Finance
																	 
																	vs
																	.
																	 
																	Economics
																	:
																	 
																	An
																	 
																	Overview
																	
																	
																	Although
																	 
																	they
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	often
																	 
																	taught
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	presented
																	 
																	as
																	 
																	separate
																	 
																	disciplines
																	,
																	 
																	economics
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	finance
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	interrelated
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	inform
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	influence
																	 
																	each
																	 
																	other
																	.
																	 
																	Investors
																	 
																	care
																	 
																	about
																	 
																	these
																	 
																	studies
																	 
																	because
																	 
																	they
																	 
																	also
																	 
																	influence
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	markets
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	a
																	 
																	great
																	 
																	degree
																	.
																	 
																	It's
																	 
																	important
																	 
																	for
																	 
																	investors
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	avoid
																	 
																	"
																	either
																	/
																	or
																	"
																	 
																	arguments
																	 
																	regarding
																	 
																	economics
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	finance
																	;
																	 
																	both
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	important
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	have
																	 
																	valid
																	 
																	applications
																	.
																	
																	
																	As
																	 
																	a
																	 
																	general
																	 
																	social
																	 
																	science
																	,
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	focus
																	 
																	of
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	is
																	 
																	more
																	 
																	on
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	big
																	 
																	picture
																	,
																	 
																	or
																	 
																	general
																	 
																	questions
																	 
																	about
																	 
																	human
																	 
																	behavior
																	 
																	around
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	allocation
																	 
																	of
																	 
																	real
																	 
																	resources
																	.
																	 
																	The
																	 
																	focus
																	 
																	of
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	is
																	 
																	more
																	 
																	on
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	techniques
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	tools
																	 
																	of
																	 
																	managing
																	 
																	money
																	.
																	 
																	Both
																	 
																	economics
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	finance
																	 
																	also
																	 
																	focus
																	 
																	on
																	 
																	how
																	 
																	companies
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	investors
																	 
																	evaluate
																	 
																	risk
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	return
																	.
																	 
																	Historically
																	,
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	has
																	 
																	been
																	 
																	more
																	 
																	theoretical
																	 
																	and
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	more
																	 
																	practical
																	,
																	 
																	but
																	 
																	in
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	last
																	 
																	20
																	 
																	years
																	,
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	distinction
																	 
																	has
																	 
																	become
																	 
																	much
																	 
																	less
																	 
																	pronounced
																	.
																	
																	
																	In
																	 
																	fact
																	,
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	two
																	 
																	disciplines
																	 
																	seem
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	be
																	 
																	converging
																	 
																	in
																	 
																	some
																	 
																	respects
																	.
																	 
																	Both
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	and
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	professionals
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	being
																	 
																	employed
																	 
																	in
																	 
																	governments
																	,
																	 
																	corporations
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	markets
																	.
																	 
																	At
																	 
																	some
																	 
																	fundamental
																	 
																	level
																	,
																	 
																	there
																	 
																	will
																	 
																	always
																	 
																	be
																	 
																	a
																	 
																	separation
																	,
																	 
																	but
																	 
																	both
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	likely
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	remain
																	 
																	very
																	 
																	important
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	economy
																	,
																	 
																	investors
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	markets
																	 
																	for
																	 
																	years
																	 
																	to
																	 
																	come
																	.
																	
																	
																	Economics
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	finance
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	interrelated
																	 
																	disciplines
																	 
																	that
																	 
																	inform
																	 
																	each
																	 
																	other
																	,
																	 
																	even
																	 
																	if
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	specifics
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	distinct
																	.
																	
																		
												
																	,
																	 
																	as
																	 
																	a
																	 
																	discipline
																	,
																	 
																	is
																	 
																	derived
																	 
																	from
																	 
																		
												
																	;
																	 
																	it
																	 
																	involves
																	 
																	assessing
																	 
																	money
																	,
																	 
																	banking
																	,
																	 
																	credit
																	,
																	 
																	investments
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	other
																	 
																	aspects
																	 
																	of
																	 
																	the
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	systems
																	.
																	
																		
												
																	 
																	can
																	 
																	be
																	 
																	further
																	 
																	broken
																	 
																	down
																	 
																	into
																	 
																	three
																	 
																	related
																	 
																	but
																	 
																	separate
																	 
																	categories
																	 
																	?
																	 
																	public
																	,
																	 
																	corporate
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	personal
																	.
																	
																		
												
																	 
																	looks
																	 
																	at
																	 
																	how
																	 
																	goods
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	services
																	 
																	are
																	 
																	made
																	,
																	 
																	distributed
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																	used
																	,
																	 
																	as
																	 
																	well
																	 
																	as
																	 
																	how
																	 
																	the
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	overall
																	 
																	functions
																	,
																	 
																	along
																	 
																	with
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	people
																	 
																	who
																	 
																	drive
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	activity
																	.
																	
																	The
																	 
																	two
																	 
																	main
																	 
																	branches
																	 
																	of
																	 
																		
												
																	 
																	are
																	 
																		
												
																	,
																	 
																	which
																	 
																	looks
																	 
																	at
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	overall
																	 
																	economy
																	,
																	 
																	and
																	 
																		
												
																	,
																	 
																	which
																	 
																	looks
																	 
																	at
																	 
																	specific
																	 
																	factors
																	 
																	within
																	 
																	the
																	 
																	economy
																	.