Microeconomics

The economy is a system that provides the means to work and earn a living for an individual. Economics is studying the economic problems that arise due to limited means in comparison to unlimited wants.

Microeconomics is a branch of Social Science that studies the implications of incentives and decisions mainly associated with the utilisation and distribution of resources. The term ‘micro’ means small, which shows that microeconomics deals with the study of the market system on a small scale. Microeconomics helps a person study the behaviour of individual economic units of an economy. 

Microeconomics Definition 

Microeconomics can be defined as the study of market systems on a small scale. The main components of microeconomics are demand and supply. Microeconomics can also be referred to as price theory, mainly dealing with households, individual consumers, producer firms, etc. In microeconomics, we can only deal with the prices and production in single markets and the interaction between different markets, but the study of microeconomics is narrower than macroeconomics.

Uses of Microeconomics

• Microeconomics has an important place in economics as it has both practical and theoretical importance.
• The main role of microeconomics is it helps facilitate the understanding of the function of an economy.
• It helps in the efficient allocation of resources as the microeconomic theories help utilise all the scarce resources in an appropriate manner. Thus it helps a country to achieve economic growth, stability, and prosperity. 
• Microeconomics studies the behaviour of individuals (consumer or producer) in different situations; hence it helps in the proper analysis of individual behaviour.
• It also helps in formulating various economic policies and economic plans required for the economic welfare of the people, thus promoting the overall economic development of a country.
• It is also helpful in making demand forecasting on the basis of the present conditions. Thus, it describes the actual state of the economy and suggests various policies that can bring the desired results.
• It also promotes international trade by explaining and fixing international trade and tariff rules.

Firms to allocate resources 

• Resources are limited on our planet, so it is necessary to allocate resources wisely. 
• Resource allocation is simply defined as assigning available resources or factors of production for the production of goods for creating services. Machinery, technology, labour, financial resources, natural resources, etc., all come under resources. 
• In a planned economy, the firms to allocate resources are dictated by the state.
• In a market economy, the firms that allocate resources are described by the price mechanism, which is evidenced in producer investing and consumer spending.
• In a mixed economy, the firms that allocate resources are a mixture between state planning and market mechanisms that determine the allocation of resources.

Principles of Microeconomics

In microeconomics, we generally study the behaviour of individuals to predict how an individual will behave in a particular solution that involves an economic or financial transaction. The three main principles of microeconomics are opportunity cost supply and demand and utility maximisation.

Limitations of Microeconomics

Microeconomics plays a vital role in understanding the functioning of the economy, and it also provides suggestions and guidelines for the formulation of policy. But the uses and significance of microeconomics have some limitations, such as:

• Microeconomics only provides important techniques and tools for finding the best solution to a realistic problem. However, it does not offer a ready-made solution to deal with the problems.
• Microeconomics does not include government intervention in societal and economic activities; it only assumes the existence of a free market economy. 
• It deals with the economic behaviour and relations of an individual but ignores the aggregate approach. Thus, it only represents a partial analysis of the variables and relations in an economic system. 
• Theories that deal with microeconomics are generally given based on the individualist approach. Hence, the result may not always be applicable in general.

Conclusion 

Microeconomy deals with the study of the market system on a small scale. It helps a person study the behaviour of individual economic units of an economy. The main components of microeconomics are demand and supply. Microeconomics can also be referred to as price theory. Microeconomics has an important place in economics as it has both practical and theoretical importance. The three main principles of microeconomics are opportunity cost supply and demand and utility maximisation. Microeconomics plays an important role in understanding the functioning of the economy. But the uses of microeconomics have some limitations. It only deals with the economic behaviour and relations of an individual but ignores the aggregate approach. Thus, it only represents a partial analysis of the variables and relations in an economic system.