Methods of knowledge of economic processes and phenomena, their classification. Economic research methods

Economic science uses general scientific and specific research methods. The word "method" translated from Greek means "the path to something." The methods of economic science not only reflect the known laws of the world of economic reality, but also act as a means of its further knowledge.

The world of economic reality is complex and confusing; the task of economic theory is to systematize a chaotic set of facts. Economic theory establishes connections between facts, generalizes them and derives certain patterns on this basis. The following methods of cognition are used in constructing patterns:

1. Positive method- this is an objective description and systematization of the facts of economic reality.

2. Practice shows that in economics there is also an opposite approach - normative analysis, which involves the use of assumptions and value judgments that reflect the subjective position of the economist. The presence of normative analysis is associated with the humanitarian nature of economic science and with its fulfillment of an ideological function.

3. General scientific method of analysis involves dividing the object under study into separate elements. The selected elements are examined from different angles, the main and essential things are highlighted in them.

4. Synthesis- a method opposite to analysis, which involves combining the studied elements and aspects of the subject into a single whole. In the course of analysis and synthesis, dependencies between economic processes and phenomena, cause-and-effect relationships are established, and patterns are identified.

5. Method of scientific abstraction- this is the beginning of any research, including economic research, which consists in abstracting from the unimportant, highlighting the most important facts and relationships in the economy.

6. Assumption“other things being equal” (ceteris paribus) is used in the process of analysis and synthesis. It means that only the phenomena and relationships under study change, and all other phenomena and relationships are assumed unchanged.

7. Analogy – a method based on comparison of the object under study with other objects.

8. Method of mathematical modeling- description of the studied economic phenomena using mathematical signs and symbols. Variables that change their value under the influence of various factors are designated by standard alphabetic symbols. For example, in Latin letters R the price is indicated D – demand, S – supply, etc. If two variables of economic research x And y are connected by a functional dependence, then in mathematical language this means that y is a function: x [y=f(x)].

For economic analysis, it is not enough to show this dependence; it is also necessary to reveal how they are connected, i.e., how the y depending on change x . The nature of the relationship between two quantities is most clearly determined by the graphical form of the functions. In economic theory, the Cartesian coordinate system, traditional for mathematics, is widely used, which represents two mutually perpendicular axes: the ordinate axis and the abscissa axis. The dependence of the two quantities will be reflected by a curve (with a certain degree of approximation). And the more initial data for constructing the graph, the more accurately the curve will describe the nature of the dependence of these quantities (all other variables are fixed).

Economic theory derives laws based on two levels of analysis: microeconomic and macroeconomic. In microeconomic analysis, specific economic units are examined: a separate industry, a specific company, or the economic performance of an individual company. Microeconomic analysis is necessary to look at the specific components of an economic system.

Macroeconomic analysis is used to study the economy as a whole, or its main components, which are called aggregate indicators (for example, the public sector, national product, national income). Macroeconomic analysis is used to characterize the overall picture of the economy or the relationships between individual aggregates. Therefore, macroeconomic analysis operates on such quantities as gross output, gross income, general price level, etc.

Although in micro = and macro analysis economic phenomena are viewed from different angles, the research methods and tools are the same.

The use of micro = and macroeconomic analysis does not mean a sharp division of economic theory into separate sections, when some topics relate to microeconomics and others to macroeconomics. In recent years, micro and macro economics have merged in important areas of analysis. For example, modern unemployment is not only a problem of macroeconomic analysis. To determine the level, it is important to analyze the functioning of a specific product market and labor market.

When studying economic processes, economic theory applies a number of GENERAL SCIENTIFIC methods of cognition, i.e., methods that are used by other social and natural sciences.

Observation, experiment, modeling.

Turning to the first method, we emphasize that, like any scientific activity, economic research is empirical in nature, that is, based on practical experience. This implies observation economic processes in their real form, and gathering facts happening in reality. For example, through observation and collection of factual information, it is possible to determine how commodity prices have changed over a given period.

In contrast, an experiment involves conducting an artificial scientific experiment, when the object being studied is placed in specially created and controlled conditions. For example, to test the effectiveness of a new remuneration system, experimental tests are carried out within a certain group of workers.

Method modeling involves the study of socio-economic phenomena according to their theoretical model (model). Mathematical modeling on computers is especially effective, allowing one to calculate the most effective use of enterprise resources. A very successful option for such modeling is the MEM program, which allows you to calculate your business strategy in conditions of free competition.

Method of scientific abstractions.

Abstraction used to develop certain abstract concepts or categories, such as price, money, cheap, expensive, etc. In this case, it is necessary to abstract from the secondary properties of the object being studied, and highlight the properties they need. For example, to define such an economic category as a product, it is necessary to abstract from size, weight, color and other characteristics that are not significant in this case, and at the same time fix the property that unites them: all these things are products of labor intended for sale.

Analysis and synthesis, systems approach.

Method of analysis and synthesis involves the study of socio-economic phenomena both in parts (analysis) and as a whole (synthesis).

Through a combination of analysis and synthesis, it is possible to systems approach to complex research objects.

Analysis errors.

The justification of economic phenomena may encounter two different types of obstacles - “wolf pits” ( pitfalls) analysis.

1. It can be difficult to distinguish between the causes and consequences of phenomena.

Let us assume that event A (cause) is always followed by event B (effect).

For example, a decrease in prices means an increase in demand if other factors remain unchanged. In reality, although events A and B occur simultaneously, there may not be a causal connection between them. For example, both events are caused by event C (smoke, light and fire).

For example, in 1988, cooperatives were created, which contributed 1.5% of the country's trade turnover (A). At the same time, a commodity shortage arose and prices rose (B). The cooperators were blamed for this. The real reasons are the growth of the state budget deficit and wages (B).

Errors from misunderstanding of causes and effects are called errors of false argument (sophism).

For example, determine the relationship between events A, B, C, where A is low wages, B is low standard of living, C is low labor productivity.

Possible options: A-B-C or B-A-B.

Students are asked to identify a more significant connection.

2. Being in a burning room, every person strives to leave it immediately. And it is right. It’s a different matter with the auditorium, which is full of people. Here such behavior can end in tragedy.

Compilation error (composition) consists in the incorrect judgment that everything that is correct for a part of the whole is also true for the whole.

On the other hand, the idea that whatever is true for the whole also applies to its parts is called division error.

For example, it is correct to say that a highly competitive market is good for the whole society. But a company with weak management will go bankrupt in this market.

The conclusions are correct at the level of microeconomic analysis, but may not be so at the macro level and vice versa.

Examples:

The longer you watch the night sky, the more shooting stars you can see. But this does not mean that looking at the sky for a long time causes an increase in the number of shooting stars.

The audience is watching the film. The mistake occurs when someone stands up to get a better view. This won't happen if everyone stands up.

The division of economic theory into micro- and macroeconomics is logically connected with the method of analysis and synthesis.

So microeconomics having dealt with separate elements (parts) of these systems. It studies the economics of individual firms, households, industries, prices, etc. Thus, the microeconomic approach is close to the method of analysis.

Unlike the above method macroeconomics explores economic systems generally.

Figuratively speaking, if microeconomics studies trees, then macroeconomics is the forest formed from them

Differences between micro and macroeconomics:

Microeconomics strives for stability and balance; macroeconomics - to dynamics and growth.

Microeconomics is subject to the principle of market expediency, while macroeconomics is subject to the principle of social effect.

In microeconomics there are only two subjects (firm and household), but in macroeconomics the state fully joins them.

At the same time, the division of economic science into micro- and macrospheres should not be absolutized. Macro and micro economics are closely interrelated and sometimes difficult to separate. Many questions and topics in economic theory fall within both fields.

Induction and deduction.

Induction and deduction are two opposing but closely related ways of reasoning.

The movement of thought from particular (individual) facts to a general conclusion is induction, whether a generalization. And reasoning in the opposite direction (from the general position to particular conclusions) is called deduction. See fig.

For example, the facts of increasing prices for bread, milk, meat and other products suggest a sad thought about the growth of high prices in the country (induction). In turn, from the general situation about the growing cost of living, it is possible to derive separate indicators of the increase in consumer prices for each type of food (deduction).

Historical and logical methods

They are also used in unity. They involve a detailed study of socio-economic processes in their historical sequence, but at the same time with logical generalizations that allow us to evaluate these processes as a whole and draw general conclusions.

For example, scientists have studied in detail the specific approach and features of the experience of building socialism in XX V. in different countries. This historical approach to research allowed many of them to come to logical conclusions about the widespread loss of social workers. countries, incentives to work, economic inefficiency, commodity shortages, etc.

Graphic method.

The graphical method of displaying economic processes and phenomena is widely used in economic sciences. It is based on the use of various drawings, tables, graphs, diagrams, etc. Thanks to these tools, clarity and compactness in the presentation of theoretical material are ensured.

Very often, economists are asked to explain current economic events. Why, for example, is the unemployment rate especially high among young people?

When economists try to explain the structure of the world, they act as scientists. When economists try to change the world, they turn into politicians.

In the most general sense, there are two types of statements about the world around us:

positivestatements are descriptive in nature. The correctness of positive judgments is verified based on facts(minimum wage laws are the main cause of unemployment).

regulatorystatements are advisory in nature. Normative judgments are based on people’s assessments and cannot be confirmed with actual data.(the government is obliged to regularly increase the minimum wage).

To explain and predict economic phenomena, each theoretical position contains the following elements:

Judgmentabout two specific variables;

Assumptionsabout two variables that are relevant;

Hypothesisabout the methods of influence of two variables: directly or inversely proportional relationship;

One or more predictions about the further course of events.

1. Positive method- this is an objective description and systematization of the facts of economic reality.

7. Analogy – a method based on comparison of the object under study with other objects.

Although in micro = and macro analysis economic phenomena are viewed from different angles, the research methods and tools are the same.

INTRODUCTION 3

1. SUBJECT OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE. 4

2. ECONOMIC RESEARCH METHODS 7

PROCESSES.

3. INEQUALITY IN INCOME DISTRIBUTION 11

IN A MARKET ECONOMY. LORENZ CURVE.

GINI COEFFICIENT.

4. ROLE OF THE STATE IN REDISTRIBUTION 15

INCOME

CONCLUSION. 20

LIST OF REFERENCES USED 21

INTRODUCTION

In the conditions of the formation and development of market relations in the world and the Russian Federation in particular, for the scientific substantiation of radical economic reforms, ensuring the viability of markets, the feasibility of applying methods for regulating economic activity, economic science is of great importance - a field of scientific knowledge that studies the patterns governing consumption and production .

Economics is the study of how people exist, develop, and think in their daily lives.

The first reason to study economics is that this science deals with problems that concern us all without exception: what types of work need to be done? How are they paid? How many goods can you buy with a ruble of wages now and during a period of galloping inflation? What is the probability of a time coming when a person will not be able to find a suitable job within an acceptable period?

The relevance of economic science lies in the fact that with its help we can identify not only the main trends in the economic development of society throughout history, but also, based on the knowledge and methods of economic science, we can create a model of the state of the economy. Based on these studies, we can also calculate the future state of affairs in a particular sector of the economy, predict possible risks, investments and profits.

Economic science allows us to assess the impact of the crisis on the activities of research subjects and the economic situation as a whole. Assess the effectiveness of government measures aimed at overcoming crisis phenomena.

1. SUBJECT OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE

The task of any science is to analyze real processes, facts, identify internal relationships, determine patterns and trends in changes in phenomena. Economics is no exception to this. The entire history of economic science shows that it was a constant search for a holistic systemic analysis of the economic life of society, the desire to describe, explain and anticipate development trends, clarify the laws of economic life, and justify the methods of the most rational economic decisions.

Economics, like other social sciences, has a number of features compared to the natural sciences. Firstly, economics deals with the activities of people and, because of this, is a public, social science, in contrast to the natural sciences, which study phenomena and processes not mediated by the will and consciousness of people. Second, economic action and therefore economic science are directly related to economic interests and ideology. This poses the task for economic science to constantly turn to other social sciences and disciplines: sociology, political science, history, etc. Thirdly, due to the direct connection of economic science with the economic interests of people, economic science is interested not just in rational economic decisions, but in the necessity implementation of these decisions, taking into account the socially fair distribution of products and benefits recognized by society.

The subject of economic theory is economic relations in society.

Since economic relations represent an integral system in society, the subject of economic science has another definition.

Economics is the science of systems of economic relations in society.

Economic science, analyzing economic relations, must answer a number of fundamental questions:

1. What is the economic system, how is it structured, what are its main structural elements, goals and forms of movement?

2. How does the economic system function, how is the interrelation of its elements in the process of functioning, and what impact does economic decision-making have?

3. How does the system of economic relations interact with other spheres of society and, above all, with the social sphere and politics?
Economic science, based on the study of real economic processes, develops a basis for making effective decisions in relation to both the entire economy and when solving specific problems. Since making these decisions involves, first of all, a comprehensive study of the object, i.e. What it represents, the initial task of economic science is to determine the content and structure of the economic system. Only by understanding the system and its features can one make rational economic decisions and make the right economic choice.

Due to the complexity of economic systems, economic science in modern conditions is represented by a set of directions and schools. However, despite the various methodological approaches to economic analysis available, in modern conditions a fairly harmonious structure of modern economic science has formed.

The constituent parts of modern economic science and the immediate subject of its individual parts can be correctly defined in the context of two fundamental features.

1. Economics develops along with society - economics and theoretical views on economics evolve along with the development of real economic relations.

2. The increasing complexity of economic relations and the emergence of new models of economic systems inevitably give rise to the differentiation of economic science and the emergence of new directions and schools.

According to the scale of the field of study, economic science is divided into microeconomics, which studies the activities of firms, households, individual industries and states, and macroeconomics, which studies the national economy as a whole. In recent years, the scientific literature has also used the concepts of “nanoeconomics” (studies the activities of individual economic entities), mesoeconomics (industries, regions), intereconomics (world economy) and megaeconomics (world economy).

2. METHODS OF RESEARCH OF ECONOMIC PROCESSES.

The method of any science is those tools and techniques with the help of which the subject of this science is studied.

Economic science studies the general patterns of behavior of people and the economic system as a whole in the process of production, exchange, distribution and consumption of goods in conditions of limited resources. The main problem is the effective distribution and use of limited resources in order to maximally satisfy human needs.

The research method depends on the subject of science. It is clear that, unlike astronomy, economics cannot use a telescope or spectral research methods. Moreover, economics is not a science where laboratory experiments can be carried out in order to find the truth. What method is used in economic theory? What tools can be used, for example, to determine the principles of functioning of a market economy?

In economic theory, two groups of methods can be distinguished: general and specific. General methods are general philosophical principles and approaches that can be applied in economic analysis. Such general approaches are formed within the framework of the dialectical method. In principle, dialectics is the doctrine of the most general laws of development of nature and society.

When studying economics and using the dialectical method, economists rely on the following dialectical principles:

Everything develops, so every economic phenomenon is considered in development, in constant movement.

The internal impulses of economic development are contradictions of different levels within the economic system.

The development of economic phenomena and processes occurs according to the laws of dialectics. This is the law of the transition of quantity into quality, the law of unity and struggle of opposites, the law of the negation of negation. When studying economic phenomena and processes, it is necessary to understand their causes, essence, and internal connections between them.

Particular methods of studying economics include analysis and synthesis, abstraction, the “other things being equal” assumption, induction and deduction, the unity of logical and historical, mathematical and statistical methods.

Analysis involves dividing the object of study into individual elements, into simpler economic phenomena and processes, and identifying the essential aspects of phenomena and processes. The selected elements are examined from different angles, the main and essential things are highlighted in them.

Synthesis means combining the studied elements and aspects of an object into a single whole (system). Synthesis is the opposite of analysis, with which it is inextricably linked. In the course of analysis and synthesis, dependencies between economic processes and phenomena, cause-and-effect relationships are established, and patterns are identified.

Abstraction is a distraction from the unimportant, highlighting the most important facts and relationships in the economy. Abstraction also occurs in the process of analysis.

The "all other things being equal" (ceteris paribus) assumption is used in the analysis and synthesis process. It means that only the phenomena and relationships under study change, and all other phenomena and relationships are assumed unchanged.

Induction is the derivation of the general from particular facts, the movement from facts to theory, from the particular to the general, as philosophers say. Research begins with observation of economic processes, with the accumulation of facts. Induction allows you to make generalizations based on facts.

Deduction means the preliminary formulation of a theory before it is confirmed or rejected on the basis of factual testing, and the application of the formulated provisions to observable facts and economic processes. A formulated scientific assumption or assumption is a hypothesis. In this case, the research goes from theory to facts, from the general to the specific.

Unity of the logical and historical. (In this case, the logical is synonymous with the theoretical, the historical is synonymous with practice.) The principle of the unity of the logical and historical is that the theoretical analysis of economic phenomena must reflect the real historical process of the emergence and development of these phenomena. The theory must correspond to history and practice, but not copy them, but reproduce them essentially and without random phenomena and facts.

Mathematical and statistical methods. With the development of mathematics and computer science, it became possible to represent many economic dependencies in the form of mathematical formulas and models. Statistical methods make it possible to use accumulated arrays of economic data to analyze and identify trends and patterns of economic development and for economic forecasting.

Mathematics, computer science and statistics make it possible to build economic models with a sufficient degree of accuracy. The model in a simplified abstract form represents the most important features of the individual economic processes being studied or the economy as a whole. The model reflects the most essential features of economic processes. It should be noted that the model can be presented not only in mathematical form. Models are formulated in different ways: mathematical description using equations, inequalities, etc., graphical representation, description using a table, verbal formulation. In the future, we will have the opportunity to demonstrate this when analyzing the patterns of development of a market economy, in particular, the law of demand and the law of supply.

As a result of studying economics using various methods, economic laws are identified.

Economic law is a stable, repeating, objective, cause-and-effect relationship and interdependence of economic phenomena and processes.

It should be noted that economic patterns are studied and formulated at different levels of economic analysis, at the microeconomic level, macroeconomic level, and at the level of the world economy.

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