Final answer:
Microeconomics examines the behavior of individual economic agents like consumers and businesses, focusing on how they make decisions within budget constraints to maximize utility and how this affects market prices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Microeconomics is the branch of economics that focuses on the actions of particular agents within the economy, such as households, workers, and business firms. The prefix "micro" indicates the small scale at which economic analysis is conducted, examining specific elements like individual businesses, industries, consumers, or markets. This area of study is distinct from macroeconomics, which deals with the economic activity of an entire country or the global marketplace.
Economists use microeconomics to understand the behavior of individual economic agents, analyzing decisions such as what goods and services to buy within the constraints of a budget. Microeconomics seeks to explain how these decisions result in the maximization of total utility, or satisfaction, with the resources available, and how prices are determined in the market.