Economic agents
Also called: Economic entities, Economic units · Topic: Scarcity, Choice and Economic Systems · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 8 "Building Blocks in Economics: The Problem of Choice"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Introduction (Macroeconomics)"
Meaning
Economic agents are the individuals or institutions that take economic decisions. The main ones are consumers, producers, the government, corporations and banks (financial institutions). Class 9 calls them "economic entities". Each makes choices such as how much to consume, produce, spend, save, lend or tax. Together, their choices decide how an economy works.
Example
In one day, a salaried worker buys groceries (consumer), and a steel company plans its output (producer). A bank decides whom to give a loan (financial institution), and the government sets a tax rate. All four are economic agents.
Don't confuse with
- Decision-making unit: this term stresses that any one decision maker can be a single person or a group such as a household or firm. "Economic agents" is the general name for the actors in the economy.