Neoclassical definition of economics... is... by Lionel Robbins... 'the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses'... [is] by... theoretical approach rather than... subject matter... a study of rational choice... deliberate, systematic calculation... The subject of the calculation can be anything..." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Ref: Lionel Robbins, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science
“

The standard Neoclassical definition of economics... is... by Lionel Robbins... 'the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses'... [is] by... theoretical approach rather than... subject matter... a study of rational choice... deliberate, systematic calculation... The subject of the calculation can be anything...

— Ha-Joon Chang

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The standard Neoclassical definition of economics... is... by Lionel Robbins... 'the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses'... [is] by... theoretical approach rather than... subject matter... a study of rational choice... deliberate, systematic calculation... The subject of the calculation can be anything..." in the context of "Ref: Lionel Robbins, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Ha-Joon Chang" (Quotes, Economics: The User's Guide (2014), Ch. I. Life, the Universe and Everything. What is Economics?) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Ha-Joon Chang#calculation#subject#neoclassical#relationship#alternative#theoretical#definition#deliberate#systematic#economics#behaviour
Ha-Joon Chang

About Ha-Joon Chang

Ha-Joon Chang (Hangul: 장하준; hanja: 張夏准; born 7 October 1963) is a South Korean institutional economist specialising in development economics. Currently a reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge, Chang is the author of several widely discussed policy books, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (2002). In 2013 Prospect magazine ranked Chang as one of the top 20 World Thinkers.