0Economics is age-old subject started in Greek or Roman era 15th or 16-century b.c. It was defined initially as money or money making as early mercantilist said or beneficial gold or silver as latter mercantilists opined, or even as trade surplus as exports in late years
Economics became the Study of State or Statism under the physiocrats regime late 17th-century or early 18th-century government producing all good & services to humans was leading economics thought.
In 1776 though Adam Smith was the first father of Economics who defined it as "Science of Wealth ". Then came in the 19th century two brilliant economist who defined it as a study of human welfare in the ordinary business of life. It is one side pursuit of material welfare. On the other side, it is a study of acquirement of material requisites of well being (called nonmaterial welfare).
With the turn of the late 19th century, we have the most scientific explanation " Economics is a study of human being, as a choice between ends & scarce means which have alternative uses (choice making or scarcity)."
With the advent of modern era 1990s & year 2000, further Economics became further crystalized into newer forms like "Economics as choice making or alternative cost like Revenue - Costs Direct & indirect ones + imputed costs, which will be real net revenues spread across time as well as intertemporally. Across different projects, different strategies (politics, management, business, and government, etc.).
This is where economics became a dynamic area of profit making & policy-making across material and nonmaterial pursuits in a modern age economies. It is here it became a basic tool in deciding different courses action or losses, across different consumers, producers, distributors, and marketing too. Quite naturally top business schools & academic across the globe recognize this toolbox discipline and their newer courses recognize as a basic paper in different general courses like M.A, M.B.A, as well as in technical course like B.Tech or in Cost Accountancy /pure business models. Thus the Key point is Economics, becoming quantitative is more application-oriented subject, among the Liberal Arts & Humanities.
In other words, Economics appears to be simplistic two variable but in reality, it encompasses multi as well as multiple variables in dynamic & in futuristic projections of physical and meta psychical ones in real life settings. In this sense " Economics is what we do & also what we don't do. "
