Answer to Question #14682 in Macroeconomics for Owusu-Fordjour Christian

Question

Mathematical economics is not a branch of economics but provides a wheel on which economic analysis can ride...Discuss....

Answer 1

Mathematical economics is the application of mathematical methods to represent economic theories and analyze problems posed in economics. It allows formulation and derivation of key relationships in a theory with clarity, generality, rigor, and
simplicity. By convention, the applied methods refer to those beyond simple geometry, such as differential and integral calculus, difference and differential equations, matrix algebra, and mathematical programming and other computational methods.
Formal economic modeling began in the 19th century with the use of differential calculus to represent and explain economic behavior, such as utility maximization, an early economic application of mathematical optimization. Economics became more mathematical as a discipline throughout the first half of the 20th century,
but introduction of new and generalized techniques in the period around the Second World War, as in game theory, would greatly broaden the use of mathematical formulations in economics.
This rapid systematizing of economics alarmed critics of the discipline as well as some noted economists. John Maynard Keynes, Robert Heilbroner,Friedrich Hayek and others have criticized the broad use of mathematical models for human behavior, arguing that some human
choices are irreducible to mathematics.