ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role and importance of mathematics and statistical analysis in economics and identifies the characteristics that would make a good student of economics. Economics deals with aspects of society, which entails seeking to explain decisions taken by people in the context of their social interactions, by firms operating in a changeable environment, and by governments swayed by political considerations. At the macroeconomic level, there tend to be fluctuations in economic growth in the short run, in the form of business cycles. The use of statistics is also important as a tool of economists, and requires different skills from those used in mathematics. Many economic issues are more complex than this, with several variables affecting things simultaneously. A prime example of this is the Keynesian multiplier, by which an increase in spending can have multiplied effects. Graphs provide a simple but important way of monitoring the economic performance of a country, or undertaking international comparisons.
