirement that a model must satisfy to be its predictive ability, others see the role of such a criterion as the realism of the accepted assumptions and the ability to explain the behavior of economic agents through the model. Most associate the requirements for a model with the specific purpose for which it is intended.

Predictive ability is important for models that aim to predict the effects of one economic parameter on another (for example, the impact of the introduction of taxes on the sales volume of a particular product). Realistic assumptions and explanatory power are important for models whose purpose is to explain the behavior of economic agents.

Graphic models have a greater explanatory power, which is why they are widely used for pedagogical purposes. Here is how the English mathematician I. Stewart wrote about the value of graphical models (not only in economics): “Some mathematicians, maybe 10 out of 100, think in formulas. This is their intuition.

But the rest think in images; their intuition is geometric. Pictures convey much more information than words. For many years, schoolchildren were discouraged from using pictures because “they are not rigorous.”

This is a sad misunderstanding. Yes, they are not strict, but they help you think, and this kind of help should never be neglected."

In this book, as in most foreign microeconomics courses, graphical models and “pictures” are the main way of presenting the material. The advantage of “pictures” is their compactness, clarity, and easy visibility of all relationships between variables. But they also have a drawback. Easily readable “pictures” are two-dimensional, while three-dimensional ones are no longer so easy to read, and multidimensional “pictures” do not exist at all. This limits to some extent the explanatory power of graphical models in economic theory. In microeconomics, two types of models are used - optimization and equilibrium.

When studying the behavior of individual economic agents, optimization models are used. Therefore, the main working concepts here are of a marginal nature: marginal utility, marginal product, marginal costs, marginal revenue, etc. This was the basis for calling this methodology of economic analysis marginalism, and those who use it, marginalists (from the English margin - limit). Both of the latter terms were introduced by the English economist J. Hobson (1858-1940) in his works “The Industrial System” (1909) and “Labor and Wealth” (1914) and had a disparaging connotation. It persisted for a long time in Russian literature.

The term “margin” owes its penetration into economic theory to two English economists - the little-known T. Chalmers and the last representative of the classical school, John Stuart Mill, who wrote: “The last land or capital used, in the words of Dr. Chalmers, for marginal processing (margin of cultivation), do not and will not bring rent." Elsewhere, Mill observed that Dr. Chalmers explained the phenomena of reality "in his own original language, which often reveals aspects of truth which accepted phraseology tends only to obscure." This “original language,” supplemented by mathematical analysis, formed the core of the modern analytical tools of economic theory.

The second type of model - market equilibrium models - is used to study the relationships between economic agents. It is usually assumed that a system is in equilibrium if the interacting forces are balanced and there are no internal impulses to upset the balance. Market equilibrium models are a special case of a broader and more general class of models of economic interaction between market agents. They allow us to study not only equilibrium, but also nonequilibrium states of the economy. However, the analysis of disequilibrium states is not usually included in standard microeconomics courses.

Why do equilibrium models play such an important role in microeconomic theory? The fact is that individual market actors, individuals (households) and enterprises, can optimize their position only if they know all the prices for the resources they consume and the benefits they offer. However, an individual subject usually cannot have a definite opinion about how he could use his funds at an arbitrarily given price level. In practice, he must limit himself to a decision: how much of a certain commodity he could buy or sell with some change in its price, but provided, however, that the prices of all other goods remain unchanged, “for only under such an assumption does the monetary unit have a completely clear meaning... The best method for studying price-forming factors is to assume a state of equilibrium and small fluctuations of one particular price."

During periods of high inflation, when the absolute prices of all goods are growing rapidly, but growing to varying degrees, subjects of market relations lose their understanding of the meaning of the monetary unit. It would seem that in this situation the assumption of equilibrium that underlies microeconomic models loses its meaning. However, it is not. In this case, equilibrium models remain the only tools that allow the analyst to distinguish in the behavior of market subjects what is caused by changes in the price level and what is caused by changes in their ratios. And in the same way, equilibrium models between aggregate demand and aggregate supply are the basis for macroeconomic analysis of fluctuations in the level of economic activity, employment, and inflation.

microeconomics optimization equilibrium demand

How will revenue change if the price increases if the price elasticity of demand is greater than one?:

A) will decrease;

B) will remain unchanged;

B) will increase;

D) changes in revenue are not related to the elasticity of demand. Answer: A3. Task:

The table shows the volume of demand for product A at various levels of its price:

Price, thousand UAH.
Volume of demand, thousand pcs.

Define:

A) Revenue from the sale of product A at each price value.

B) The coefficient of point price elasticity of demand for all specified price intervals.

C) At what value of the price elasticity coefficient will revenue be maximized?

Solution We determine revenue using the formula:

Revenue = sales value of goods or services * quantity of goods or services sold

Coefficient of point price elasticity of demand according to the formula:

§ -- starting price

§ -- new price

§ -- initial volume

§ -- new volume

Let's put the calculation results in the table:

Let's plot the dependence of revenue on the elasticity coefficient:

From this graph it can be seen that revenue is maximum when the elasticity coefficient is equal to -3.72.

List of sources used

1. V.M. Galperin, S.M. Ignatiev, V.I. Morgunov. MICROECONOMICS, 1999

2. Galperin V.A., Ignatiev S.A., Morgunov V.I. Microeconomics. In 2 volumes - St. Petersburg: Economic School, 1996,1998.

3. Emtsov R.G., Lukin M.Yu. Microeconomics. Textbook. - M.: Publishing house of Moscow State University named after. M.V. Lomonosov, Business and Service, 1999

4. Kritsky M.M. Economic theory: microeconomic aspect. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of St. Petersburg State Institute of Economics and Economics, 1998

5. Leussky A.I., Taraseevich L.S. Microeconomics. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of St. Petersburg UEiF, 1996.

This topic begins the study of the most important section of general economic theory - microeconomics. It discusses issues that are important for understanding the structure and content of a microeconomics course and methods of microeconomic analysis.

Thus, a definition is given to the subject of microeconomics, the content of the problem of choice in economics is revealed through the identification of the main problems of the economic organization of society.

The most important principles of economic analysis are considered - economic atomism, economic rationalism, the equilibrium approach, and the basic methods and techniques of microeconomic analysis are revealed.

Particular attention is paid to the role in microeconomic research of functional, marginal (marginal) analysis, modeling of economic phenomena and processes.

The main branches of modern economic theory are microeconomics, macroeconomics and international economics.

Microeconomics studies the activities of individual firms, households, and the state interacting in the markets for consumer goods and production resources. Microeconomics assumes that the optimal equilibrium of the entire economic system (general economic equilibrium) is formed from the equilibrium of individual consumers (households), producers (firms), markets for consumer goods and resources. It reveals the mechanisms for the efficient allocation of limited resources and income distribution and is the basis for the development of microeconomic policy.

Macroeconomics as a science examines the national economy as a single whole, considering as objects of analysis the behavior of aggregated economic agents (aggregate consumer, aggregate producer, state) interacting in aggregate markets of labor, goods and services, and money. It assumes that the equilibrium conditions of individual economic entities and markets do not yet determine the optimal equilibrium of the entire economic system. Macroeconomics studies the mechanisms of development of various forms of macroeconomic instability (economic downturns, inflation, unemployment, foreign economic imbalances) and is the basis for developing macroeconomic policy.

Micro- and macroeconomics are closely interconnected. Microeconomic analysis serves as the basis for the analysis of many macroeconomic processes. At the same time, the behavior of economic units is influenced by macroeconomic factors: aggregate demand, aggregate supply, money supply in circulation, employment level, etc.

Microeconomics as a science studies the behavior of individual economic entities in order to identify the conditions and mechanisms for the effective use of limited production resources to satisfy unlimited human needs.

The limitation or rarity of resources lies in their insufficiency at any given time to achieve different goals. The use of a resource for the production of one good excludes the possibility of its use for the production of another good. This determines the existence of a choice problem, which consists in determining the option for using rare resources in order to best achieve the set goals. When choosing one of the options, you have to give up other (alternative) options. Therefore, choice is always associated with certain sacrifices, which are called opportunity costs. They reflect the cost of choosing one or another activity option.

The problem of choice in economics is specified by three problems of economic organization facing any society:

what to produce (what goods and in what quantities are necessary for society)?

how to produce (what resources and in what combinations should be used in the production of a particular product)?

for whom to produce (how should the produced product be distributed)?

The concept of mechanisms for the efficient placement and use of production resources for the maximum possible satisfaction of unlimited human needs as a subject of microeconomics was first expressed by Lionel Robbins.

In the article “The Subject of Economic Science,” he wrote that “economics is the science that studies human behavior from the point of view of the relationship between goals and limited means, which can have different uses.” From the economist's point of view, the human condition is characterized by the following four fundamental principles: man strives for various goals; the time and means at his disposal are limited; they can be aimed at achieving alternative goals; At any given time, different goals have different importance. Therefore, it is necessary to find optimal ways to use the limited production resources available to society.

The analysis of the behavior of households and firms is based on a number of principles, which are assumptions (assumptions). One of the basic ones is the principle of economic atomism. In accordance with it, it is assumed that economic entities have economic sovereignty and make decisions independently of each other, and economic patterns appear as the total result of these decisions.

The most important assumption about economic behavior is the principle of economic rationalism. Its essence lies in the fact that economic entities strive to maximize net gain in the form of the difference between costs and benefits: consumers maximize their total utility, producers - their total profit.

The desire to maximize the results of all types of economic activity (for the consumer - maximization of utility, for the producer - maximization of profit) within certain restrictions is considered by microeconomic theory as a fundamental prerequisite for economic behavior, which is defined as rational economic behavior. It is characterized by systematic and purposeful actions aimed at ensuring that results exceed costs.

There are complete, limited and organic rationality.

Complete rationality is a theoretical assumption of a situation that assumes that a person, having complete and reliable information, makes a decision that allows him to obtain maximum benefits at minimal costs.

Bounded rationality reflects the impossibility of achieving complete rationality due to the fact that a person strives for the best result, but does not have sufficient information (there are difficulties in collecting and analyzing it), and his cognitive abilities are limited.

Organic rationality is characterized by the fact that human interaction is rationalized by both formal and informal (for example, moral, ethical, religious) rules of behavior.

In reality, many economic entities do not always act rationally, which is determined by the following reasons:

reality is much more complex than theories, and the decision-maker is able to assimilate only a limited part of the incoming information;

The decisions of individuals are not always determined by purely economic arguments; they can be influenced by psychological, moral and other factors.

Rational behavior of economic entities is possible under the conditions of a system of freely developing prices in the markets.

One of the remarkable properties of the price mechanism is the fact that prices, which convey information about the state of the market, simultaneously provide both the incentive and the opportunity to respond to this information. In this way, the stimulating (sometimes called regulating, sanitizing) function of the price mechanism is realized.

If consumers want to buy more of a product, its price will rise. This will be a signal to manufacturers (sellers) of this product that production (sales) volumes should be increased. Those entities that correctly understand market signals and act in accordance with them will receive additional income. Anyone who sells an unnecessary product or produces it in a less efficient way will receive less income or incur losses, go bankrupt and leave the market. Thus, economic entities receive incentives in the form of profits and losses to carry out economic activities that are most appropriate and useful from the point of view of society.

Market prices provide communication (connection) between isolated producers and consumers, giving them the opportunity to act in concert even when they do not think about each other’s existence. For example, the mayor of Paris does not have to rack his brains over how to provide city residents with the required amount of necessary goods and services. This problem is very successfully solved by the price mechanism. Hundreds of thousands, millions of items of goods arrive daily from all over the world to the French capital. If someone wanted to regulate this process, the results of such activities would very soon cause mass protests among the city population. Although in the context of some emergency situations (floods, earthquakes, wars, etc.), the importance of the regulatory role of the state in providing its citizens with necessary goods and services increases.

Prices also perform a distribution function. The income received by households (individuals) represents payments for the production resources they own - labor, capital, land, entrepreneurial ability. People's incomes depend both on the quantity and quality of these resources, and on the prices that are established in the factor markets.

The success of economic functioning is largely determined by the effectiveness of the relationship between theory and economic practice. The development of microeconomics, like other sciences, reflects real practice, and in this sense, theory is secondary, dependent on practice, determined by its laws and designed to contribute to its improvement. Compliance or non-compliance with practice, the ability to explain and predict its development is the final criterion for the truth of a theory.

However, theory, being conditioned by practice, has a significant impact on the development of practice. Acting as guidelines and incentives for practical actions, theoretical concepts and forecasts can, if true, contribute to the improvement of economic practice.

In its most general form, economic policy can be defined as a set of measures aimed at regulating the behavior of economic entities (consumers and producers), or the consequences of their activities for the effective achievement of set economic goals.

The connection between the facts of economic life, theory and economic policy is manifested in the fact that economic policy is based on theories that are formulated on the basis of systematization and generalization of facts. Determining microeconomic policy at the first stage involves, first of all, collecting, comprehending, classifying, and interpreting facts, events, and processes. At the second stage, the general principles of economic behavior of microeconomic subjects are identified, which are the basis for solving the problem of the third stage: developing microeconomic policy, i.e. measures or solutions that provide correction or elimination of the problem in question.

The transition from the first and second stages of economic policy development to the third is a transition from positive to normative microeconomics.

“Positive science,” wrote John Neville Keynes, “may be defined as the body of systematic knowledge relating to what is; normative or regulatory science - as a body of systematic knowledge related to what should be, and therefore having as its subject the ideal, as something different from the real...”

Positive microeconomics is independent of normative judgments; its task is to create a system of generalizations that can be used to correctly predict the consequences that any change in circumstances will lead to.

At the same time, normative microeconomic science is not independent of positive science - any political conclusion is necessarily based on a prediction of the consequences of a particular course of action, a prediction that must be based - explicitly or implicitly - on a positive theory.

Economic theory as a system of knowledge that explains economic phenomena and gives a holistic view of the most significant connections between economic variables is based on the application of a holistic system of techniques, methods and principles of analysis.

When researching in the field of economic theory, he uses general logical techniques of cognition (abstraction, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, analogy), techniques and methods of empirical and specific economic analysis (observation, description, measurement, comparison, groupings, modeling, expert assessments), principles of theoretical and economic research (economic atomism, economic rationalism, “all other things being equal”, equilibrium approach), methods of theoretical research (system approach, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, combination of historical and logical). And this list is not exhaustive.

An important technique of economic analysis is abstraction. It consists in abstracting in the process of cognition from unimportant aspects and highlighting the constant and characteristic features of the object being studied. Using the abstraction method, scientific concepts (categories) are formulated that express the essential aspects of the objects under study.

Extremely significant general logical techniques of economic analysis are analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. For a comprehensive study of an economic object, it is necessary, on the one hand, to decompose it into its individual component parts, and on the other, to create a holistic picture of it. This is achieved through analysis and synthesis. Through analysis, an economic phenomenon is divided into its component parts, and each of these parts is studied separately. Through synthesis, economic theory recreates a single holistic picture, combining individual parts into a single whole.

Induction and deduction are also widely used. Through induction (guidance), a transition is ensured from the study of individual facts (from the particular, special) to general provisions and conclusions.

Deduction (inference) makes it possible to move from the most general conclusions to relatively specific ones.

It is impossible to use only one-sided analysis or synthesis, induction or deduction; these methods of cognition must be applied in unity.

Analogy is a method of cognition based on the transfer of one or a number of properties from a known phenomenon to an unknown one. It plays an important role in the birth of new ideas and hypotheses. Many discoveries in economic theory were made by analogy. François Quesnay, for example, proposed a fruitful analogy between the circulation of blood in the human body and the movement of commodity and cash flows in the social organism. This allowed him to build the first macroeconomic model of the circulation of goods and money.

Many erroneous conclusions that people make are due precisely to the fact that they do not observe in their reasoning the rule according to which the consideration of each individual process must be carried out under the assumption of “other things being equal.”

This requirement is the most important methodological principle of any science, but microeconomics in particular. The principle “all other things being equal” assumes that in order to establish the influence of the selected independent variable, the assumption is made that all other variables in the model are constant with the exception of the variable under study. For example, the amount of demand for a product is influenced by many factors: the price of this product, the prices of other goods, consumer expectations regarding price changes in the future, the amount of income of the population, etc. In order to find out how each of these factors affects the volume of demand for a given product, it is necessary to assume that all other factors are constant.

The principle of the equilibrium approach means that economic phenomena are analyzed under conditions of their being in equilibrium, that is, in such a state when economic agents have no internal motives to change the current state. This does not mean that economic theory ignores the possibility of change. The point is only that it relies in its analysis on the study of states in which there are forces that automatically level out deviations and strive to return a situation that has changed under the influence of external forces to its original state. It is assumed that even significant changes in a phenomenon are nothing more than a transition of the phenomenon from one equilibrium state to another equilibrium state.

Methods of theoretical research (system approach, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, combination of historical and logical) are widely used in microeconomics.

The movement from the concrete to the abstract is characteristic of the first stages of cognition of any object. The concrete in this case acts as the starting point of knowledge. Ascending from the abstract to the concrete allows us to reproduce the entire complex and diverse structure of the economy in the system of economic categories and laws. Economic laws usually mean stable, repeating, causally determined relationships and interconnections of economic phenomena.

The principle of combining historical and logical states that the logic of presentation of the subject of research in general terms reflects the history of its formation and development. Historical is a way of revealing the conditions for the development of phenomena in their historical sequence. The logical, in contrast to the historical, reproduces the established whole as a system and reveals the role played by its individual elements. At the same time, the logical is the same as the historical, but freed from accidents.

The most important method of theoretical-economic analysis, widely used by economic theory, is the modeling of economic phenomena and processes, that is, the study of objects of knowledge not directly, but indirectly, through the analysis of some auxiliary objects, which are called models. The task of modeling is to study the influence of certain factors on a phenomenon, predict the consequences of changes in the latter, and provide a theoretical justification for the observed dependencies.

Graphical models have greater explanatory power. Therefore, they are widely used for pedagogical purposes. In this tutorial, graphic models are one of the main ways of presenting material. Their advantage is their compactness and easy visibility of all relationships between variables. But they also have a drawback. Easily readable graphical models are two-dimensional, while three-dimensional ones are no longer so easy to read, and multidimensional models do not exist at all. This limits the explanatory power of graphical models.

In economic models, concepts that have a marginal nature are widely used - marginal utility, marginal product, marginal costs, marginal revenue, etc. Limit (marginal) analysis is based on the study of quantitative changes that occur with an extremely small change in any economic variable affecting a given phenomenon. For example, an increase in production volume by one additional unit of output will lead to a change in the firm's gross income and gross costs - the magnitude of these changes will amount to marginal revenue and marginal costs. Limit analysis is a tool for predicting the behavior of economic entities. It allows you to answer questions: how consumers will spend their income; What goods, in what quantities and with what resources will firms produce?

Functional analysis is the most important method for studying economic phenomena. It allows you to study the patterns of change in one economic value depending on another and establish a method of connection between these values.

It should be borne in mind that the presence of a functional dependence only indicates an existing correlation, but not a cause-and-effect relationship between them. However, this does not reduce the value of functional analysis. The revealed dependencies make it possible to establish relationships between economic phenomena, as well as to determine the factors influencing them and the conditions for achieving equilibrium.

Economic models include two types of variables - exogenous and endogenous. Economic variables whose parameters are specified outside the model are called exogenous (external) economic variables. Economic variables, the parameters of which are determined within the framework of the model, are called endogenous (internal) economic variables.

Depending on the extent to which the time factor is taken into account when studying economic processes, a distinction is made between short-term (to a certain extent, static) and long-term (dynamic) analysis. All parameters of short-term models refer to the same time period. Such models assume that endogenous variables respond instantaneously to changes in exogenous parameters. Long-run models contain variables over different time periods, so these models reveal movement from an initial state to a final state (for example, economic growth models).

According to the method of measurement over time, the economic variables of flow and stock differ.

Flow variables are measured by the amount of something per unit of time (for example, investment spending over a period of time).

Stock variables represent a value fixed at some point in time (for example, the amount of fixed capital in the national economy at the end of the year).

Macroeconomic models reflect various types of functional connections between endogenous and exogenous economic variables: technological, behavioral, institutional.

An example of a technological functional connection could be a production function that reveals the technological dependence of a firm’s production volume on the quantity and combination of production resources it uses: Y = F (K, L), where K and L are the quantities of capital and labor used, respectively.

Behavioral functional connections reflect the established preferences of economic entities. For example, the dependence of investments by private firms on the value of the real interest rate (I = I(r)) characterizes the investment behavior of producers of economic goods.

Institutional functional connections express the relationships between economic variables and government institutions that regulate economic activity.

CHAPTER 1. GENERAL ECONOMIC THEORY

1.1 Subject, structure, functions and methods
economic theory

Subject of economic theory as a social science
about industrial relations between people
in conditions of limited resources

Economic theory consists of two large blocks: microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Microeconomics - economics at the level of an individual, family, enterprise (firm), industry. It studies the behavior of subjects in the market, the relationships between them in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods, and also explores the relationships between producers and the state. The core of microeconomic analysis is the firm (enterprise).
Microeconomics studies the behavior of individual economic entities - households and firms, by analyzing which, it seeks to explain the reasons and factors that determine the adoption of certain decisions, as well as indicate the consequences of making these decisions on the market.
This block is closely related to macroeconomics. If we use a figurative expression, we can say: macroeconomics is a bird's eye view of the forest, and microeconomics is the trees of this forest.
The purpose of economic theory is to study the interaction of people in the process of finding effective ways to use limited productive resources in order to meet the needs of society.
On the one hand, macroeconomics (from the Greek. makros- large) is a set of such forms of management that cover the national economy as a whole. At the same time, the concept of “national economy” usually includes the economy of a multinational country, which constitutes a single basis for the existence of different nations within a certain state.
Unlike microeconomics, which studies mainly the behavior of an individual economic entity, macroeconomics studies the system as a whole and its most important components, such as total production, the general price level, goals and problems of economic policy, foreign trade, the functioning of the public sector, etc.
Macroeconomics analyzes not only the structural components of the national economy. Its main goal is to study the relationships between general economic phenomena and processes (on the scale of the national economy).
The entire macroeconomic economic system is united by the following design elements:
1) type of common joint property. General joint appropriation is represented as state property;
2) national economic integrity, based on the general (national) division of labor, which makes all major spheres, branches of production and economic regions (relatively independent territorial divisions) of the country interconnected;
3) macroeconomics forms a single economic space, which is held together by a common monetary system.
On the other hand, macroeconomics is a theory of rational use of limited resources that studies and studies the economy as a whole. The focus of macroeconomics is on such problems as: ensuring sustainable economic growth, full employment of resources, minimizing inflation and unemployment, optimizing foreign economic relations and relations in the country.
The relationship between economic theory and economics is presented in Figure 1.

Rice. 1. The relationship between economic theory and economics

The subject of economic theory research is at the stage of scientific development and empirical adaptation.
Economic theory is the science of the systems of economic relations of society.
Until the 90s of the twentieth century, Marxist political economy occupied a predominant role in the formation of the economic worldview and economic thinking in the country. And therefore, the world economic thought of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not studied enough by many, since it did not fit into Marx’s schemes. The gap between economic science in Russia and world science has led to the fact that economists began to use different concepts and terms. The subject of the study of political economy in accordance with the class approach to the analysis of facts was only production relations, the basis of which were property relations. From the system of production relations were derived economic laws, contradictions, the need for class conflicts, the dictatorship of the proletariat and the dominance of the command-administrative system. When studying industrial relations, the emphasis was on their social and class character.
At present, it seems that in a post-industrial society, economic theory acts as a general methodological economic science, which has its own subject and object of analysis.
The subject of economic theory is presented in Figure 2.

Rice. 2. Subject of economic theory

Some economists reduce the course of economic theory only to the analysis of the market and pricing. Others note that this is the science of people's daily business life and making money.
So, there is no generally accepted definition of the subject of economic theory, but most economists recognize that this is a universal science about the problems of choosing resources and the economic behavior of a person, enterprise (firm).
The object of study of economic theory is the analysis of the close relationship of the mechanism of market functioning with the presence in markets and the corresponding segments of perfect and imperfect competition, the degree of monopolization of individual economic spheres, forms and methods of price and non-price competition, ways and means of economic reform of market relations.

Worldview, general scientific, specific research methods

Economic theory, like any other science, cannot be limited to just contemplating the reality around us. The method of economic theory is a set of methods, techniques for understanding economic relations, people and their reproduction in a system of economic categories, principles, laws, models. The set of methods used in economic theory is methodology.The essence of ideological research methods is simple contemplation and study of current processes and phenomena. Economic processes and phenomena are considered both in dynamics and statics. Economic theory for the most part uses general scientific methods of cognition. There are the following methods of economic theory: method of cognition, presentation, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, graphical method.
Task method of cognition consists in penetrating and revealing the essence of economic processes and phenomena. This is achieved by moving thinking from the concrete to the abstract and from the abstract to the concrete.
Method of presentation is intended to reproduce the obtained research results in a logically harmonious and consistent system of economic categories, principles, and laws.
At analysis there is a mental decomposition of a phenomenon into its component parts and the isolation of its individual aspects in order to identify the specific thing that distinguishes them from each other.
At synthesis there is a mental unification of the parts and sides dissected by analysis in order to identify what is common that connects these parts and sides into a single whole.
Induction is a method of research in which knowledge of reality is accomplished in the process of developing single statements that provide the opportunity to draw generalizing conclusions and formulate general provisions.
Deduction- a method of research in which knowledge about processes and phenomena is formed during the transition from general provisions to particular and individual judgments.
The graphical method is based on creating graphs. Graphs are a visual means of visually illustrating the functional dependencies and connections between various economic factors.
Private research methods are used depending on the specific situation.

Structure and functions of economic theory

Within the framework of economic theory, issues related to microeconomic and macroeconomic processes of social life and problems of the world economy are studied.
In Figure 3 we present the main functions of economic theory.

Rice. 3. Functions of economic theory

There are a number of functions performed by economic theory:
1) educational;
2) methodological;
3) practical;
4) ideological;
5) prognostic.
Cognitive function lies in understanding the phenomena of socio-economic life of society, methodological- in determining research methods, practical- in determining the methods of practical application of certain research methods for a real-life situation in the economic life of society and the state.
Worldview function consists in the formation of a certain economic worldview, a view of the surrounding reality.
Prognostic function consists in developing short-term and long-term forecasts of a particular situation.

The place of economic theory in the system of economic sciences

Let us pay attention to the traditionally established approach to the definition of economic science. Its essence boils down to the fact that economic theory is designed to study the causes of material well-being. In this case, the words “material” and “economic” are used as synonyms. We can say: everything that is connected with the development of material production and the exchange of products should be attributed to the subject of economic theory, while the rest should remain outside its scope. But is it? Let's take the wages of a carpenter and a musician. The work of the first causes an increase in material well-being, the work of the second does not. But the labor of both is assessed in the form of wages and enters into the circulation of exchange. The wage theory applies to both cases. The concept of wages, which ignores the amounts that are paid for intangible services, does not allow for the creation of a general theory of the process of wealth formation. It would break the unity of the exchange process. The work of both a carpenter and a musician is an object of demand because it has value for economic entities.
In the modern world, economic theory occupies a special place among the economic sciences, being the primary source of economic knowledge.

Economic theory studies economic relations and market organization of the economy. Economic theory studies the functioning of the national economy and the organization of international economic relations.

Economic theory consists of 4 sections:

1. General principles of economic theory
2. Microeconomics
3. Macroeconomics
4. World economy

In the general section Basics of economic theory the market organization of the economy and the functioning of the market are studied: market subjects, functions and principles of market relations, market infrastructure, forms of ownership, etc.

In chapter microeconomics economic relations developing between individual economic entities (firms, enterprises, organizations) and households are studied.

Microeconomics is the primary link of economics. Its economic categories are: market demand, market supply, costs, profit, etc.

In chapter macroeconomics The activities of individual industries and the entire national economy of the country as a whole are studied. Here they study the decisions made by the government to manage the economy. Economic categories: aggregate demand, aggregate supply, inflation, unemployment, financial system, taxation, loans, banking system, etc.

In chapter world economy global economic relationships between countries, blocks and groupings of countries, between financial and economic organizations and the world's largest banks are explored.

International economic relations are studied through the prism of the international division of labor and international economic organization.

In the global economy, the movement of investment, capital and labor between countries is studied.

Economic theory uses its own tools and concepts:

1. Economic categories are basic, key concepts used in conducting economic analysis, formulating conclusions, and explaining other economic categories. Examples: category of price, profit, costs.
2. Economic laws are global, universal relationships and patterns that are cause-and-effect in nature and operate for a long time and invariably, regardless of the will and consciousness of people. For example: , cost.
3. Economic principles - features of the manifestation of economic laws. Example: principles of market relations - private property, personal interest, competition and freedom of choice.
4. Economic factors (reasons for changes) - features of the manifestation of economic categories. Example: factors influencing the exchange rate - the level of inflation in the country, the rate of economic growth in the country, the size of gold and foreign exchange reserves, the size of GDP per capita.

There are two groups of problems in economics:

1. The problem of scarcity - natural resources are limited and even rare. For example: oil reserves should last for 50 years, gas reserves - 60, tungsten and molybdenum - no longer available.
2. The problem of choosing effective ways to use limited resources and the use of artificial and composite materials, resource- and energy-saving technologies.

Thus, the subject of the study of economic theory is: the study of issues of effective use of limited resources to satisfy the unlimited needs of people.

Methods of economic theory

Economic theory uses the following research methods:

• analysis
• synthesis
• systematization of observations
• method of induction and deduction
• logical and historical approach
• method of scientific abstraction
• banking method
• statistical method
• economic-mathematical method

Thus, the methods of economic theory are a set of techniques and methods by which economic relations are studied.