Final answer:
Economics is a social science that examines how people choose among alternatives. It studies how individuals, families, businesses, and societies make decisions in the face of scarcity. Economics analyzes allocation of income, production decisions, and government decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Economics is a social science that examines how people choose among the alternatives available to them. Economics can be described as social because it involves people and their behavior. Economics is also a science because it uses, as much as possible, a scientific approach in its investigation of choices.
Scarcity is a fundamental concept in economics. It refers to the situation where human wants for goods, services, and resources exceed what is available. Economics studies how individuals, families, businesses, and societies make decisions in the face of scarcity.
For example, economics analyzes how individuals decide to allocate their limited income among different goods and services, how businesses decide what to produce and how much to charge for it, and how governments make decisions on taxes and spending.