Economics is one social science among several but has fields bordering on other areas, including economic geography, economic history, public choice, cultural economics, and institutional economics. One division of the subject distinguishes two types of economics. Positive economics ("what is") seeks to explain economic phenomena or behavior. Normative economics ("what ought to be," usually as to public policy) prioritizes choices and actions by some set of criteria; such priorities reflect value judgments, including selection of the criteria. Another distinction is between mainstream economics and heterodox economics. One broad characterization describes mainstream economics as dealing with the "rationality-individualism-equilibrium nexus" and heterodox economics as defined by a "institutions-history-social structure nexus." Areas of economics may be classified in various ways, but an economy is usually analyzed by use of microeconomics or macroeconom. Economics as an academic subject often uses geometric methods, in addition to literary methods. Other general mathematical and quantitative methods are also often used for rigorous analysis of the economy or areas within economics. Such methods include the following.mathematical economics. econometrics. national accounting. Some selected field of economics ::agricultural economics. economic growth and development economics. economic system. environmental economics. financial economics. game theory.industrial organisation. information economics.international trade and finance. labour economics.law and economics. public finance. manegarial economics. welfare economics.
