No doubt, Robbins has made Economics a scientific study and his definition has become popular among some economists. But his definition has also been criticized on several grounds. Important ones are:
(i)Robbins
has made Economics quite impersonal and colorless. By making it a complete
positive science and excluding normative aspects he has narrowed down its
scope.
(ii)Robbins'
definition is totally silent about certain macro-economic aspects such as
determination of national income and employment.
(iii)His definition does not cover
the theory of economic growth and development. While Robbins takes resources as
given and talks about their allocation, it is totally silent about the measures
to be taken to raise these resources i.e. national income and wealth.
Economics
is a Science of material well-being-Explain it.
Some
economists defined Economics as a material well-being. Under this group of
definitions the emphasis is on welfare as compared with wealth in the earlier
group. Two important definitions are as follows:
"Economics
is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life. It examines that part
of individual and social action which is most closely connected with the
attainment and with the use of the material requisites of well-being. Thus, it
is on the one side a study of wealth and on the other and more important side a
part of the study of the man",
-Alfred Marshall
"The
range of our inquiry becomes restricted to that part of social welfare that can
be brought directly or indirectly into relation with the measuring rod of
money"
-A.C. Pigou.
In
the first definition Economics has been indicated to be a study of mankind in
the ordinary business of life. By ordinary business we mean those activities
which occupy considerable part of human effort. The fulfillment of economic
needs is a very important business which every man ordinarily does. Professor
Marshall has clearly pointed that Economics is the study of wealth but more
important is the study of man. Thus, man gets precedence over wealth. There is
also emphasis on material requisites of well-being. Obviously, the material
things like food, clothing and shelter, are very important economic objectives.
The
second definition by Pigou emphasizes social welfare but only that part of it
which can be related with the measuring rod of money. Money is general measure
of purchasing power by the use of which the science of Economics can be
rendered more precise.
Marshall's
and Pigou's definitions of Economics are wider and more comprehensive as they
take into account the aspect of social welfare. But their definitions have
their share of criticism. Their definitions are criticized on the following
grounds.
(ii)Robbins criticized the welfare
definition on the ground that it is very difficult to state which things would
lead to welfare and which will not. He is of the view that we would study in
Economics all those goods and services which carry a price whether they promote
welfare or not.