Do I Need To Be Good In Mathematics To Pursue Economics ?

 

Economics is not only an academic term but much historical as well. It kicked off its journey since human beings started appropriating and managing resources. The primitive men used basic calculations to comprehend how well the limited resources at his disposal can be employed and consumed.

This is followed by clans, who used for proper and efficient distribution of the produced. After that, the entire base of economics was revolutionized with the establishment of kingdoms, states and nation. The once needy and undisputed subject matter then became politicized and divided into numerous bits.

However, irrespective of the form economics took in the long course of its development, one thing remains the same, the basic tenet on economics, which is nothing but simple to complex calculations. Hence, imagining chemistry without maths is same as imagining human life without oxygen.

Also, this is not a disputed thing anyhow. Except for a layman, any individual studying economics in school or pursuing an economics degree course will reckon the importance of maths in economics. The thing that concerns us here is the absence of proper understanding and lack of information about what type of maths is used in economics. ISI MA Economics entrance coaching at Deep School of Economics is one of the leading coaching institute in Delhi providing the online/offline coaching for various Economics courses.

 

Economics as a domain includes different subjects like Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics etc. and economics is a global phenomena. However, Mathematics is one subject about which everyone is most concerned and many students tend to have fear of Mathematics. At the same time, many are concerned as to how much mathematics would be required while pursuing Economics.

Microeconomics

Talking about Mathematics which deals with numbers and involves calculations and is also categorized into many different categories based on difficulty. Now, the extend of Mathematics in Economics is not limited and you can find it in most of the topics or subjects. Example : Microeconomics which is the branch of economics that deals with consumers' and producers' behaviors. Here, topics like Algebra and Linear equations are important elements of mathematics that makes the whole of quantitative microeconomics. These two are Algebra and linear equations are used to solve problems like marginal utility, market equilibrium, production and costs, etc.

Macroeconomics

Example : Macroeconomics involves large-scale factors such as calculation of national income, GDP, financial economics, etc. Also, it is the most practical part of economics as all the economic policies, economic issues, and business economics are part of macroeconomics only. Here macroeconomics uses formulas of linear and quadratic equations to solve the problems of computing net/gross domestic product of a nation.

Overall, the level of Mathematics keeps on increasing with every semester, or with every level namely.

Bachelor in Economics

Masters in Economics

Ph.D. in Economics

However, you need not be exceptional or great in Mathematics to pursue Economics. You need to at least "Cover Class 11 & 12 syllabus through NCERT or any other book".

This is bare minimum for you to complete and have strong basics. The bigger picture is that Mathematics is an integral part of part of Economics and can't be ignored.

TYPE OF MATHS IN POPULAR ECONOMICS PROGRAMS

Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Economics

The graduate program of B.A in economics basically contains all the syllabus which you have gone through in the higher secondary. While attending the first few economic classes, you will get to learn all the familiar chapters such as marginal utility, national income, etc.

Except for a few additions, the entire syllabus of the first year of the graduate course remains the same as that of higher secondary. Hence, you do not need to take any extra maths classes for this. The bit of maths used in the studies can be comprehended easily without looking for reference and revising the old maths syllabus.

Masters of Arts (M.A) in Economics

The second and third year of economics honours while pursuing a graduate program will create a perception that the relevance of maths in economics has increased. However, the extensive use of theorems of maths is seen in Masters courses, particularly in statistics.

Advanced summation theories and formulas, equations and graphs are used in almost all the chapters. Masters is mostly done to get economics teacher jobs in India. Hence, it is no wonder why economics professors in universities and colleges are well versed in mathematics.

One such field in bachelors as well as masters programs, in which students have to deal less with maths in business economics. Generally, most of the course syllabus is general study and maths is used only in a few chapters.

 

Ph.D. in Economics

Ph.D. is the top level course of economics which once can pursue after completing the masters. The course duration is not fixed in general as it involves not merely studies but also conducting research on economists, economic theories, etc.

A student pursuing this degree course will go through all the major branches of economics such as international economics, applied economics, business economics, environmental economics, etc. The laborious work and dedication required to complete Ph.D. is precisely the reason why a person with this degree receives much respect from society.

All the discussion we have here explicitly demonstrates how maths is attached to economics and also, why is it necessary to actively learn maths in order to understand each and every fundamental of economics. Also, we have seen what maths is used, which will help to sort out the necessary segments and invest time on the same instead of pulling all the fingers to equal length, i.e; learning all the maths, even the ones not used in economics.

Maths in economics is the same as maths in physics and chemistry. Both the subjects have their own studies but maths brings precision and ability to know the things before actually doing it.

For example, we can calculate the height that a stone will achieve if thrown with a particular velocity without actually doing the experiment. In the same way, we can forecast the average outcome of an economic decision and policy before actually enforcing it. All these are not only an academic matter but the pillars that support the finance of a nation, its relations with other countries and also the well being of the people.